Creating a Cozy Holiday Experience for Guests

It’s less than twenty days until Christmas, and touches of holiday spirit can be felt in nearly every room in our home. One of the things we love most about the holidays is welcoming our friends, family, and neighbors into our home to celebrate the season with us. It’s important to us that our guests experience the contagious holiday excitement, while also feeling at ease. We truly want them to make themselves at home when they come through the door.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Kierra Todd with Redfin.com. Kierra asked me how we ensure a comfortable experience for our guests during the holidays. One way I do this is by mixing natural elements with conversation pieces. Today I am sharing our dining room decorated for a Christmas gathering. The vintage and antique Christmas decor we’ve collected over the years has started many conversations while gathered around the table with guests. And by collecting and foraging from our yard for decor, we ground the space and bring commonality.

Interior designer Abby Smolarsky at Belle Antiquarian, highlighted, “By mixing natural elements and conversation pieces, guests will feel the excitement of the season. In the dining room, guests will see magnolia and holly from our yard, as well as a tree sparkling with collected antique ornaments. It’s the perfect mixture for putting people at ease.”

Redfin.com

In the South we are blessed to have quite a few plants to forage at Christmastime. Our property boasts several magnolia species, abundant holly trees, and evergreen. I gather clippings and wire them together to adorn tables, buffets, and fireplace mantels throughout the house. Tucked here and there you will see some of my favorite pheasant feathers. My wonderful neighbor, Claire, gave me a bag of long-leaf pine cones that she had collected, which were the perfect finishing touch. Each region will have vegetation that can be brought inside for decor. If you don’t have anything in your yard, try asking a friend or neighbor if you can come clip a few things to add to your decor. Be sure to bring a basket, sharp clippers, and gloves to protect your hands from pointy leaves like holly.

Vintage and antique Christmas decor are among my favorite things to look for while treasure hunting. Throughout my years of selling antiques, I have collected some unusual and special ornaments. It’s fun to gaze and watch them sparkle on our dining room tree while gathered for a special meal. Part of the reason these ornaments are so special is because they were collected slowly over time and in various places. They each hold a story or memory, and they have kept the conversation flowing at the Christmas table on more than one occasion. It’s okay to start small with one or two baubles and add to them as the years go by. They’ll become part of your story as well.

The dining room feels festive, but also approachable. It’s doable. Anyone can gather foliage from their yard and bring it inside. Everyone can pick up a vintage ornament here and there. It’s how we share our space with the people we care about, sharing a little bit of our lives with theirs.

I’m honored to be featured on Redfin for this special holiday article. You can find the whole article and many more tips HERE.

No matter if you live in an apartment in Miami, FL, a rental home in Tuscaloosa, AL, or a
house in Bakersfield, CA, this guide will walk you through essential steps to declutter and clean your home, add festive touches, prepare for guests, and set the stage for holiday entertainment, ensuring your home is ready to impress and delight all season long.
Prepare Your Home for the Holidays: 7 Tips for a Festive Season | Redfin

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Transform Your Dining Room on a Budget

This article contains affiliate links and ads. You can find many of the pieces I feature by clicking on the links at the bottom of this article.

I’m happy to finally share the details on our dining room refresh. Months before our kitchen renovation began, we started on our dining room. This was a low cost project that we completed over a long weekend. With some paint, new draperies, an estate sale find, and collected antiques from the storage bins, I created a dining room that we look forward to hosting holiday dinners in.

The homeowner that did all of the major renovations on our home in the early 2000s painted it a sherbet green with a lighter shade of green on the ceiling. The seller we purchased it from didn’t make any changes to the dining room at all. Every room was kept exactly the way it was when they bought the house, right down to where the nails in the wall were. It was important to me to make this OUR home, and painting is an easy way to do that without changing the style and architecture of a historic home.

Before we purchased our home.
Before we purchased our home.

One of the changes we made with the biggest impact was to paint the ceiling. If you’re considering painting your ceilings a lighter shade of the wall colors, pause and think twice. Not necessarily because of resale value, but think of how you want people to feel while they’re in your home. If you’re wanting a dramatic effect and an artistic environment, then go for it! But if you want people to feel relaxed and settled, it’s not for you. It’s distracting and chaotic if it’s not done properly.

We painted our walls with Benjamin Moore “Revere Pewter,” and the ceiling is “White Dove.” The trim is Behr “China White.” The trim was already painted for us, and I like how it works with the Revere Pewter. China White reminds me of the color of antique ironstone dishes.

When we sold our last house three years ago, we sold most of our furniture, including the dining room table, chairs, and china cabinet. The rental house we were moving to didn’t have a dining room, and the dining set was looking a little dated, so we sold it on Facebook Marketplace. After we bought this house, I found an estate sale that was selling an Ethan Allen dining set for less than 1/10th of the retail cost. It’s currently on the Ethan Allen website, and the total cost for the table, 8 chairs, and buffet would’ve been over $11,000. We paid around $1,000. It’s worth it to check out estate sales!

I featured the drapery and hardware on an Instagram post several months ago. The drapery and hardware ended up being a source of frustration. The bay windows in our house do not match the measurements of modern bay windows. Modern bay windows have a larger center window with a smaller functional window on each side. Our original historic bay windows have a smaller center (functional) window, with a larger stationary window on each side. The drapery and hardware for our bay windows were custom made to fit them. And unfortunately, they were removed by the seller. I ended up finding hardware and drapery that I preferred, but it was time and money that we weren’t expecting to spend.

The other items in the room, like plates, pitchers, and artwork, are things that I’ve collected over the years. It was a little like Christmas opening all of my boxes that had been in storage for three years, and we’ve only had one broken crystal glass so far!

I’m lucky to have two pieces of artwork by my twin brother, Tyrus Lytton, displayed in our dining room. He painted a portrait of our daughter when she was two or three, and I found a frame online that complemented the antique mirror on the other side of the doorway. He also painted a small watercolor of our house. (Side note: my brother normally does large scale art installations all over the world. I’m very proud of him and thankful to have some of his artwork on a smaller scale.)

Below you can find a list of sources for the items that I used in our dining room. Some of the pieces are antiques, but I have linked similar ones that I found online. Click on the word to be taken to the source where you can find them.

P.S. There are also a few side-by-side- before and after photos below.

Before
Before
Before

As you can see, a little paint and some new draperies can make a big impact. I’m curious if you’ve ever purchased a house and had items removed that were supposed to stay. Let me know in the comments if you’ve experienced that, too!

Until next time,

Abby

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Thanksgiving tablescape inspiration

Thanksgiving Table Inspiration

We’re just over two weeks away from Thanksgiving, and I would like to share some Thanksgiving table ideas with you.

Setting a Thanksgiving table doesn’t have to be expensive. As always, you can click any of the photos in this post to find the exact items pictured in my LTK shop. However, if you’re on a budget, you can use these photos to get inspiration for a color scheme. Try finding pieces to use in basic colors that can be used in multiple ways throughout the year.

First, this tablescape with rich colors and decadent textures creates a warm ambiance for your Thanksgiving feast.

Thanksgiving Table Ideas
Click the photo above to find these exact pieces.

Next, basic elements are pulled together to create a warm, casual feeling.

Thanksgiving Table Ideas
Click the photo above to find these exact pieces.

Finally, a timeless blue and white color scheme makes for an elegant, fun holiday tablescape.

Thanksgiving Table Ideas
Click the photo above to find these exact pieces.

Above all, I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with love and peace with the people you hold dear.

Until next time, Abby

Thanksgiving tablescape inspiration

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How to Combine Traditional with Contemporary Decor

Today I am sharing how I combine the styles of traditional and contemporary/modern in a design plan.

It’s fairly simple. When trying to combine traditional and contemporary designs, I like to keep all of the furniture lines clean and sleek. Then, I will keep all of the textiles and patterns traditional. I find that when I do these two things in a design, it turns out just right!

As you look at this dining room design board that I created below, notice that: 1) The furniture lines are sleek, clean, modern, and contemporary. 2) The fabrics, textiles, and wallpaper are traditional. You can create a happy mix of the two with your accessories and accent pieces.

Click this photo to find the sources for everything pictured on my commissionable links.

This dining table is a high-gloss white lacquer. Notice that the edges are very modern and angular. The chairs have a traditional rattan caning material, but the lines of the arms are very contemporary.

Above is the color palette used for this space. As always, everything pictured in this design has been linked on my LiketoKnow.it. You can find all of the commissionable links there.

Click the photo above to see sources and commissionable links for everything pictured.

Never miss a design plan! Be sure to subscribe to my blog, follow me on Instagram, and follow me on LiketoKnow.it!

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Red Transferware Valentine’s Decor

Valentine’s Day is one month from today, and I’m decorating in some really sweet ways. Today I want to show you how I made some changes to our dining room.

I temporarily relocated my vintage jadeite collection so that I could display my collection of red transferware. These were picked up at a variety of places. My favorites are the antique Old Britain Castles (Johnson Brothers) pieces and the Horse/Full Cry bowls (Homer Laughlin).

I also added a plate wall display over the china cabinet. These are from an incomplete set of old Gernman china that a family member gave me years ago. I decided to go with white dishes for the plate wall, because they will be a clean, neutral backdrop for anything else I decided to use throughout the year.

A friend asked me for tips on hanging a plate wall. Basically I hang the center plate where I want it. Then I hang the pieces above and below, followed by the 2 on either side. Finally, I hang the littlest ones.

As always, my trusty sidekicks are curious and a little bit in the way. LOL. These are fresh, red carnations that I am using in this Old Britain Castles pitcher. They only cost $4 at the grocery store. Carnations don’t get nearly enough credit – they last an incredibly long time, and their ruffles are so pretty.

Have a great day, everyone!

Abby Smolarsky1 Comment