• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header left navigation
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • Shop
  • Courses
    • Course Login
  • Get The Email

  • DIY
    • DIY Home Decor
    • With Power Tools
    • Renovation
    • For Kids
    • For Parties
    • Organization
    • Cricut Crafts
    • DIY Yard Games
  • Home Decor
    • DIY Room Makeover E-Course
    • Room Reveals
    • Kid Friendly Home
    • DIY Home Decor
    • Renovation
    • Shop My Home
  • Lettering
    • Hand Lettered Printables
    • Free Practice Sheets
    • Handlettered DIY
    • Steal My Lettering
    • Free Brush Lettering Quickstart Guide
Lemon Thistle

Lemon Thistle

DIY, Hand Lettering + Home Decor

  • Printables
    • For Cricut
    • Party Printables
    • Home Decor Printables
    • Bachelor Bingo
    • Handlettering Practice Sheets
    • All Free Printables
  • Entertain
    • Party Printables
    • Party DIY
    • Tablescapes
    • Kids Parties
  • Blog

Christmas Home Tour

Dec 04

Welcome to my christmas home tour! I’m sharing my living space, kitchen, dining, and entry decked out for the holidays. Full of family friendly decorations, neutral colours and lots of greenery.

Holiday home tour full of cozy christmas neutrals

Today I’m excited to be joining up with some incredible bloggers to share our homes all decked out for the holidays as part of the Seasonal Simplicity series! If you’re doing the tour in order and stopping by from Cassie Bustamante, welcome!

My Christmas home tour is of our main living space- living room, dining room, and kitchen. You can see our boys bedroom all decked out right here and Aubreys bedroom from last year (almost identical) right here. And the only thing I would show in our bedroom is this guy right here. Because he’s so pretty. And I need to finish trim in the rest of the room. Ha!

Garland above a bay window for christmas decorations
Christmas letterboard

Our home is full of neutrals and I love it that way. When Christmas comes around- I decorate much of the same way. Lots of fresh greenery and neutral decor pieces. We do have a little bit of red in the entry and the boys room- but there’s not much.

When Shane and I were engaged, I went out and bought Christmas decorations on boxing day. We thought we were saving so much money and while they really were cheap- by that time next year, we’d bought a apartment and decorated it in robins egg blue wallpaper and all that red? We didn’t love it. Even though we totally thought we would! Since then, we’ve slowly been switching out ornaments for ones we truly do love and 11 years later, we’ve got a great collection of neutral Christmas decorations and we add in some different colours each year. Even red ;) You can see exactly how I do that in this post here.

Simple holiday decorations for a neutral home.
Cozy neutrals holiday decorations- with that leather sectional!

We also don’t go crazy for Christmas. I decorated for a holiday fundraiser a few years in a row when Shane and I were first married and after going that overboard (the whole purpose!) we totally dialled back what we enjoy having in our home. And when we had kids? Well, dial that back some more because they break everything- ha!

Simple winter floral arrangement
Beautiful black and white christmas pillows

So in the living room, we have our tree of course and I’m trying some glass ornaments on there for the first time in years. So far none have broken which is pretty incredible if you have met my youngest.

Then I decorate the mantel and throw some cushy holiday throw pillows on the couch… and we call it done! Since I was taking photos, I put a small winter arrangement together on the coffee table. That’s also lasted for a few days… so this might be us turning a corner into being able to have things on our coffee tables again! Is that the light at the end of the tunnel?! I have 4 kids and the oldest is 6, guys… that’s a solid 5 years with nothing on the coffee table ;P

Modern holiday home tour for a busy family home
Modern holiday home tour with neutrals

All these black and white holiday pillows are from my shop! I launched my shop right before Christmas so when I was ordering samples to test out and photograph… I ordered all holiday pillows, baby. Haha! I would really love to order some for the rest of the year now, they’re so soft!

Notice something missing though? Since my last home tour... Calder broke our floor lamp! I’m really sad about it but ordered a sconce for right there instead on black friday. I can’t wait to get it in there- it feels so empty right now since I’m used to the lamp!

Family friendly holiday home tour
Hand lettered ornaments make for such pretty christmas decorations!
Hand lettered ornaments with a paint marker- so pretty!

Our Christmas tree is fairly neutral too. I won’t talk too much about it because I’ve written a blog post about how we change it up and even did a decorate with me video in that blog post– but we stick with our neutral woodtones, silver, black and white then this year added in some gold and olive green.

I hand lettered on some of the ornaments because I can’t help myself. I’m making some more for a couple custom orders this year so I thought I’d get practicing on my own. If you’re interested in making them- I have a full blog post sharing 3 ways you can do it!

Living room console full of plants for the holidays!
Living room console full of plants for the holidays!

I bought a sink full of greenery and was going to try and add some around my mirror here in the living room… but honestly I brought it over and it dropped needles and I gave up before I started. I’m just so craving clean lately and having fresh pine dropping needles? I’m not here for it. I had taken a few plants from this console and moved them downstairs to my office so I added in that pretty resting reindeer here and one of my first ever hand lettered DIYs. I also swapped out my vase of faux eucalyptus for some flocked faux fir. I love the little pinecones in this one!

Beautiful holiday decorations with no colour

When I was decorating the mantel- Shane had one request… to leave our hand lettered quote up this year (I took it down last year). I took him up on that but won’t share more than this because I’ve got a post aaaall about the mantel coming up in a week or two!

Dont get your tinsel in a tangle
subtle holiday decor in a small entryway
Modern decor in a small entryway... those sweet elves on the window!

In the entry, I added a holiday pillow and nutcracker, then swapped out our letterboard quote and the wreath on the door! Simple changes make everything feel more festive. Notice those cutie little kindness elves on the window sil? It’s my kids favourite every morning getting up to look for them and their advent activity of the day.

Simple modern dining room decorated for Christmas
Simple modern dining room decorated for Christmas

The dining room is one of the spaces that we haven’t gotten around to ‘finishing’. If you were to look closely, we haven’t patched or painted the trim since replacing windows. In fact, the sticker residue is still on the outside of that one window (ha!) but it’s freaking cold outside and I don’t want to go clean it. We also don’t have any window coverings or any decor on the walls. I have plans for ALL of that… I even have some of it sitting in boxes for when I get to it, but for now? Adding some holiday decor makes all the difference in how cozy this space feels.

Simple modern dining room decorated for Christmas

We had this little flocked tree in there last year for our advent activity calendar and I love how it fits perfectly in that corner. The wreath I’d had on the mantel last year got moved in here since we left our painting up. That little sign is a DIY if you’re wanting to make one yourself! And those candle holders? I’ve had them since I was a teenager and it feels really great to pull them out again. Someone special in my life brought them back from India and I’ve been holding on to them since. Now that I’m looking at the photos though… I’m wishing I would have thought to center them on the table- ha!

Neutral holiday floral arrangement- perfect for the green kitchen
Neutral holiday floral arrangement- perfect for the green kitchen
Green kitchen decorated for christmas- love the garland over the windows

The kitchen I kept pretty simple- again just because I’m craving clear surfaces and clean these days. Crazy schedules with kids and jobs and everything else this time of year makes me crave clean and calm in my . home like no other.

I’ve figured out that I always photograph my home on mondays the hard way because that’s the only day of the week my favourite florist is closed. I picked up some blooms from the grocery store and worked with what I had left from my office reveal to make this neutral holiday arrangement. I love the addition of pine with those delicate waxflowers! Nothing makes me feel so spoiled as fresh flowers. I always try to reward myself for doing a giant clean like this with some fresh cuts.

Simple holiday decorating in the kitchen
Simple holiday decorating in the kitchen

I love how the garland frames those bay windows. I had always used that garland for our mantel in our last place but when I realized how silly it looks now that we have a wall on one side of our mantel, I was scrambling to find a new home for it… I think this is where it will live forever and always.

DIY wood wreath sign for christmas
Simple christmas decor in this holiday home tour
Family friendly holiday home tour
DIY Noel sign/ how to hand letter on wood
neutral colours in this christmas home tour

And because I can never figure out spacing in my home tours… there’s so many pictures, there’s a bunch more- ha! I have even more I’ve left out- it’s so hard to pick. I definitely get why bloggers break each individual room of the house into a blog post of it’s own- it’s so hard to narrow it down!

Since I always get messages asking about specific pieces, I’m trying something different and linking them all at the bottom of the post here as well! Let me know if I miss any and make sure to scroll down to see the rest of the homes in this tour!

Sources from my Christmas Home Tour

  • Paint Colour: Expert White from General Paint
  • Railing was custom, more information on the entry HERE
  • More information on the sofa HERE
  • More information on the kitchen HERE
  • Dining table is DIY, tutorial HERE
  • Wooden sign in wreath, DIY tutorial HERE
  • Noel sign in basket, DIY tutorial HERE
  • Handlettered ornaments, DIY tutorial HERE
  • Painting on mantel is DIY, no tutorial… yet ;)
  • Soft Holiday Pillows are from my store HERE
  • Living room rug is Bridle from Article
  • Living room chairs are from Leons but discontinued
  • Dining room chairs are a mix- white from Wayfair, black from Article
  • Console is from HomeSense
  • More details on my tree and ornaments HERE and HERE

Alright… on to the rest of the beautiful home tours in the Seasonal Simplicity tour! If you’re taking the tour in order, next stop is my friend Christina at The DIY Mommy– her home is stunning and so full of DIY details, I know you’ll love it!

Sharing today with me are….

Wednesday

Taryn Whiteaker Designs ** Just a Girl and Her Blog ** Cherished Bliss So Much Better With Age ** Cassie Bustamante

Lemon Thistle ** The DIY Mommy ** Love Create Celebrate The Handmade Home ** Craftberry Bush

And sharing the rest of this week…

Monday

The Happy Housie ** Shabbyfufu ** Jenna Kate at Home Inspiration for Moms ** We’re the Joneses

Rambling Renovators ** Home Made Lovely ** My 100 Year Old Home Maison de Cinq ** Nick + Alicia

Tuesday

House by Hoff ** The Tattered Pew ** Clean & Scentsible The Turquoise Home ** Rain on a Tin Roof

Stacy Risenmay ** This is Our Bliss ** Southern State of Mind Styled with Lace ** Life is Better At Home

Thursday

Grace In My Space ** Rooms For Rent ** Modern Glam Happy Happy Nester ** Town and Country Living

Two Twenty One** Place of My Taste ** Life is a Party Sincerely, Marie Designs ** Willow Street Interiors

Friday

Tatertots and Jello ** A Pretty Life in the Suburbs ** Maison de Pax She Gave it a Go ** Summer Adams

Amber Tysl ** All Things With Purpose ** Cuter Tudor Chrissy Marie Blog ** The Happy Housie

 
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Category: Home DecorTag: Christmas, Decorations, Holiday, Holidays, Home Tour, Our Home
Previous Post:how to use a barn door extender (and why you would need to)How to Use a Barn Door Extender
Next Post:Simple Activity AdventThis simple activity advent is a fun alternative to the traditional advent calendar. It's simple to pull together year after year thanks to photos printed as postcards.
Avatar photo

About Colleen Pastoor

Colleen is the DIY blogger and author behind Lemon Thistle blog where she shares hands on DIY tutorials, home renovations, hand lettered designs, and projects to simplify your life… beautifully.
If you enjoy modern home decor (that’s totally cozy for your family!), saving money through DIY and simplified lifestyle- you’ll love the tutorials Colleen shares on LemonThistle.com. Find her @colleenpastoor everywhere else!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Avatar photocassie bustamante

    Dec 04 at 11:03 am

    yep, i knew i was going to love this!!!! your home is one of my faves and i LOOOOOVE your kitchen and dining area soooo much!

    Reply
  2. Avatar photoKrista

    Dec 04 at 7:29 pm

    Thanks for sharing your home tour on the blog hop. You probably have at least a couple of years to having actual decorations on your coffee tables! For now, enjoy the minimalist look! Merry Christmas Colleen!

    Reply
  3. Avatar photoJamie

    Dec 04 at 8:57 pm

    I love your Christmas tour, Colleen! Your fall tour was one that inspired me to go more simply this year. Love ya girl!
    Have a wonderful holiday season with your family!
    Hugs, Jamie

    Reply
  4. Avatar photoAbby Lawson

    Dec 05 at 7:09 pm

    Such a pretty tour, Colleen! I love all of your neutrals! Hope you’re having a wonderful week!

    Reply
  5. Avatar photoemmasophiaseoa6

    Jun 16 at 6:23 am

    Wow!! amazing, i love your Christmas tour!!!!

    Reply
    • Avatar photoSarah

      Jun 18 at 12:07 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sidebar

2025 free printable calendars are here- text over image of 5 free printable calendar formats printed


Thanks for dropping by!
I’m Colleen: wife; mom to 4 wild ones; and DIY blogger behind Lemon Thistle. You can expect to see affordable DIY, cozy modern home decor, renovations, free printables, hand lettering and the occasional party on Lemon Thistle. Read More…

WOOHOO!

Check your email to confirm!

(+ get your freebies + discounts)

email facebook youtube instagram pinterest

Search

Copyright

Unless otherwise noted, all content and images are mine. Full posts may not be shared without express written consent. But I love when you share!

Feel free to share, without altering, one image with proper credit and a link to the original post. All free printables are for personal use only.

Legal

Everyone loves proper credit- if you ever notice something improperly credited, please please shoot me an email and I’ll fix it lightning fast.

Find all my policies right here.
This includes my privacy policy, info on the GDRP compliance, and information on affiliate links (Including Amazon Affiliates).

Copyright © 2025 · Lemon Thistle · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme