Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Wanna See My House?! AKA, Annual Christmas Tour of 2015

It's finally time to show you guys all my holiday decorating efforts throughout the house! Starting with one of my favorite shots, which of course is of the new steampunk room:
 
Mmmm, glowy.

That's getting ahead of myself, though. Let's back up to the first room you see coming in:

There's the Harry Potter tree again!

The view from the front door:

  If this is your first look around our place, you'll notice we have a bit of a steampunk vibe throughout, not just in the back room. I like the dramatic, vintage vibe - and of course big pictures of fantasy airships never hurt.

This is a little 1960s ranch style house, but the open floor plan makes it seem bigger, which is nice.

 
The gear table between the sofas.


And the apothecary cabinet in the dining room.
(You can click any pic to embiggen - at which point you'll notice these pics are before and after I de-cluttered the cabinet top. :D)

Looking back into the steampunk room:
 

 Directly to the left is this buffet cabinet:
Almost the same as last year; just a little less cluttered.


I'm having a terrible time finding cheap greenery garland that doesn't *look* cheap. Even with coupons, all the craft store options this year were way too expensive, so I made do with what I had. Maybe there will be some after Christmas sales?

Ok, now on to the BEST part:

 I really love this room, you guys.

I hope saying that doesn't make me sound like a braggy jerk. It's just we worked so hard on everything in here, and it's so warm and lovely at night, and I kind of never ever want to leave it.

A closer look at various tchotckes:


I used a mix of things already in the room along with a few Christmas angels, a star topper, and some spriggies.  

Never underestimate the power of a few decorative ornament spriggies; they're perfect for tucking onto shelves, into displays, etc., and make it look like you decorated the whole room.

The cabinet over the TV:

Again, mostly the same stuff; I swapped in the reindeer & wooden carousel on the left, then added a few spriggies and some berry garland on top.

 
That's my favorite pillow over on the couch. Orange & teal with a vintage octopus? YES PLEASE.

The airship corner:

 
That's an owl under the dome; hard to photograph it without a glare!



Back by the room's entrance, we replaced Claptrap with the crank table that usually sits where the tree is now.


Don't worry; Claptrap will be back after the New Year.


I'll leave you with two warm night time shots:


And now with the circle shelf lights on:


There's still more, of course, but I think I've covered the most noteworthy bits, and I am BEAT after taking & editing all these. I hope you guys enjoyed!

67 comments:

  1. Your house looks lovely! You're not a braggy jerk. Your steampunk room is AWESOME!

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  2. You're not being braggy! I wouldn't want to leave either. BTW, hey Lily!

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  3. What is your kitchen back-splash? I love it!

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    1. I think they have an IKEA kitchen? Or was that just the crack house?

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    2. All the cabinets & shelving are from Ikea, but the back splash/walls are painted to look like a tile we loved but couldn't afford. :) Sometimes our former lives as faux finishers comes in handy!

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  4. I've looked forward to this tour, and I'm loving it!
    Today we're taking a live tour of Hearst Castle; I wonder which I'll like most!

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  5. Gorgeous, Jen & John! Thank you so much for sharing your amazing Christmas decor and beautiful photography with us! Your posts always make my wonderful hubby and I smile! So nice to know that there are other geeky couples out there! Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

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  6. Looks lovely. I'm not sure if you've got Big Lots in Florida but I got some very realistic greenery there for $6. I used it on my banister.

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    1. We do, and I'll have to check there! Thanks!

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  7. Lovely! Where did you get the octopus pillow? I must have one!

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    1. That was a lucky find from Home Goods.

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    2. I bought the pillowcase for my sister as a Christmas present after seeing the Instagram post. I found it HERE

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  8. i love that you are happy with your creations and not just forcing yourself to make things because you think people want to see certain things. you should be thrilled with your home! thank you for sharing it with us.

    p.s. the red furniture makes lust...

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  9. Man, I love your house! It's so full of character and fun stuff to look at.

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  10. Not bragging at all! I love your house tours, especially at Christmas time! And you helped me get thru the last 20 excruciating minutes of work today!

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  11. This is so beautiful. Even if you aren't into steampunk or don't know anything about it, it still looks so awesome!!

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  12. Your house is amazing! Thanks for sharing it. :)

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  13. you're house is gorgeous and I love the Christmas tour. Now to convince my husband we need circle shelves like those in the steampunk room. They are so neat!

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  14. SO lovely! Your home looks so warm and inviting decorated for the holidays, and the steampunk room is especially mesmerizing. It's obvious how much care and attention you've put into every little detail. I know it was a labor of love, and it has really turned out so incredibly well. It makes me happy to know how much you enjoy that room now, and we really enjoyed reading about the progress every step along the way. Thanks for sharing so much with us!

    If I was ever there, I would probably just stand around admiring each object from every possible angle like I was in a museum and then asking you to tell me the story behind the items. Well, except for the stuff you've already told us about on here. For those things, I could tell YOU the whole backstory, and you'd be all creeped out, heh!

    I bet you forget everything you've told us. It must be weird knowing a total stranger could come into your home and go, "Oh, yeah! This is the ___ you got from ___ on sale for ___ and then did ___ and ___ to it and made it look awesome!" Or "WOW! It's the ___ inspired by the ___ you saw on ___ and then made your own out of ___, ___, and ___ in under two minutes, with no previous experience working with ___, and for a tenth of the price."

    I fully believe you guys could build your own full-scale airship out of toothpaste, twigs, and cat hair and fly it around the world! You're just that amazing!

    So glad you made it to Star Wars today!

    KW

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Ha! You know, we've made so many friends through Epbot that I frequently start to tell someone IRL about a project only to hear, "Oh, you mean the thing you just posted online?" Or, yes, I've met new people who ask about my bedroom makeover or my cats. I think it's awesome, though; so far [knock on wood] no one's ever made it creepy. ;)

      And K, since I know you're local, I may start hounding you for a meetup next year. Consider yourself warned!

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  15. I am so in love with your house. It looks warm and inviting and totally YOU! I wish I could finish some of my projects! My house looks like a badly organized estate sale/craft shop right now.

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  16. It's a Cat Table!

    Also, I ask this honestly... how do you keep all the little decorative things on the shelf dusted and clean? I can't even keep my normal book shelf clean and the little figurines are a lost cause here.

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    1. I give everything an occasional whack with the Swiffer duster, but tbh, dust isn't a huge issue for the 6 weeks or so all this is set up. I wonder if it's because we have so many fans going all the time... never lets it settle. :D

      Now CAT HAIR, on the other hand.... OY. I have to vacuum every other day with these hard floors! It's a good thing our girls are cute...

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    2. I'm contemplating a Roomba for that reason. With three cats, and now we have a puppy too, things get pretty hairy around here. ;)

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    3. Thank you Jen.... I think I need to look into better air circulation.

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    4. if you get a roomba make sure you get it from http://www.hammacher.com/ -- it costs a little more but there's a lifetime warranty and they do tend to break down eventually. if you order from there and it breaks, you ship it back and they send you a new one for free :-)

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    5. Now I'm thinking you'll have to get a Roomba, then steampunk it out, of course. ;-)

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  17. Question! What is the feathery thing next to the owl-in-the-bell-jar?

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    1. That's one of those decorative cone Christmas trees, covered in green feathers. I didn't make it; just had it for ages. Probably time to retire it, huh?

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    2. I see it now, thanks! I figured out that it was a decorative christmas cone, just couldn't for the life of me figure out what was covering it.

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  18. Oh Jen, it looks gorgeous! Amazing work, seriously. Love it.
    Also thank you both so much for the hand-signed card with pretty Lily on it. :D It really made my day!

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  19. Your home is so cozy and wonderful! I love seeing little snip-its of it coming together and then big picture shots. As a real estate tog I totally get the snaps and then edits!

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  20. Thank you for inviting us into your home. Imagine a plate of cookies here for my lovely hosts. I was going to ask about the backsplash too, but I see you answered that above. Have you ever detailed how that happened? I don't remember that.

    Merry Christmas Jen and John, from Jen, Ray, and Noelle!

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    1. We painted the faux tiles back before Epbot existed, so no, I don't think I've ever posted process pics. I'll have to see if I even have some! If not, just imagine lots and lots of blue tape outlining the various rectangles. ;)

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  21. I have to say that the airship hanging in the steampunk room already looks like it's decorated for Christmas with the green arches and red below that. :)

    Everything looks beautiful!!

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  22. OMG!!! Okay, the last shot with the blue glow from the shelves... Sorry for the totally dumb question, but did you all add those lights yourselves and if so is there a tutorial?! My inner crafting self seriously needs some fun glowy things in her life!

    And a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to yourself and John! Your house is so beautiful! And because my replies here and there are all over the place, yes! Let's get dinner sometime!

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    1. Jen and john made those. There's a whole post about them.

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    2. Hey Kellee! Yes, John built the shelves from scratch and we added the lights; they're cheap color-changing LED strips that came with a remote. You can see them in action here.

      I'm gonna hold you to that dinner date! ;) Merry Christmas!

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  23. Your home is beautiful! You two have put in so much time and effort and it really shows!

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  24. I hope you didn't answer this somewhere already but where did you get that beautiful airship wall art? That is so really cool.

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    1. We found that at Renninger's, a local antique & junk mart. It was made in the 70s, but apparently they're really rare, since we've only ever seen one other listed online! I have a clearer face-on photo of it at the bottom of this post.

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  25. I applaud how much work and love and care you put into your home. It's so kick-ass! Merry Christmas to you both (and the little furry ones, too). = ) ~ Jamie

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  26. This blog post has a great idea for making cheap-looking garland look fabulous with free supplies. An idea to tuck away for next year.

    And your house looks amazing!! You have every right to be proud of and enjoy that steampunk room. I wish I could live in it!

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  27. Your house always looks so warm and cozy! This is true now with the fancy Christmas photo shoot, but also true when we get glimpses in your crafting photos - it just looks so inviting, like anyone would be welcome to flop down somewhere with cider or tea. Thank you for sharing it with us, and happy holidays to you, John, and the kitties.

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  28. So beautiful - thank you for sharing with us! Merry Christmas!

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  29. I'm sure you do some cleanup prior to pictures, but I'm always struck with how well you store things. Based on your blog, I can only assume you have a lot of stuff, but your house never looks cluttered-it just looks cozy!

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    1. Aw, thanks! We maximize storage EVERYWHERE, since we've only got 1400 square feet to work with. Even the radio cabinet in the dining room is chock full of craft materials. Of course, I also do a *ton* of cleanup for these pics; which is one of the reasons I only show the house off once a year!

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  30. I'm so nosy and love home decorating (and steampunk) that this just made my day!! And it's not braggy to say "I made this and I love it!" - I do it all the time! *g* I'd much rather hear honest pride in something someone has made than a humble bragger's "what, this old thing? Oh, I dunno....you think?"

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  31. Your house looks beautiful Jen. My big question is how do you keep the cats from destroying your tree? We have 2 kittens (so much energy!!) and they destroy the tree at every chance they get. Got tips?

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    1. Hmm, well, you can make sure they have plenty of alternatives to play with, of course, & remove irresistable temptations like low-hanging ornaments or stringy bits. Other than that, though, I think it's mostly being home a lot to "train" the cats while they're still young (one serious advantage we have as work-at-homers) and waiting out that kitten energy!

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  32. I never get tired of your house tours! This is such a fun blog. Merry Christmas!
    -Zippy

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  33. I love your flair for decorating, and all the hard work you've put into the place! If you have time to answer, what's the picture above your buffet? It caught my eye - it's BEAUTIFUL. The one of the girl in profile with the veil.

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    1. That's a print titled "Isabella" by James Christensen. Google him if you're not familiar with his work; it's great stuff!

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  34. Your house is lovely and the decorations make it doubly so. I love the windup crate that the tree is in. Have you done a post on that? I would love to see some up close picts of the airship tree topper. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. LOL! My bad. I had't visited in a bit and just now back tracked and found the post about the tree.

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  35. I love your house! I'm looking forward to when my kids are not toddlers and I can put out all kinds of tchotckes and holiday decorations in reachable spaces.

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  36. Adore this. I can not decorate for Christmas anymore, I have a satan cat that wont allow it lol. But I love this. I would love to know where you got the airship.

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  37. I love, LOVE your beautiful home! It is warm, cozy and perfectly filled with beautiful, interesting things. Thank you for once again opening up your home and your life and sharing it with us all! Also, I have been an avid Epbot and CakeWrecks reader for years and have loved starting to let my inner geek out .. and I just needed to share that I *finally* started watching Star Wars! I don't know what took me so long! I started with Episode IV today and I need to share this achievement with you since you have been instrumental in introducing me to the franchise! Thank you again and have a Happy New Year! =)

    -Jo

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  38. I want to live in your house...

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  39. Loverly house I must say! The vintage radio.....year? make? does it work? My Pop gave me a 1935 Atwater Kent in a tall cabinet, not unlike yours.... my grandfather actually got it working when I was a youngin...."all those tubes and wires"..... love the old cabinets/radios. Happy New Year!!

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    1. Our is a 1931 RCA Radiola, but we bought it with the guts removed, so we installed our own speaker and iPhone hook up on the side. I posted progress pics it ages ago here, if you want to see!

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  40. I love your steampunk room so much! But can I ask why you didn't go with a steampunky ceiling fan? You can get some gorgeous ones that aren't too expensive, eg. https://www.lightingillusions.com.au/shop/ceiling-fans/antique-brass-majestic-coolah-ceiling-fan-837-492?gclid=Cj0KEQiAiNi0BRDaobaq3dKJhrwBEiQAyVThzSv_Qk7rEEUKvroP1Yn-VGZeEYPlNBshm6AcBbO9tiMaAlD-8P8HAQ this one is Australian but I'm sure the US has them too

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    1. We considered going with something more decorative, but a dark bronze & wood fan would only call attention to the low ceiling, and make it feel even lower. Our white hugger model is as unobtrusive as we could find, and (hopefully) blends into the ceiling, keeping the focus on the focal wall. I may change my mind someday, though, since they *are* coming out with better steampunk options every year!

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