French Inspired Christmas Decor: Holiday Tour in the Living Room
Come on in and take a peek at our French inspired Christmas decor! Combining a neutral palette with lots of seasonal greens keeps it simple, while pops of gold and white bring in a little sparkle.
When I was a little girl I was always the one who was the most excited to decorate for Christmas. So much so that when I was around ten years old, my mom simply let me take over! I couldn’t wait to bring down the boxes of decorations from the attic, and sprinkle the few Santas and little bits of decor we had around the living room. To me, it was almost the best part of the season!
And honestly, it isn’t much different now. As a blogger I start early so that I can bring you inspiration for your own holiday decorating. But even before I was blogging, I always decorated before Thanksgiving. And to me, the decorating is still one of my favorite things!
If you’ve been here awhile then you know that I frequently do a neutral Christmas palette as opposed to the more traditional red and green theme. But this year, I wanted to add a little bit of pop so I decided to add some touches of gold.
You’ll see brass candlesticks on the mantel and lots of gold ornaments on the tree. My decor is still simple and natural, but the bits of gold and white really add a pretty pop! Because if you can’t add a little sparkle at Christmas, well, when can you?
Above the mantel I decided to forgo a wreath this year – a first! I’ve had a wreath on the mirror for well over a decade but I was itching for a change. To create the swag, I wired together some greenery and then topped it off with my favorite brass bells and it’s a completely new look. I’m smitten!
The mantel is decorated with not one, but five garlands! I love a lush looking mantel so I combine a few to get the look I want. And I’m going to be sharing all the details of what I did in a mantel post next week, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, you can take a look at the garlands I used below. Starting with a ‘cheapy’ one to create the shape, I then add a pine garland, then my favorite cedar garland (this is a great option, too), and cut up and add pieces of a eucalyptus garland to finish it off!
On the coffee table I filled my marble bowl with some of the gold mercury glass ornaments. I love the contrast of the gold with the white bowl.
I also added some of my bottle brush trees to create a little vignette along with some tiny brass bells.
I gathered a group of white vases on the console table and created a statement with white roses and lots of seasonal greenery.
My tree is a new one from Balsam Hill and I’m in love! I haven’t had a full-style, green tree in about five years and I’m loving the change. This is a 9 ft. generous, full tree. I love the quality of Balsam Hill trees and how realistic they look. They are so easy to put up and the best part is the step-on button for the lights!
In the dining room I kept it simple, just adding some tabletop trees to the table and some ornaments to the sideboard.
On the dining table is a simple vignette with two little cedar trees in vintage terracotta pots along with a cloche holding a bottle brush tree. I love that you can feature anything under a cloche and it immediately looks more special!
On the sideboard, I combined a vintage French urn full of ornaments along with one of my vintage Santas. I’ve been collecting these for several years now, and I love to sprinkle them around. I found a few below if you’re interested in collecting them, too!
The entry table holds an antique French urn with greens and white berries, along with a couple more mercury glass ornaments.
Hudson approves too!
Shop French Inspired Christmas Decor
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I hope you enjoyed this year’s simple French inspired Christmas decor, and that it’s sparked some ideas for your own holiday decorating! And stay tuned, because there’s lots more holiday inspiration coming!
Next week I’m sharing all the details of how I put together my mantel (including a garland tutorial), followed by tours of the kitchen, family room and porch!
Happy Holidays!
Sheila
xo
And now, be sure to visit my friends who are also sharing their holiday inspiration below!
Designthusiasm | Shabbyfufu | StoneGable
Maison de Cinq | Southern Hospitality
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out more holiday decor ideas and inspiration below:
Your home is always gorgeous Sheila, but at Christmas it really shines! I love everything you did – especially the cute bells on the mirror! Merry Christmas to you!
Thank you so much Megan! Merry Christmas to you as well!
Sheila
So much inspiration!! I loved every single picture!
Thanks so much Jennifer! 🙂
Sheila
So beautiful! Do you happen to have links for the wrapping paper you chose this year?
Hi Kristi and thank you so much for your kind compliment! And no, I don’t have links unfortunately. It was from Home Goods or TJ Maxx I believe.
Thanks for stopping by!
Sheila
Beautiful pictures, and I love your tree and greenery!
That’s so kind of you! Thank you!
Sheila
Oh, Sheila, it’s just beautiful!! I can’t wait to see the details for the garland, especially how you joined them so seamlessly. How fun to see the gold touches, too. So warm and yet still very much your style. Gorgeous!!
Thank you my friend, so appreciate it! 😉
Sheila
xo
Such a smart idea to layer the garland. It looks so lush and realistic, I think! Your tree is swoon worthy gorgeous! I am always smitten with neutrals at Christmas, well, pretty much every time of year. Hahahaaa.
I’ll be decorating for Christmas next week up at our cabin, so that when we walk back in for Christmas weekend with our adult kids, it will be all warm and cozy and ready to celebrate. Happy Thanksgiving too to you and your family.
Thanks JC – it took years of learning and trial and error but I think I finally got it down!
And your cabin sounds heavenly! How wonderful to celebrate there with your family1
Happy Holidays to you!
Sheila
Just lovely Sheila! So calming and elegant. I have never liked the multi-colored lights, and I have pink and peach tones that don’t go well with traditional reds. So a softer palette is nicer in our house. Thanks for the tour!
Thanks so much Deanne – I appreciate it!
Sheila
It’s all beautiful! Love it all!
Thank you Lurlie!
Love all your decorations this year, including your new Balsam tree! All Beautiful!~ Merry Christmas to you and yours!🎄
Thanks so much Mandy! Merry Christmas to you too!
Sheila
Beautiful. I’m looking for a new color scheme, and I’m loving the serene green, white and gold palette. It’s so fresh and sparkly and modern. We celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday,, however, so I’m also loving the idea of putting my oh-so-French Crèche de Noel on a bed of moss and fake snow under a glass dome.
Oh I love that idea! Your crèche will be so beautiful with moss and snow!!
Merry Christmas to you Jan!
Sheila
Looking forward to your garland tutorial! Hoping to start our decorating for Christmas soon. Love your ideas!
Yay! Thanks Diane!
Sheila
love the swag and well everything!
That’s so sweet – thanks so much Eugenia!
Sheila
Hi Sheila, I’m new here so I haven’t seen how you decorated last year but I’m very glad I found you this year. I’ve been wanting to try white with gold for several years but always relented in favor of the traditional red. After seeing your photos I’m so excited to try it! I have lots of brown in my home so it won’t be just the same but we’ll see how it turns out.
Maybe you can answer this question…if you’re hosting for both Thanksgiving and Christmas do you go ahead and decorate ( with Christmas stuff) before Thanksgiving? Thanks for this gorgeous post.
Hi Portia and welcome! I think the gold and white will be lovely in your home and I’m so glad you’re going to try it! And yes, I do decorate before Thanksgiving. We eat our turkey by the glow of twinkle lights and love it that way!
Thanks for your kind words and so glad you’re here!
Sheila
I second Hudson. What a beautiful display! I have used the same colors for the last three years and wanted something different this year, but I am going to miss that for sure.
Thank you Edmee! And I feel the same – I’m doing something different next year but I always miss this!
Happy Holidays!
Sheila
Hudson is so sweet 🙂 love the bottle brush trees and lush garland!
Aww thank you Tanya!
Sheila