How To Decorate With Simple, Rustic Christmas Decorations Inside Your Log Home
I know, Christmas is over. But this is how I do things...
I see things that other people have done, and I collect ideas that I want to try. Then, by the time next Christmas rolls around, I know exactly how I want to pull it off.
Such is the case with my decorating plans for Christmas in our new log home. (...Hopefully next year at this time we'll be all moved in! Right?)
I finally have it all set in my mind exactly how I'd like to decorate our log home -- with Christmas trees (yes, plural) and other holiday decorations.
Here's what I'm thinking...
First, How We've Decorated In The Past...
Jim and I have never been fond of Christmas lights (as in... strung all over the exterior of the house... over the nearby shrubs... and down the driveway).
Sometimes they're fun to look at, but I have no interest in trying to win a contest with the best (or tackiest) Christmas light display in the neighborhood! (Although I have to say... those new LED lights are worth considering.)
I guess the same is true of Christmas trees, too. We've tried gussying up the place, starting with a Christmas tree before. Nevertheless, we lost that lovin feelin' for Christmas trees & decorations the following year (...and the year after, and so on).
I do however, think it would be fun to experiment with an upside down Christmas tree one year... There are lots of fun ways to decorate "outside the box" with one of those babies!
What Must Our Neighbors Think?
We've often wondered if our neighbors think we're anti-Christmas or something. We're not. But for us, the real reason for the season is not to put up and take down decorations. And we don't have kids, so the motivation to break out all of the "cutesy" decorations just isn't there. And a bare tree with no gifts below it is... well, not quite so cheery to look at day in and day out.
That said, Jim and I are both eager to decorate our new log home with very simple (and very rustic) holiday decorations next year.
How We Plan To Decorate Our Log Home For Christmas
The plan is to start simple. Keep it rustic.
Not "country" just rustic... lots of rusted metal... rough edges... wrought iron... tin... you get the idea.
Not too many happy Santa's... bubbly snowmen... or primary colors. Think: earth-tones and "natural" hues.
Not even a "real" (or traditional-looking) Christmas tree. Seriously. Instead, we plan to "bring the outside in" by placing miniature (3 to 4 feet tall) thin & wirey Christmas trees inside our home. And I'll probably put a 5- or 6-inch tin barn star atop any trees that we adorn with ornaments. (Some we'll keep simple & ornament-free... In fact, we'll probably refrain from adding lights to any of these trees.)
My mom had a tree like this in her house. It was decorated so cute... real "woodsy" and rustic. Just a few simple pinecones with a little bit of snow sprayed on 'em... a handful of fun metal ornaments... and a small strand of white lights strung about. It was just enough to say... "SWEET!" But not too much to look overly Christmas. (Though I must admit, in the picture, it looks very Christmassy.)
Taken a step farther... I plan to place a small tree like this on every level of our log home (basement, main level, and our offices in the loft). Each one will be neatly tucked into a corner. Surrounded by bare log walls (6"x12" flat logs, not D-logs), this just wreaks of simple rustic winter decor, doesn't it?
And a step farther yet... I will be tucking one of these 3-piece rustic tree collections into one (1) corner of our log home as well. Probably at the top of the steps, or some big & bare corner.
I think decorations like this will really "warm" the place up throughout the winter months and bring us good cheer.
Thinking Outside The Box
Nope, these definitely aren't the types of Christmas trees that you put gifts under. We don't want that kind of Christmas tree (remember, we don't have kids). We just want a simple and rustic (understated) type of holiday decor in our log home.
...By george, I think we've found it!
In fact, if you didn't put the lights & ornaments on it, I actually think you could get away with tiny trees like this inside your home throughout the winter months... especially in a log home!
The small trees that I'm referring to are often referred to as Alpine trees or Lodge trees. They're not like "traditional" Christmas trees... because they don't taper like a triangle that's really narrow on the top and really full on the bottom. Instead, they're kind of tall and lanky and the branches are few & far between.
UPDATE: I just spent the 2 days leading up to New Year's Day store-hopping and taking advantage of 75% off sales. I was in search of some "rustic" looking ornaments and decorations for our new log home.
A few of the items I found are pictured here:
I plan to add a few more simple ornaments like the few that you can see on the tree... but I just haven't found what I'm looking for yet. (I love searching for that needle in the haystack!)
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Miniature Rustic Wooden Lodge Trees
Bah Humbug! You need to watch the "Christmas carol" again. I decorate (tastefully) the outside (I'll never win a contest) for the kids in the neighborhood. Christmas is a magical time for them. My kids are grown up and live far away so we don't see them each year.
We plant flowers in the spring and plant lights in the winter to cheer things up. No presents under the tree? Put a train, some dolls, gifts for the dogs and perhaps gifts to give to the less fortunate just before Christmas.
Money was tight when I was little but mom always had "presents" which might be toothbrushes, clothes, candy, etc all wrapped up. My wife, born in Russia, spent her first 7 years of childhood living in a war zone so there was no Christmas. Christmas is now a big deal for her and she loves to decorate the tree.
The best memories I have was when in college our fraternity would have a Christmas party each years for under privledged kids and watch their eyes glow. As one little boy told me, "Santa never comes to my house". He did that year and I don't think he will ever forget. Here in Sarasota, Florida our gym supports a similar deal for needy children each year. I'm amazed by the generosity of the single people at the gym.
Now, I realize that you will live at the end of a long road but there is nothing like coming home to Christmas lights in the dead of winter. Our ancestors cheered themselves up with greenery and the yule log, knowing that the winter solstice was over.
I think it is a requirement in Tennessee for a log home to have at least one star on the roof for the neighbors to see from afar.
Happy holidays,
Joe