Airstream Living

christmas decor

Grapevine Wreath Chandelier

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This DIY grapevine wreath chandelier is easy to do and makes an enchanting Christmas decoration. I did this project a few years ago and I wanted to share it with you here. I know you’ll love it because my grapevine wreath chandelier is a top performer for me on Pinterest from when I posted it on my old blog and it has even been featured on Shutterfly.

front porch at Christmas

This project is easy to do and you can electrify it without any wiring. Plus, If you ever wondered what my previous house looked like, this was my front porch.

This post includes some affiliate links. If you click on these and make a purchase, I earn an itsy bitsy commission but it doesn’t cost you any extra.

Supplies

Tools

Decorate the Wreath

Decorate your grapevine wreath before you hang it. I used a combination of artificial greenery, fresh boxwood, and industrial-looking cage string lights. I attached everything with my favorite floral wire. It is durable and I like how the paddle is small so I can wrap it around and easily weave it in and out through the grapevines. 

grapevine wreath chandelier

Add Hanging Chains

Using a chain to hang your grapevine wreath chandelier is going to allow you to weave the end of the light cord through it to go up to your electric source. You will need two sets of pliers to bend, pull apart, then re-bend your chain back in place.

grapevine wreath chandelier

Hanging the Chandelier

Your front porch light may be a different kind of fixture than mine. So at this point, you are going to have to tweak this step to fit your situation. I had a can light and this is how I hung my chandelier.

  • Pull down the can light to reveal the wood framing underneath. Most can lighting is hung with little “v” shaped springs that allow you to pull it down without completely removing it.
  • Insert small screw hooks into the framing evenly spaced apart, being careful to avoid any electrical wiring.
  • Place the chain over the hooks. Push the can light casing back up as far as it will go. You’ll notice that it will not close completely due to the chain. I made this look better by tucking a little artificial greenery around the gap.

grapevine wreath chandelier

Connecting to the Electric

If your electric source is trickier than mine, you may want to enlist the help of an electrician. I removed the light bulb and simply twisted in a light socket adapter.  I plugged in my light strand and I was finished.

I love to connect. Comment below and let me know which quick fall decor home idea you are going to try. Snap a picture of it and tag me, @urbancottageliving on Instagram.

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grapevine wreath chandelier

 

DIY Stocking Holder

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No fireplace mantel? No problem. One of the wish list items for my new house was a fireplace. I like to seasonally decorate the mantel, use it as a candle ledge, and feel the warmth of a roaring fire on a raining day. But most of all, I love to hang the Christmas stockings on it.

My new living room is small and it doesn’t have a fireplace. Where in the heck am I suppose to hang the Christmas stockings? I like to hang stockings for each one of my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren. Plus, the three kitties share a stocking. So that is 11 stockings!

My solution was a temporary stocking holder. It is basically a coat rack, but it will only stay on the wall during the Christmas season.  After the holidays are over, it will be tucked away for safekeeping until the day after Thanksgiving next year.

Here is how you can make your own DIY stocking holder.

My new living room is small and it doesn’t have a fireplace. Where in the heck am I suppose to hang the Christmas stockings? I like to hang stockings for each one of my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren. Plus, the three kitties share a stocking. So that is 11 stockings!

My solution was a temporary stocking holder. It is basically a coat rack, but it will only stay on the wall during the Christmas season.  After the holidays are over, it will be tucked away for safekeeping until the day after Thanksgiving next year.

Here is how you can make your own DIY stocking holder.

Supplies

  • 6 feet of molding – I chose kind of an ornate piece so it (sort of) looks like a mantel
  • 12 coat hooks
  • 3 picture frame hooks
  • paint
  • paint brush
  • hammer
  • screwdriver or drill

Paint the Molding

I used my interior trim color. I always have a bucket handy for touch-ups. My trim color is Sherwin Williams Snowbound in semi-gloss. Allow drying then nail three picture frame hooks to the back of your board for hanging on the wall. Mount two toward each end and one in the middle.

Add the Hooks

Depending on how many hooks you want, do a little math and figure out how far apart you need them to be. For 12 hooks on a 6-foot board, your measurement will be to space them apart every 5 1/2 inches.

Mount to the Wall

Using a measuring tape and level, mark with a pencil where your mounting nails will need to go. Hammer in your nails and mount to the wall.

After Christmas

But what about the holes left in the wall from the nails used to hang the stocking holder after Christmas? Since I am not keeping my stocking holder up year around, my plan is for the holes left is pretty simple. I will fill the holes each year with a little bit of spackling and brush with a little bit of my wall touch-up paint.

What do you think of my no mantel stocking holder? Have you had to come up with a creative solution to hang stockings without a fireplace?

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Christmas Home Tour 2016

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Welcome to my little urban cottage. I am excited but a little nervous to show you the inside for the first time! I haven’t done much fixing up to the inside of the house since we purchased it in April and I feel it isn’t even near ready to show off to the world.

Most of the actual house does not reflect my design or the esthetic I’m dreaming of. Can you spy the FIVE different styles of window trim in the following pictures? The horror. However, my mission is to encourage you to live a big life in a small house not to live a big life in a perfect house.

Come on in and let me show you around.

I was pretty tickled when I found this little welcome mat. The security screen barely clears the front porch so I had to find a mat that was really thin. Plus, I love the scotch plaid!

Even though not much work has been done on the inside, we worked tirelessly last summer painting the exterior. The security door used to be a rusted white. And, not the cute kind of rusted white.

The sled belonged to John’s grandpa. We’ve had it for over 29 years now. Even though it is cracked at the top, it can still go lightening fast when waxed! The ice skates I brought with me from Michigan as well as the antlers found in the wreath.

The first thing you see when you walk in is, what I like to refer to as, the great room. To the left is the living room and to the right is the kitchen. There is this little half-wall separating the two rooms. This wall was pretty much the only place I could hang our stockings. Here is how I made the stocking holder in case you missed it.

Isn’t the original 1930’s arch adorable?! I already put the leaf in the kitchen table because my three grandkids are coming on Christmas for a week! Most of the time, the table is round.

If you peek closely under the table, you can see a picnic bench. The bench allows me to scoot the table all the way up against the wall when we aren’t eating but then gives us plenty of seating when it is dinner time. This is a perfect solution to feed a lot of people in a small kitchen.

Did you catch it? You aren’t going to find it in many of my pictures of it because to me, it is really ugly–my blue sink!

Inside the nook to the right is our hot cocoa bar. The teenage little loves her hot cocoa! I put everything on this three-tiered stand which is a great solution when you are short on space.

t is not just a hot cocoa bar.

This is sitting in the window box over my kitchen sink.

Each Christmas, the teenage little and I decide on a decor for the season. This year she is obsessed with everything copper. So we agreed on a copper and plaid theme.

We found this nativity set at the local thrift store and spray painted it copper. Personally, I think it is a little creepy and I have already planned to paint it all white next year. But, the little really wanted it copper and so it is.

To get perspective, the front door is to the left, just behind the wall you see.

Part of storage in a small house is the need to store things out in the open. Aside from the red towel, this is pretty much what the stovetop looks like year around.

This is the view from the kitchen stove. Pillow covers are my friend for easily switching themes throughout the seasons. They fold up tiny and are much easier to store than an entire pillow. I made the red and white striped pillow cover out of two Ikea rugs. A successful Pinterest project I must say.

Dressers don’t need to be reserved for the bedroom. This was the very first piece of furniture John and I purchased when we got married. We crackle painted it in the 1980’s and the finish has partly peeled off. For 11 years it was used for craft storage in the basement of the big house. It needs a good overhaul but for now, it is much-needed storage and a place to set my coffee cup.

A pair of these trees were also spray painted copper and you can catch a glimpse of the copper tray under the candles. I simply added ribbon around the wooden box for a pop of red.

The Crosley Cruiser turntable is new this year. The teenage little has been having fun hunting for old Christmas vinyl. It has been so fun to listening as we wrap our gifts!

The armoire houses the television, a collection of DVDs we could not get rid of when we downsized, and (right now) large entertaining dishes.

This vintage Santa was made for me when I was a little girl by my grandma. It is actually stuffed with old pantyhose! Repurpose, reuse, and recycle was a necessity back in those days. I strive to follow in grandma’s footsteps. Santa is such a treasured piece to me.

Do you think my plaid suitcase was a lucky find? Not really, it’s one I have had for years that I covered with wrapping paper and washi tape. It turned out so cute, I think it may stay plaid well after the Christmas decorations come down.

Here is a view of the entire room and the Christmas tree with the afternoon sun beaming through the windows.

I have been completely obsessed with all of the plaid wrapping paper options!

Just past the living room through a cute arch is the hallway. This serves as the central storage area. Opposite the bookshelf is a built-in of three large drawers.

I use the bookshelf to store all kinds of things I need often. It also became a great place to display John’s nutcracker collection that the teenage little has been building for him. Every year she buys him a new nutcracker.

More plaid wrapping paper as book covers. I love how that added just the right amount of Christmas color to the bookshelf. I spy a Mother Earth News. Can you find it? That was my Christmas gift from my son and daughter-in-law last year. I hide my magazines and seed catalogs in the little wooden filing boxes that I made.

When you walk into the house, straight down your site path is the one and only bathroom. I knew I wanted a plaid shower curtain and found this one online from the Nina Campell Home collection at Steinmart. I’m pretty sure I got the last one of only two left in early November. I can’t find anymore–lucky me!

The bathroom is the first room of the house I’ve worked on. It has a fresh coat of paint on the vanity and on the walls. It used to be yellow like the rest of my house.

If you look close enough, you can see we are beefing up the trim around the medicine cabinet and it is still not painted. I’m also going to trim out the little window over the shower. I look forward to giving you a bathroom reveal post soon.

I designed this shelf and John built it for me. You can see in the previous picture, it stores all of our towels on top. I found these hooks at World Market and didn’t even need to paint them. I think they fit the feel of my cottage bathroom perfectly.

I found this antique mirror at the Habitat for Humanity Restore. I added the little shelf on the bottom and I love how it looks all adorned for Christmas. It adds the perfect amount of cheer in the bathroom.

In the hallway the door to the right leads to the teenage little’s room. The center door leads to the bathroom and the left door to my room. I found this little ottoman at the thrift store for $2.50! I had barely enough fabric leftover from the living room ottoman to cover it.

It is a perfect catch-all for winter flannels and I bring it out into the living room whenever I need extra seating.

The plaid coverlet on the bed is my latest bargain hunting find. Never leave Ikea without going through the as-is department. This was labeled “display” and I scored it for only $8.00. It adds the perfect amount of cozy to the room.

There is redwood shiplap on this wall. I’m so anxious to start ripping off the drywall to expose it! In the meantime, I’m using this old window frame as a makeshift headboard. I salvaged it out of a client’s burn pile decades ago. It has followed me around to four different states

I hope you enjoyed my Christmas home tour for this2016. I look forward to sharing many projects, room reveals, and my small house living journaling with you in 2017.

If you liked anything in my Christmas tour or have any questions, I would love to hear from you in the comments.