My home this Christmas

On Sunday we threw a somewhat impromptu Christmas drinks and sweet treats party for some of our closest friends.

I always love to welcome friends in at this time of year not just to get into the Christmas spirit and have a bit of a knees up but because I absolutley love an excuse to try new baking recipes!

So last week we had a cosy afternoon at our house, listening to Christmas songs, drinking eggnog and mulled wine and nibbling on yummy sweet delights.

Sometimes in life we are lucky enough to meet special people that we form instinctively natural and deep friendships with. One of these truly fab people is my friend Sarah. We knew each other at University of Bath, but only really got to know one another once we both moved back to Devon around the time we had our daughters. She and I met up again and just clicked. We have such a giggle together and we also inspire each other professionally. In fact it was Sarah that encouraged me to set up Home Restyler in the first place. I am ever so grateful to her for many things... and today I would like to thank her for the wonderful photos she took of my home on Sunday. I hope you enjoy looking through them and feel inspired by my Christmas decorations this year!

Festive brownies, Schoko Husarenkrapfen, mini gingerbreadmen & banana honey wedges

'Heisse Oma' or Eggnog, sprinkled with vanilla sugar & nutmeg

Gingerbread & marzipan muffins, hazelnut chocolate nibbles & cinnamon stars

Fun, bright decorations in the playroom

The house is filled with mostly red, white & silver but I loved adding a bit of vivid, funky colour to the playroom!

I'm pretty much signing off work for Christmas now, but am looking forward to starting off again in the new year with lots of fresh ideas and inspiration to help make our homes more beautiful places to live in.

Merry Christmas to you x

www.homerestyler.co.uk

Photos by Sarah Lauren Photography

Decorate for next to nothing this Christmas

How are you getting on with decorating the house this Christmas? Are you organised or are you somewhat lost for time, ideas or money to create the right look? If you’re still stuck, look no further; here are three quick and easy to make creative ideas to help you decorate your home for next to nothing.

Sweet Paul's beautiful natural Christmas driftwood decorations

1. Winter wonderland display for your sideboard or dresser

You will need: a white table runner or 3-5 silver place mats or mirrored plates (depending on length of sideboard), twigs/branches (various sizes), pine cones, white paint, silver (glitter) spray, a mixture of 3-5 clear glass/white/silver vases, tealight candles and holders, silver baubles, glass nuggets, glitter and a string of fairy lights.

Simple decorations often have the most impact

How to make: roughly paint your twigs/branches and pine cones with white paint and when dry spray with silver (glitter) spray. Place the runner, mats or plates along the sideboard, space out the vases along the runner or on each mat/plate, stand the twigs/branches in the vases and position the candles in between the vases. Carefully weave the fairy lights along the dresser, in and around each vase and candleholder, then place pine cones, glass nuggets, baubles and glitter all along the surface. Wait until it is dark, light the candles, turn on the fairy lights and see your winter wonderland twinkle and shimmer!

 

2. Festive bunting to hang across your windows

You will need: decorative string, tape or ribbon cut to a length to fit where you plan to hang your bunting, pretty wrapping paper cut into stars, heart, star or tree shapes (make sure you cut enough to double up each shape) and PVA glue.

I love this bunting by Hung Up On Retro

Take inspiration from The Green Gables bunting

How to make: place your first shape underneath the middle of the string with the design side of the paper facing down, spread glue over the shape and string, place another same sized shape exactly on top with the design side of the paper facing you and press down firmly.  Repeat this process along the string in 10-15cm intervals until you have a full string of bunting. Voila!

3. Parcel pictures to hang on your walls

You will need: empty picture frames (any shape or size), plain wrapping paper, pretty ribbon, felt shapes and/or stickers (snowflakes, hearts or anything festive) and sticky tape.

All the bits you  need to make

The finished article...shame it's not one to open ;)

How to make: remove the back panel from the frame, wrap the back panel in wrapping paper (so that when you put the panel back on you see the wrapping paper through the glass), then lay on lengths of ribbon across the paper to give the effect of it being tied in ribbon. Stick the ends of the ribbon with tape on the rear side, then embellish with felt shapes and or stickers. Place the panel back on the frame and you will have a ‘picture’ of a wrapped Christmas present to hang on the wall!

I hope you're having fun decorating this Christmas...only 6 sleeps to go!

www.homerestyler.co.uk

Welcome one and all

I love it, not a day goes by at this time of year, when there isn't an excuse to eat or drink something totally scrummy without any real guilt! Be it mulled wine, a cheeky wedge of Tunis cake, a load of canapes and some fizz...Christmas is all about getting together with friends and family and enjoying time in each others' company.

So, today, I thought I'd write about welcoming guests into your home. By now most of us have got our decorations up but there are a few more things that we can do around the home to make it even more Christmassy and welcoming to whosoever might pop by, announced or not.

A warm winter welcome

Ideas to help you create a warm welcome

Festive front door

Deck the halls - decorate your entranceway with lanterns to shed light on the front door, creating a twinkling first impression. Add a wreath to the door, create a display using foliage, ivy and even pretend gifts and place a festive mat for your guests to step across when welcoming them in.

Funky, bright Pom Pom wreath The Crafty Minx

 Love, love, love this wreath by The Crafty Minx, not for the faint-hearted but certainly different!

Modern festive hallway

Make a statement - whatever your interior design style, create impact via an interesting hallway display. Use a console table as a base to decorate and use anything from decanters of whisky and port to...

Contemporary vintage style entrance

...faux garlands and fun hanging-egg shaped fir advent calendar.

Make space - even with just a few guests in your home, space soon starts to become more limited, so before they arrive, clear away the clutter and make lots of surface space available for guests to place glasses and plates on. Use trays, tablecloths and pretty napkins to cover surfaces (the risk of spillage always increases after a few drinks!)

IKEA Barbar snowflake tray

I love and have bought a few of these Barbar trays to dot about this Christmas. At 33cm square it is perfect for serving drinks on, putting nibbles out on or, as in my case, using as a tabletop on a stool.

Preedy silver leaf drinks trolley

Harking back to a gone-by era where having a rather well stocked drinks trolley was 'de rigeur' made me lust after this gorgeous one from Sweetpea & Willow. Made from solid mahogany and coated with a stunning silver leaf finish, what better excuse for cracking open a bottle of something fizzy (oh I love bubbles!), creamy (mmm Baileys on crushed ice please, a must at Christmas) or strong (Sloe Gin for me, ok not exactly strong but strong enough!).

Twinkle, shine and shimmer - not just you as host but the room(s) that you are entertaining in. Lighting is key to setting the scene so be sure to have intimate mood lighting by having plenty candles lit, fairy lights twinkling and table lamps glowing.

Silver, white & some of favourite scents

These are just the ticket. Perfect to create a festive aroma and spot on for a modern but beautiful decorative style, these candles are just so sweet.

Perfect for Christmas but also great all year round

These dot dot fairy lights are adorable and because they are pom pom shaped they're not just for Christmas. Also, the are battery operated, which means you can hang them wherever you choose...no more searching for yet another cable extension!


Ok, so party anyone?!

www.homerestyler.co.uk

Easy to make festive decorations

I've been having great fun decorating today!
The most important thing, aside from having all the right 'ingredients' for making beautiful displays, is having the time to make them. I've done the hard work and sourced lots of things and spent time making...so now all you have to do is take a look, see if you like any of them and just copy them for your own homes.
Have fun creating and why not share your decorative displays with Home Restyler and we can feature them on the blog.

Parcel pictures to hang on your walls

You will need: empty picture frames (any shape or size), plain wrapping paper, pretty ribbon, felt shapes and/or stickers (snowflakes, hearts or anything festive) and sticky tape.

How to make: remove the back panel from the frame, wrap the back panel in wrapping paper (so that when you put the panel back on you see the wrapping paper through the glass), then lay on lengths of ribbon across the paper to give the effect of it being tied in ribbon. Stick the ends of the ribbon with tape on the rear side, then embellish with felt shapes and or stickers. Place the panel back on the frame and you will have a ‘picture’ of a wrapped Christmas present to hang on the wall!

Silver & white floral display

You will need: table-top florist stand, round florist oasis, various foliage and berries, large church candle, silver garland and silver decoration

How to make: soak the oasis overnight, once soaked stick the garland around the outisde egde of the oasis then evenly insert foliage into the oasis, stick in decorations, place the oasis on the stand, place the candle in the middle and light.

A welcoming entrance for your guests

I hope you like Home restyler's creations...have fun making your own!

www.homerestyler.co.uk

A magical fairytale in Bavaria

I have just come back from an incredibly magical five days spent up in the mountains of the Bavarian forest in Germany. Everything about my stay was beautiful, magical and so wonderfully festive. There is so much I would like to share with you, from the unique archtitecture, the stunning landscape and the amazing attention to detail given to interior decorating to the delicious foodie treats and of course, the Christmas markets. So take a few minutes and transport yourself to the wonder that is fairytale Bavaria!

Architecture & Landscape

Visitor Centre, Regensburg

Historical Sausage Kitchen, Regensburg

Wandering the streets

See the Cathedral in the distance?

Rolling hills,nr Waldkirchen

Passau the 'City of Three Rivers'

Tablescapes & pretty things for the home

Gold & sparkly

White winter wonderland

Rustic red & white country charm

Old fashioned Christmas style

Simple, natural, rustic charm

One to snuggle up on!

So many beautiful jewel-like glass decorations & candles

Food glorious food!

Poppy seed cake, Kirsch streusel & Linzer biscuit

Anna's warming drinks, it was soo cold outside!

Anna loves bread!

Anna Brot cafe

So many sweet treats to choose from

...and even more!

Beautiful cafe where everything is based around chocolate - heaven!

Prinx Regent slice, Poppy seed pastry & cinnamon stars - divine!

Christmas Markets

So many pretty Christmas decorations

Toadstools are a big trend for a German Christmas this year

Gluehwein is a must... I had quite a few..!

Hanging decorations - so simple to make and so effective

When St Niklaus came to town :) The old traditions are the best

I hope you have enjoyed looking through these photos and can understand what I mean when I say how fairytale like it is in Bavaria. The air was filled with the aroma of cinnamon, star anise and cloves and the mood was filled with Christmas cheer...and on the last day...

the icing on the cake

...it snowed. Perfect!

www.homerestyler.co.uk