French Farmhouse Christmas
Christmas Chandeliers – Out of the Potager into the Farmhouse
How to Decorate Your Chandeliers for Christmas
We pulled the tubs down from the rafters in the garage, wiped off the dust, cobwebs and thin layer of sawdust left over from a summertime of projects. Tub after tub, opened once a year, revealing ornaments, candles, wound strands of lights…
I have hope that we will find time to cut our tree tomorrow and I always like to get everything but the tree displayed beforehand. It makes the Christmas decorating process a little less overwhelming.
For many years opening those tubs was… like… Christmas! But the last couple years it’s felt a little S.S.D.Y. if you K.W.I.M.
Perhaps it’s because my style has changed…
Perhaps it is because aside from the occasional box of Shiny Brite’s at an “old lady garage sale” I haven’t purchased Christmas décor in years! Each Christmas Season I do enjoy decorating my chandeliers but I found myself in a bit of a predicament… I had no interest in doing them in the same style as the years before (as seen in this month’s Porch Magazine…I think!), and this is the first year that my dining room is my old living room and visa versa… the colors, beads, faux flowers and sparkles that I usually use in my dining room are red and green and I found myself less than inspired to use them in the same room as my paprika sofa… and I just loved my peacock drenched Eiffel Tower last year… which I used to do to my “old” living room chandie…Living, Dining, Old, New, Peacocks… What???
Is your head spinning?
Is your head spinning?
Mine was.
So my thoughts turned to the look I love at Christmas:
Real Greens.
If I could afford it, this entire house from the doorways to the fence would be swagged in fresh, real, greens like these. I would order miles of those gorgeous bay leaf swags from Williams Sonoma… I would just go nuts!!!
I do what I can with greens from our gardens but this year with the big Potager project we cut down three big Junipers and so now we are down to our giant evergreen, a 15 foot tall Cyprus and two evergreens in the front. I don’t have near the variety that I used to but I ran outside in my jammies the other day anyways, scissors in hand and began to cut away at the Cyprus… and then… like a star shining down on a manger I had the epiphany to use all the dried flowers that I had laying around the house and leftover from my arrangements that are for sale.
I had a vision for something chic and lush… a completely different look for our home this Christmas…
This I what I came up with.
Insert my crazy, giddy laughter because I am just LOVING THIS!!!!
There are many different evergreen types you could use, but I love the droopiness of the Cyprus.
I wanted to colors of the chandies to match the colors of my Shiny Brite collection that will adorn the tree so I went a little nuts!!!
Floating centerpieces!
I love the drama of the Cyprus and the dried Ladies Mantle shooting out of the top!
Distressed mirrors, florals and chandeliers… need I say more???
I am working on some creative ideas for those ugly red stockings….
If you don’t have your own backyard source for dried flowers, not to worry! You can find them anywhere! Like here, here and here…
Christmas décor can be done on a Centime! Of course it can – that’s the mantra of the Parisienne Farmhouse style – Design on a Centime.
Thanks for your emails about “Teach your Kid’s to Eat” – it will be my next post… and then later this week I will show you some pretty and simple things you can do with everyday containers and leftover ornaments-n-stuff as you make your home a cozy, Christmas environment.
Here are three other posts you may enjoy on the living room/dining room area of the Parisienne Farmhouse.
1.
2.
3.
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How Decorate Your Chandeliers for Christmas
Oh how much I’ve enjoyed this post today!
I love both of your chandeliers.
Thanks for the inspiration,
Fra
Oh Ang you would have a field day gathering greenery with your secateurs at my place … I have so much greenery, a huge Kashmiri cypress just outside my window and a Himalayan cedar. I also have a bay tree which is getting quite tall. Maybe I should start drying and using the leaves to make wreaths… what do you think? The only problem with decorating with fresh greenery is I cannot pick it too soon. The summer heat and humidity means it wilts quickly and that’s why I opt to go for silk and dried flowers.
Love your chandeliers!
The Chandeliers are lovely!! What a creative way to decorate for Christmas. I kind of like the plain red stockings over the fire place. It seemed very vintage to me! But I’m sure what ever you come up with will be darling!
Ladies, I’ve seen these in person …
trust me on this one!
magazine worthy
great inspiration!
(p.s….you shouldn’t have you know)
xo
Simply breathtaking, my dear…
OH, so fresh and gorgeous. Somehow looks very Victorian. Any baking/cooking favorites that you might be sharing this year….I am all about gleaning good recipes for something new as a holiday treat.
Oh lovely! Ever since my son was diagnosed with asthma we have never been able to decorate with real greens–or even a real tree. I miss the scent so much.
This year I have not had the desire to decorate for the holidays, and I couldn’t figure out why. Maybe you’ve hit on the reason–my decorations haven’t changed for years. I hate just tossing them and buying more. Maybe next year….
Thanks for sharing!
Oh…my…stars…
Simply breathtaking! I have not been able to get into the decorating mood yet…I think you just cured that. THANK YOU! You are WONDERFUL!
Hmm. I wasn’t going to decorate this year, since I’m packing to move, but you’ve inspired me to find another place for all these boxes, and do some decorating.
The chandeliers are lovely.
Beautiful, Angela!!
What is your secret
for keeping the greens
fresh until Christmas?
I tried fresh one year
and they all dried up
too soon….so disappointing.
I think one of the best
things about fresh greens
is that you don’t have to
store them ~ love that.
And just having that freshness
mixed in with the glitter
changes the tone to a quiet
happiness. Well done!
xx Suzanne
LOVE the chandeliers!!! But what does SSDY mean???? I know what kmim stands for but I’m lost on the other one.
Rachel,
And you will pardon me…
“Same S _ _ _ Different Year”
🙂
Wow, your chandeliers are amazing!! And they really do seem to be floating in the photo’s.
Thanks for sharing,
Selina.
These turned out beautiful! I am happy to see the photos – since you described them, I had wanted to see.
Simply breathtaking. You are a genius!
XOXO
Joni
(I felt the need this year for less of the glittery Christmas-consumerism, too. I am doing less and it feels great!)
XOXO
Joni
Thanks so much for sharing, you inspired me to decorate my chandelier in the dining room similar. I also was inspired by your amazing sign in the living room! Have a wonderful day!