Simpler Holiday Decor with a Touch of Luxury!

 Last year, I went all out on the holiday decor. I must have pulled out almost every piece of festive decorations I owned.... and then I got sick on Christmas Eve and didn't feel human again until New Year's! After all that work, the only thing I got to do for the holidays was take it all back down. 

This year I decided to do less and make it seem like more. I kept my MacKenzie Child's touches in the kitchen and my Ralph Lauren plaid vibes throughout but I put out a lot less yet somehow I feel the impact is more. You can watch the full tour over on my channel as part of my Vlogmas videos.

In the kitchen, I tried to keep the counters clear for working and add in some whimsical touches. I had to have the squirrel garland though above where my greetings cards will hang in the garland as they arrive.

In the dining room and living room, I tried to keep things a little more Ralph Lauren-esque but also with a woodland element, using pheasant feathers, antlers and deer throughout with the plaid ribbons.

                                        

                                        

                                        

    

                                                

One new addition this year, which I will probably leave up all winter is this ski lodge wall in the bathroom. I found these skis on a whim this year, added some greenery and a bow to fancy them up. For the photos, I simply printed out some images from Pinterest and framed them in Dollar Tree frames.

Let me know down in the comments what your take is on Christmas decor.... do you go all out? do you believe less is more? are you minimalistic in your approach? Make sure to hit subscribe to know as new posts are added here as well. Buona Natale!

Holiday Home Decor 2022

 It is that magical time of year again where the house transforms into a holiday wonderland. I love bringing the festivities into the house. I didn't reinvent the wheel this year on decor though and stayed with my traditional pieces adding in leopard and plaid accents as I have for the past several years.

I used a lot of greenery picks, antlers, and plaid throughout to unify things from room to room.

Isn't this picture of Santa working on his truck just the cutest ever? I picked this up at Hobby Lobby last year. 

One new piece I did add this year was this squirrel garland I found at Petitti's Garden Center. I have been feeding and enjoying the squirrels in my yard all summer long and couldn't resist picking this up. 

In the kitchen, I tried to add in some accents of Mackenzie Childs to compliment pieces that are there year-round. 

I kept the dining table simple so it could remain completely functional throughout the season. I layered a plaid runner over a fleur-di-lis tapestry and got a new rug in leopard print for the floor.

The decor itself in the dining room though is more traditional with touches of Italian and Santa.

No Christmas decor could be complete without a nativity scene. I kept things simple here on the buffet so the nativity could be its own focal point. 

I carried this traditional look combing Santa, plaid and leopard into the living room as well. 

The pups just couldn't resist posing for a holiday photo as well on the couch. I used green and plaid throws along with plaid trimmed and leopard throw pillows to carry on the look. 

I carried to same elements up the stairs, hall and into the bathroom as well. I just loved how this garland looked around the photos in the bath. 

I changed the ribbon and broach on my mannequin form tree as well to give a "Gucci" inspired look for some glam.

To view the entire home tour watch my Youtube video here. 

Comment below what kind of holiday themes you use to make your home festive during the holidays.

Stan Hywet Hall Tour

The week between Christmas and New Year's Day always seems so long. Maybe because there isn't much to do between the excitement of the actual holiday days? Not sure why really, but I decided to break up the time by heading to Akron to meet up with my friend Renee for a gal's day. We decided to tour the historic mansion of Stan Hywet and grab lunch nearby afterwards. While it was cold, it was a beautiful end of December day in NE Ohio when we typically would be covered in snow by this time of year. 

So, while I wait here in my car for Renee to arrive, let me give you a little history on this mansion. F.A Seiberling was one of the cofounders of the Goodyear Rubber Company in Akron. It was he and his family that built Stan Hywet Hall in 1915 in a Tudor Revival style. You will see in the photos below all of the almost medieval-like architectural elements in the woodwork, stained glass windows, and ceilings. Stan Hywet was named as such to mean stone quarry from Old English names. The Seiberling family made the manor into a non-profit museum in 1955 after the death of the patriarch. 

The mansion is a whopping 64,500 square feet, not all of which is open to the public. The property has a total of 5 structures and 10 restored garden areas, making it a top wedding venue as well as other events. The mansion also boasts being the birthplace of Alcoholics Anonymous in its Gate House. More information on the history and museum can be found on their website. 

As we toured throughout the mansion (self-guided due to COVID) I took photos in the same order you would be directed should you have gone on the tour yourself. The mansion was still decorated for the Christmas season which was themed this year for motion pictures. The displays were well curated, but I did not include much of this in my photos as I did not find the majority to be true to the timeframe of the home. I hope you enjoy looking through the photos and pretending you were right there with us. I do also though strongly encourage you to make a visit yourself to tour the mansion should you be near the Akron area. It is definitely worth seeing in person and perhaps even exploring the grounds should you visit in the spring. 

Driving up the long windy drive, you can see the front of the mansion standing stately in a green grassy field.

Tickets are purchased in one of the other structures on the property. I believe this may have been a carriage house. 

From there you walk along another windy path up to the main estate.

Inside a main foyer (not pictured) there is an etching that reads Non Nobis Solum (Not For Us Alone) above the doorway inviting guests in....

The hall that leads into the heart of the manor has absolutely amazing plaster work in the ceilings and the dark wood walls are intricately carved with detail leading into a parlor room.

The parlor then leads into the music room that is 2 stories tall and has balconies overlooking it from the second story. The woodwork again is absolutely amazing!

The home also has many detailed chandeliers throughout.

Another hall leads from the music room into a library that then leads to a main dining area. 

This guest dining area was decorated in a Harry Potter theme. The room boasts heavy wood detailed doors that give a medieval feel, an intricately detailed wood beam ceiling, and stained-glass windows. 

The next room is the family dining room with details all its own which include a fireplace and a mural of the Canterbury tales at the top of the room.

This area connects to a butler's pantry filled with antique glassware and a gingerbread house display made to model the Stan Hywet mansion. From there you continue into the expansive chef's kitchen.

There is a doorway off the kitchen that leads to an outdoor area that expands the back of the entire mansion. There is access to this area from the music room, kitchen and breakfast room, which is the next room on the other side of the kitchen. 

The breakfast room also has its own smaller kitchen/ butler's pantry.

Beyond this is access to the 8ft indoor pool lovingly referred to as the Plunge. 

You then are circled around on the tour to climb a stairway adorned with a huge stained-glass window and leading to another intricately designed balcony to reach the second floor which begins with Mr. Seiberling's study/ Billard room. 

Crossing over the balcony you can look down into the main guest hall before reaching the boys bedroom.

The bedroom has a Jack and Jill styled bath that connects to another bedroom. For the tie it was built the bath was extremely large and modern boasting a separate massaging shower.

The woodwork of the second bedroom boasts the same detailed woodwork seen throughout the home, as does the upstairs hall. 

 

The next several bedrooms were said to be children's and guest rooms.

The tour enters guests through the lady of the houses mirrored walk in closet/ dressing room. This then leads to her private bath and then her pink bedroom.

A next bedroom appears to also be a guest room or another child room. This bedroom shares a gigantic bathroom, complete with detailed arches and a bidet with the lady of the house's office.

Mrs. Seiberling's office can be seen below and housed a piano. 

This is all of the home that the tour had open to the public but there are 2 more floors above this. The 4th floor was said to have been used solely as an infirmary. We then were guided down the stairway to visit the basement that housed displays about the history of the home, the family, and the Akron rubber industry. 

Upon exiting the mansion, we found ourselves on a massive brick motor coach drive where we could proceed to explore some of the property despite the Ohio chill in the air. 

The conservatory on the property was open to enter and visit at the back of the property.

There were also numerous gazebos around the property as well as this one overlooking a small pond area. Another was below on lower ground in the midst of a village display on the property.

I hope you enjoyed looking through the photo tour of Stan Hywet. Let me know of any paces like this near you or if you have ever visited Stan Hywet itself. Comment below and be sure to hit subscribe as well to receive notice as I post future blogs.