Simple Holiday Home Tour | Natural Christmas Decor Ideas

Sharing our modern and simple holiday home tour full of natural Christmas decor ideas and puppy proof decorations.

Welcome to my simple holiday home tour! Today I’m excited to be sharing my home and all the natural Christmas decor ideas I’ve styled in it along with some other amazing bloggers as part of the Seasonal Simplicity Series (you can see them all at the bottom of this post!).

This holiday home tour is one of my favourites I’ve shared. It’s simple and fresh with lots of natural elements and next to nothing for me to worry about getting broken. If you’ve been reading Lemon Thistle for a while, you’ll know that we have 4 kids and last month we added a puppy to the mix! Murphy is a 15 week old bernedoodle… and he snuck into so many of these photos that I felt like I was doing a puppy photoshoot not a house shoot.

It’s beem so much fun to have a pup but also a lot of work and when I thought about decorating for the holidays, I really didn’t want to add any other stress to my plate. SO we didn’t! We put up our tree, our stockings and some pretty things out of reach, but other than that? We kept it so simple.

I love the look of the fresh greenery spread through the house and it gives that beautiful scent that reminds me it’s Christmas time. Add some fresh florals (you know I can’t help myself!), a clean house with clear surfaces (always the biggest undertaking this time of year!) and I’m so pleased with how our home feels, all ready for the holidays.

Let’s start in the entryway! In the entryway, we’ve kept it simple with a DIY wreath I made last year using some dollar store garlands. You can see more about that right here. We also crafted some more paper bag snowflakes- our kids had fun with this, my daughter even made hers with hearts… can you spot it? I love that they’re hung out of the way and add some fun to the space without getting in the way of how we use our small entry.

The last thing I did in here is swap out our letterboard for a holiday pennant. I made this one last year as part of a holiday sale so it is hand-sewn, but if you’d like to make one yourself- I have a no-sew pennant tutorial right here!

Into the living room, I’ve added lots of fresh cedar branches with some holiday florals. The fireplace mantel has both cedar and true blue eucalyptus and the scent is so beautiful. The large vase I switch out with seasonal branches and foliage and this time it’s full of pine and cedar. On the other end, I have two thrifted brass candlesticks and a vase full of flowers. Using black candlesticks in brass candleholders instantly updates them and makes them so moody and modern. I bought a big pack a year or so ago from the wedding section at Michaels.

After a summer of growing my own blooms and a fall of enjoying my own dried florals, it was so fun to head back into my favourite florist for some seasonal blooms. I like to order an arrangement (that one’s in the kitchen) as well as a coordinating bouquet for me to break up into smaller arrangements with seasonal foliage around the house. The arrangement from the florist is always my favourite and serves as such great inspiration for the rest of the blooms. If you’re in Kamloops, Fern and Frond is incredible!

The only thing I bought this year other than the flowers are these beautiful bells hanging from the mantel. I love how they look hanging at the mantel here. I have a smaller set that I bought in the summer (you’ll see those in the bathroom down below!) that I was using as a wind chime outside. I love that I can use these year round in different areas and they really work any time of year. The stockings are a couple years old now and since we added a puppy to the mix, I have ordered him his own. You can see how Ifirst styled them here or snag them for yourself here! (affiliate link) I’m patiently waiting for it to arrive!

On our Christmas tree, we have absolutely no glass. In fact, we have no real ornaments other than the light up marquee letters for each of our kids which were a gift from overseas relatives (and a fast fave!). We have some metal bells to tell us if the puppy is in the tree as well. Then some paper bag snowflakes (see my tutorial for those from last year right here!) and some picks of faux eucalyptus, flocked branches, and pinecones.

I’m actually so in love with the look of this tree. It’s carefree and it’s going to be so fun to watch our kids add their DIY ornaments they make over the holidays because there’s so much room… and no threat of them knocking ornaments off! The presents under there right now are just for the pup to practice… They’re boxes from packages we’ve gotten this past week, I figure we may as well start early.

Other than that, we have some more florals on the coffee table (yes, I’m playing with fire but it’s been a week and it hasn’t been knocked over yet!) and some holiday pillow covers. These are ones I sold a few years ago – I really just make things that I wish existed so I can buy them for myself ;)

Over the plant console, I switched the vase full of foliage for seasonal cedar and added a cedar swag on the mirror. The easies way I’ve found to hang these is just wiring the cedar together then hanging the wire off a command hook above the mirror. It looks like it’s resting on the mirror, but it’s secure. And easy. A silvery grey ribbon in a casual bow helps finish it off.

Into the kitchen, We really didn’t add much. Just some vases with seasonal foliage and the mat is switched out for a snowflake one I found at Target years ago. You know, back when Canada had Target. *sigh*

I tend to keep the kitchen especially simple and minimal for seasonal decor. I love clear countertops and with four kids and everything that comes along with that… it’s a novelty. The less *stuff* that starts on the counter, the better. It’s funny to me that this kitchen has so much more space than our last house… but we decorated the last house kitchen way more for seasons and holidays. As our kids have grown and life has gotten busier (sports! school lunches! home reading! fundraising forms!) I’ve simplified everything that’s not essential. But the little sprigs of cedar in vases are the perfect amount of holiday cheer for me. I also have a few holiday scented candles around that help make our home feel perfectly festive, even with less decor pieces.

Another perk to keeping it minimal? Less stuff to store! Vases just get fresh seasonal foliage, no giant rubbermaid totes!

The dining room has even more cedar and brass candlesticks. I love the casual look of cedar and how well it holds it’s colour and shape even as the month goes on. It can be dried to a crisp and you wouldn’t know until you touch it. The eucalyptus in the swag above the art is also dried so it will last all season long!

In the corner of the dining room, you can see our little activity advent tree. I shared all about that with some free printables last week, it’s one of our kids’ favourite parts of the holiday season.

Other than the main living area, I am sharing the bathroom as well. I just love this space so much and since adding the cedar and eucalyptus swag in here with those bells? Well, I had to share! I’d love to know if you decorate spaces like the bathroom for holidays! I always have, but I also come from a home that had seasonal soap pumps ;)

I hope you enjoyed our simple holiday home tour and found some ideas for natural christmas decorating… maybe you’re headed to clip some cedar? Ha! I wouldn’t blame you, it’s so pretty. Here’s the video tour if you prefer video! And while you’re at it, I’d so love if you subscribed to my YouTube channel!

This week is Christmas Home Tour Week! Each day this week, some talented bloggers are sharing their tours with you – be sure to hop around and see what they’ve got in store! You can visit their posts by clicking on the links below the images. Sharing with me today…

Friday

This is Simplicite / Deeply Southern Home / Lemon Thistle

Love Create Celebrate / Sincerely, Marie Designs / The Happy Housie

And sharing the rest of the week…

Monday

The Happy Housie / Inspiration for Moms / Joanna Anastasia

She Gave it a Go / Modern Glam / Taryn Whiteaker Designs

Tuesday

Rambling Renovators / Life is a Party / Clean and Scentsible

House by Hoff / Rooms for Rent / The Happy Housie

Wednesday

Maison de Pax / Stacy Risenmay / Maison de Cinq

Place of My Taste / A Pop of Pretty / The Happy Housie

Thursday

Grace in My Space / All Things with Purpose / Life is Better at Home

The Tattered Pew / A Pretty Life in the Suburbs / Just a Girl and Her Blog