Christmas House Tour 2012: Vintage and Pastel Foyer and Little White Lies

I never lie to myself about the important stuff. But I have been known to tell myself some little white lies over the years.

Those stirrup pants look great!

Wow, that Sun-In and QT make you look like a bronzed babe! 

He’s just afraid of smart women.

Those kind of lies, and this one, from earlier this week: You’re finally finished with Christmas decorating.

Yeah, right. Tell that to the buffet in my foyer.

 I had it all done up in a merry vintage Christmas motif, the minty duck egg blue of the buffet a perfect setting for my collection of vintage McCoy pottery, bottle brush Christmas trees, glittery paper houses and vintage Christmas ornaments.

 

But then I started poking around the Internet look at all the gorgeous Christmas vignettes. And I went shopping at a store with a winter wonderland of Christmas decor. And I started thinking that my buffet was just a little underdressed for the party.

Like showing up to a black tie event with nary a sequin or rhinestone.

And so I set about bedazzling because my decorating style is decidedly more is always better. Except when it comes to dusting.

I needed an excuse to buy an antique white garland, and this was my excuse. The garland is like a feather boa on the buffet. Come to think of it, a feather buffet might look nice, too, and it would have probably been cheaper.

No matter the holiday, I always try to keep a few vintage pottery pieces on the buffet because the colors and styles work so well together. And the vintage pottery sets the tone for my decor.

When I was starting out on my own, decorating my first $325 a month apartment, I started collecting pottery from the 1940s and 1950s, namely McCoy. The aqua blue-green color is my favorite, and after more than a decade, I still gravitate to that hue in my decorating.

So, is it any wonder I painted the buffet a matching shade? Or that I was attracted to this vintage-inspired ornament with a snowy scene under glass?

My vases are perfect for displaying vintage Christmas ornaments and newer pastel ones.

This is my favorite piece of McCoy pottery. It was my holy grail as a collector. It is not perfect. The rim is chipped, but it is one of the most beautiful things I own.

I first saw this vase in a book, and I fell in love. I stalked it for years, hunting antique shows and stores. But I never ever found one. Until one day on eBay. And it just happened to be near Christmas. I sent the link to my husband with the direction to please, please buy the vase no matter how high the bidding reached. I wanted it so badly, and I’d searched for so long.

And clearly, he won the bid. I don’t know what he paid, but probably more than it was worth. But not more than it is worth to me.

Through the years, I have also collected little paper houses, dusted in glitter and snow.

A few have come from fancy schmancy accessories shops.

 

But many were purchased at the after-Christmas clearance sales at Target and Kmart, back when Martha Stewart was designing for them.

The pink bottle brush tree was a $2 find this year at Walmart. I mixed in a few mercury glass candlesticks, some silver bells and some fragile glass and mercury glass Christmas ball ornaments.

Of course, Santa had to join the mix. But he’s dressed for the party, too, in white robes embellished with glitter. His everyday red suit just wouldn’t do.

With the vintage winter wonderland I created on the mantel, I thought the handpainted mirror was looking just a little bit bare. So, I repurposed an old faux pine wreath by carefully wiring some vintage and vintage-inspired Christmas ornaments to it and topping it with a sheer pale blue bow.

But alas, there was one casualty. A pretty pink vintage glass ornament dropped to the ground and shattered. But I couldn’t throw it away.

So I scooped up the broken pieces — I think there might be a life lesson there — and made something out of them. You wouldn’t have known they were broken unless I’d told you, right?

Tell the truth. Or a little white lie. They’re OK in my book.

I hope you’ll check out the rest of my Christmas House Tour. So far, I’ve shown off my front porch decorated for Christmas and my Christmas mantel in the keeping room, and later this week, I’ll be revealing my dining room, living room and Christmas tree. Oh, what kind of tree will it be?