A Colorblock Nutcracker Christmas Decor

This inventive colorblock and nutcracker Christmas decor was styled by Courtney Hamby of The Hamby Home. It’s her contribution to our Holiday Style Challenge series here on The Home Depot Blog.

We sent Courtney a new Christmas tree and some other holiday decorations, and challenged her to use her design talents to create a unique Christmas look.

The colorblock look of the Christmas tree is truly inspired, and we love the way incorporated the nutcracker theme throughout the holiday decor.

A Colorblock Nutcracker Christmas

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday and I was excited to have an excuse to decorate early… like before Halloween early! When these Home Depot boxes showed up, I couldn’t wait to get them open and see what I was challenged with! I’m not sure if they stalked my living room, but the colors they sent are the exact same colors we have in our living room rug!

I started with checking out the 7.5ft  pre-lit LED smart tree, and I have to say this tree is impressive and is definitely the smartest tree I’ve ever seen!

I kept looking for the plugs to connect the three pieces but there aren’t any. It is all done when each piece is clicked into the base…MIND BLOWN!

It also comes with a remote control that changes the color of the lights and the light function, which is just so fun and and user-friendly!

Since I had so many different colors I decided to separate out my two large packs of ornaments by color before starting. Then I just started hanging the ornaments in diagonal color blocks starting with the red to match the topper. For the topper, I used three red poinsettia picks and secured a nutcracker in front of them using some wire.

I really love the Christmas tree box trend and decided to make my own to compliment the colorful and nutcracker theme.

I took the shipping box that my items came in, cut it down to the right size and hot glued strips of the Martha Stewart Christmas Ribbon to cover the entire box.

I picked up several packs of beaded garland from The Home Depot and used one strand to accent my tree box. I used two other nutcrackers they sent me sitting at the front corners. This was such an easy and affordable DIY project and I just love having a unique and custom base for the tree.

When I saw this pack of small nutcracker ornaments in the store, I knew they would be great to use with the items I had already received.

They were perfect to using hanging on a strand of beaded garland on my wooden ladder. They are also great to use to accent on those cutely wrapped gifts.

With a piece of wood, some nails and beaded garland, you can create a simple DIY tree art piece by just weaving the garland back and forth around some strategically placed nails.

This project took less than ten minutes and was the perfect missing piece I needed to complete this tree area.

Christmas decor is not just about the tree,  you want to decorate the space around it also. To accent the area around the tree, I picked up this simple wreath to spruce up the mirror and this adorable Nutcracker Pillow.

Mason thinks the camera is always for him, and I think he’s the cutest decorative accessory there is, so I never mind him hogging the camera!

Thank you for stopping by our Nutcracker Christmas decor! Merry Christmas to you and your family from The Hamby’s! And a huge thanks to
The Home Depot for inviting me to participate in this year’s Style Challenge!

Browse The Home Depot’s Christmas Decorations Department for everything you need to brighten up your home for the holidays.

Follow our Holiday Style Challenge board on Pinterest for more holiday inspiration and ideas from some of the best design bloggers on the internet.

The post A Colorblock Nutcracker Christmas Decor appeared first on The Home Depot Blog.

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Classic Christmas Tree Decorations and Two Holiday DIYs

You can tell this Christmas tree was decorated by someone who just loves the holiday. It has a timeless, easy look that captures the holiday spirit perfectly.

Our Christmas fanatic is Jenn Menteer, who writes the blog My Fabuless Life. She styled the Christmas tree for our Holiday Style Challenge. We sent her some classic Christmas tree decorations and a new tree and let her do the rest.

Jenn has a couple of easy DIYs to create this classic look using a canvas drop cloth and some spray paint. Note, too, how she makes full use of a fancy tree topper, but not on the tree!

Classic Christmas Tree Decorations

The holiday season seems to go by so fast, so I like to get the decorations up early and really savor the season. So when The Home Depot asked me if I wanted to participate in this year’s Holiday Style Challenge, it was an OBVIOUS yes. I was over the moon when they told me that my challenge was to decorate a Christmas Tree—my favorite part of Christmas.

A couple of days before Halloween, I got a happy delivery of Home Depot Christmas decorations on my porch. It included a beautiful Martha Stewart Living Christmas tree, lots of shiny, sparkly ornaments, a couple of garlands, and a tree topper (my seven year old daughter’s favorite part—you’ll see why in a minute).

A Christmas Tree With a Secret

Please give me a little moment to just gush about this tree. I love that the branches look so realistic, and that it’s so full.

But can I tell you my favorite part?!!

Like literally, I had to call my sister to tell her this when I opened the tree (she shares in my Christmas crazy): there are no cords to mess with!

When you connect the poles into each other, they have connectors inside the pole that connect the lights to each other! Snap them together, and the tree is ready to go. I have a flair for the dramatic, but this was like a Christmas game-changer for me!

Anyway, I’ve had a plaid throw sitting on the back of one of my living room chairs for months that I can’t get enough of, so I knew this year, I wanted to go for a sort of classic, cozy Christmas vibe, so I gravitated toward all of the pretty red ornaments. I loved that there was such a good mix in one package, it had a very “old Christmas” look to me, which I love, and I had enough to fill the tree, add some to my garlands and fill two baskets on my end and coffee tables.

DIY Canvas Garland

I always love adding a little bit of handmade love to my Christmas trees, so in keeping with the sort of cozy, rustic vibe, I used some canvas drop cloth to make some “ribbon” for the tree. I just bought a 15 ft. drop cloth from the paint section, made a little cut (I made mine 4-inches wide) and tore the fabric into strips, then wrapped it around the tree.

Spray Paint Frosting Effect

There were some gold ornaments as well, but when I put them on the tree, they just weren’t feeling quite right. So I bought some chalked spray paint and gave them a little “frosting.” I’m going to keep this trick on file for all of my future Christmas trees, because I just love how they came out with that sort of “snow-kissed” vibe.

Ornaments can be a little hard to paint, because it’s hard to dry them without them rolling around and smudging the paint, if you can even hold them to paint in the first place. So I rigged myself up a little ornament painting apparatus.

I drilled some holes in the bottom of a box, stuck the ornaments upside down in the holes (which also protects the hanger part from the paint—no tape needed).

Once they’re set up in the box, just lightly give them a little swipe of spray paint. I started heavier at the bottom and then less as I went up to the top.

Vintage-Look Ornaments

To add a little variety, I added some silver snowflakes and icicles, some beautiful mini, vintage-style glass ornaments, and my very favorite: these ornaments that look like vintage toys. I’m so obsessed with them.

Garland for the Windows

I have huge windows that I love to put garlands around at Christmas time, so I doubled-up the garlands, and hung them on the windows. To dress them up a bit, I used some of the leftover ornaments, strung them together with twine to create a little ball, and tied them around the garland.

The Tree Topper That Didn’t Top a Tree

Finally, that fabulous projection tree topper.

When I plugged it in and my daughter saw that it projects twinkling lights onto the ceiling, and those twinkling lights constantly turn (think kaleidoscope).

I decided to do something a little more creative with it and move the magic down a little lower. So I filled a basket with more of the leftover ornaments, filled a vase with some beans to hold up the star, put the star in the vase, and put it all together.

Look closely at the image above, and you can see the light it’s projecting onto the walls and ceiling.

Thank you to The Home Depot for inviting me today to share a little bit of my holiday home with you.

Here’s to a magical holiday season!

Browse The Home Depot’s Christmas Decorations Department for everything you need to brighten up your home for the holidays.

Follow our Holiday Style Challenge board on Pinterest for more holiday inspiration and ideas from some of the best design bloggers on the internet.

The post Classic Christmas Tree Decorations and Two Holiday DIYs appeared first on The Home Depot Blog.

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DIY Craftsman Boxes for Christmas Mantel Decor

The attractive DIY craftsman boxes are a wonderful addition to this traditional Christmas mantel decor. The boxes give a more rustic look to the two small Christmas trees that frame the fireplace hearth.

The DIY and the styling are by Katie Alberter, of Little House of Four. She put this all together for our Holiday Style Challenge. We sent her a few boxes of Home Depot Christmas decorations, and she did the rest.

Read on to see how she built the craftsman-style boxes and to enjoy the cozy look she gave her fireplace mantel for Christmas.

Merry and Bright Christmas Mantel Decor

I am so excited to be working with The Home Depot for this year’s Holiday style challenge! I was assigned the task of turning my mantel into the perfect holiday display and could not wait to see what items The Home Depot was sending for me to work with.

It was like Christmas morning the day I came home from work to see a pile of boxes from The Home Depot. It was so much fun to go through everything and come up with a plan for my mantel.  Among the many items they sent were two pre lit potted porch trees that I absolutely loved. I knew right away they would look amazing sitting on my hearth inside white craftsman style boxes.

DIY Craftsman Boxes

Materials

• (3) 1 in. x 12 in. x 8 ft. boards
• (4) 1 in. x3 in. x 8 ft. boards
• Elmer’s Wood Glue
• Nailer
• Chop saw
• Caulk
• Wood putty
• Sandpaper
• Paint brush
• 4 in. foam roller 
• Semi gloss white paint (I used Behr Marquee)
• White spray paint

I started by cutting down my boards to size. I wanted the box to be large enough to fit around the pot, but not too large that the tree got lost in the box. I ended up cutting four pieces that measured 12 x 13 in.

After I had my pieces cut it was time to build the boxes.

Before nailing I applied wood glue to each piece in order to reinforce the nails. I then nailed all the sides together before finishing with the base.

Once I had the sides and bottom nailed together, I cut the 1 in. x 3 in. boards and then glued and nailed them to the front and sides of the box. (I did not do the back.)

After building both boxes I caulked all the seams and puttied all the nail holes. I let them sit overnight then sanded and covered each box in two coats of white semi gloss Behr Marquee paint.

While the boxes were drying I applied a few light coats of white spray paint to the planters to help them blend in better with the boxes. These planters came with the 4 ft. artificial Christmas trees that will be placed in the boxes.

The Rest of the Mantel Christmas Decor

The best part was moving the boxes to the hearth and setting up the trees.

I added a bit of torn flannel to the bottom of the trees and I love how it ties in the red from the Christmas ball wreath.

Flannel was also added to the cute gold deer figurines— you know, so they don’t get chilly.

A few vintage Christmas ball ornaments, greenery, a vintage window and Christmas countdown calendar finished off the mantel.

A huge thank you to The Home Depot for inviting me to participate in this year’s challenge! It was so much fun and I could not be happier with how the space turned out. Spending the evening with the mantel and hearth all lit up really puts you in the Christmas spirit.

Katie Alberter says her blog, Little House of Four, is her space to share thrifty decorating ideas, DIY projects, organizing ideas and a bit of randomness in hopes of inspiring others.

Browse The Home Depot’s Christmas Decorations Department for everything you need to brighten up your home for the holidays.

Follow our Holiday Style Challenge board on Pinterest for more holiday inspiration and ideas from some of the best design bloggers on the internet.

The post DIY Craftsman Boxes for Christmas Mantel Decor appeared first on The Home Depot Blog.

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Winter Wonderland Christmas Dining Room Decor

A winter wonderland was the inspiration for this Christmas dining room decor styled by Chloe Mackintosh of Boxwood Avenue.

It’s her contribution to our annual Holiday Style Challenge series here on The Home Depot Blog. We sent her some Home Depot Christmas decorations and challenged Chloe to create a holiday look that she could share with the world.

Take a look at Chloe’s Christmas dining room decor to inspire your own holiday trimmings.

White Winter Wonderland Dining Room Decor

This is the second Christmas we will spend in our home, and this year I really want to create a white, winter dining room decor that incorporated lots of greenery and nature.

I used a bit of silk ribbon to hang the Home Depot artificial wreath I received from my ceiling, using a simple hook screwed into the ceiling to hold it. I foraged a few pine trees for pinecones and real pine needle cuttings, which I added to the wreath. This gave it a variation of texture and added the feeling of a real wreath. The different colors of the real and the faux really popped, and I think I will continue to do this for years to come!

I also added old mercury glass ornaments to the hanging wreath, which glistened above the candlelight.

Sticking with the white Christmas theme, I used vintage French linen napkins and a tablecloth along with a set of white china and silver cutlery I inherited from my husband’s grandmother. Rather than reaching for napkin rings, I simply cut a strand of silk ribbon and loosely tied the flatware sets together.

I love using our piano as a display area; I often switch the decor around according to the season. When I saw the Martha Stewart Living Lanterns, I knew I wanted to create the feeling of a village on the piano. I placed two brass deer – which were actually the toppers of my wedding cake and have a very special meaning to me – atop the piano. I then added more pinecones, foraged pine cuttings, and heaps of candles.

The two wooden sled table ornaments completed the look with wishes of Christmas cheer.

The candles combined with the string lights and Home Depot pre-lit garland adds so much warmth to the room. I used  second strand of garland to adorn the tops of the large frames that sit above the piano. Small nails hold the garland in place, and allow it to drape down the sides of the photographs. Using garland as a frame was something I hadn’t done before, but it really highlights the tiny village below it.

Our dining room was easily transformed into a white winter wonderland for very little money. Using vintage pieces combined with classic Home Depot holiday decor made for a simple and elegant space. Although it was my first time hanging a wreath over our table, I love the way it turned out, and I just might have to make a tradition of it. For more holiday decorating and easy DIY gift ideas, be sure to visit me at Boxwood Avenue.

Chloe Mackintosh lives on a 160,000 acre cattle ranch in northern California with her husband and cows, sheep, chickens, kittens, horses, and one adorable dog. Read her ideas for DIY, decorating and entertaining on her blog, Boxwood Avenue.

Browse The Home Depot’s Christmas Decorations Department for everything you need to brighten up your home for the holidays.

Follow our Holiday Style Challenge board on Pinterest for more holiday inspiration and ideas from some of the best design bloggers on the internet.

The post Winter Wonderland Christmas Dining Room Decor appeared first on The Home Depot Blog.

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