I feel like I’m usually much better organised in the run-up to Christmas but this year, I definitely feel as though I’m chasing my tail. Recent national events have left me feeling a bit out of sorts and emotionally exhausted and all I really want to do is plunge myself into what should be a joyful season. So I’m kind of giving myself a little bit of a break this year and apologise if you were looking forward to a bunch of Christmas content here on Swoon Worthy and I’ve not been as forthcoming as usual!

I did mention that one thing I’ve consciously tried to do this year is to keep the decorating a bit more low-key. Well, my version of low-key which, I suppose will still feel pretty maximalist to others. I just find that while I have a tendency to pile every surface with greenery, baubles, glitter and twinkling lights in years’ past, what normally happens is by the time the main event comes around, I’m starting to feel suffocated by it. And I’m so desperate to ‘get my house back’ that I can’t wait to remove it all come Boxing Day.

So, this year, I decided not to go too crazy. I wanted to have that nod to the season without thinking I had to go overboard and so while I did put two trees up and decorated the mantles, otherwise, there are just a few bits here and there. The table was looking a bit plain when I was shooting so I threw together a simple table setting as well. I guess it’s my version of a more low-key look!

And even though you’ve already seen the tree in my living room, I wanted to first share the kitchen and dining room with you as well. 

Image copyright John Lewis of Hungerford

A few weeks’ ago, I had the team from John Lewis of Hungerford (who you’ll recall I worked with on my kitchen remodel) come round to take pictures of my kitchen styled for Christmas with photographer Nicola Salt. I used a few strings of fairy lights, baubles and a little window wreath to give it a festive vibe without overpowering the space. I loved the shots Nicola took and wanted to share them with you in my post today.

Image Copyright John Lewis of Hungerford

This is probably my favourite shot that Nicola took – probably because I didn’t have a lens wide enough to capture this shot when I shared the kitchen reveal. A few pink baubles and lots of strings of little lights makes it feel Christmassy without anything getting in the way of, ya know, actually using the kitchen!  The little star lights along the rail were purchased at Vinegar Hill locally here in Shrewsbury and the big star light I bought from Lights4Fun. Pretty much everything else was things I’ve had for a good few years that just get pulled out every year!

Image copyright John Lewis of Hungerford

Image copyright John Lewis of Hungerford

I also shot the dining room rather recently so I wanted to share that with you as well seeing as the two rooms open to each other. You’ll see the pink and gold theme pretty much followed on from there – in fact, that was essentially my Christmas theme through all my rooms this year! No surprise there then!

As you can see, I really didn’t make many major changes – the shelving unit doesn’t have anything particularly ‘Christmassy’ going on but I felt the table, the mantle and the tree were doing a pretty good job of making it look festive.

I usually go a little crazy with decorating the bar cart at this time of year but this time, it’s just a simple LED white tree. You can see how I decorated my bar cart last year if you’re looking for ideas for your own.

On the mantle, I used a simple faux garland, a white reindeer and glass candlesticks I’ve probably had for a decade and some glittery Christmas stockings. A little tip for styling if your stockings are looking a little sad and empty before the big day – I stuff them with tissue paper or bubble wrap from the packages I’ve had in to fill them out a little! A simple wreath and a bunch of church candles gives it all a nice glow.

I decided to use some of my faux flowers as Christmas decorations for this tree. It’s pink, after all, and slightly kitch so I figured I might as well go with it! Ha!

I also swapped out the displayed art on the Samsung TV and added in my DIY Advent Calendar (from last year) as well as a few simple decorations. 

And that’s basically it! I’ll be sharing the rest of the living room decor later in the week and then that’s me signing off until the New Year. I’d love to know if you’ve gone all out with your Christmas decorating this year or decided to keep it a little more low-key? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear from you.