December is here and while it’s only the second Holiday season in our home, it still feels like the first! This is such a magical time of year for me as I love winter, the holidays and really being around loved ones! I love decorating our home for Christmas and go “all-out” in a more minimal modern way. I don’t like a ton of clutter, but I want there to be that Christmas spirit.

Most of our new modern Christmas decorations are gifted from Arhaus and I cannot express how impressed I am with the quality! The pieces are unique, beautiful and I know they will last a lifetime. Our old decor I’ve accumulated through the years, especially our ornament collection. I’m so happy with how everything turned out and it puts a smile on my face every time!

Pops of Red

 Each year I choose a theme or the colors I want to feature. Last year we opted for a green and black color scheme. Since it was our first year in our new home I wanted to do something different! This year, I wanted to focus a bit on tradition while still using our modern Christmas decorations and you can’t get more traditional than red! However, I didn’t want it to be over the top, appear cluttered, or too tacky. I incorporated red alongside our modern Christmas decorations but really kept it scaled back, which helps a lot.

Christmas Tree

Our New Pre-lit Balsam Hill Tree

We invested in a Balsam Hill tree this year and I am so impressed. It looks so realistic, I love the subtle flocking and the best part is how easy it is to set up! I posted a video on my Instagram where you can watch me install it all by myself! Our previous tree was heavily flocked and unlit so adding the lights was a pretty big hassle. What is so incredible about this tree is how the electrical for the lights is based in the rod. All you have to do is click the trunks together and that’s how the lights plug in! It is so easy and I feel like I can never go back to stringing lights again. It really makes decorating our home for Christmas so much easier!

For ornaments, a lot of our ornaments are from years of collecting. A few red ornaments sprinkled throughout the tree were perfect to add those pops of red. To add a unique look to the tree, I chose three very detailed ornaments from Arhaus to help add some depth.

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From the beautiful glass ornament, intricate detail on the wood carving to the subtle change in the marble ornament, it’s details like these that can really elevate a tree. However, I still absolutely love and use ornaments I sourced from Hobby Lobby, Michael’s and Target. Choosing a color scheme and sticking to it can really make your holiday decor look more expensive than what you paid.

Last year I didn’t add ribbon to our tree and since this year it’s much taller, I wanted something to make it look full without worrying about buying ornaments. Incorporating ribbon is a great way to do this! It’s a more affordable way to make a tree look expensive. Make sure you buy wired ribbon so you can manipulate it to go where you want. I got some of this black ribbon last year and loved how it looked on our mantel. It’s perfect on our tree to add that modern touch!

Our tree collar is old so I’m linking a similar one here. I initially wanted to use black, but it felt a little too heavy and dark. I really like how this one blends more and gives off a brighter vibe.

Holiday Mantel

The mantel is probably my favorite place to decorate! I’m not sure why, but when it comes to decorating our home for Christmas, the mantel is always first on my list! It may be because when I lived in apartments, I never had a fireplace.

I knew I wanted a somewhat asymmetrical drape for our garland. Last year’s the garland draped off one side and I love how it looked! I didn’t want to repeat it so I kept brainstorming ways to make it different. Once I got my hand on this cedar garland, I knew it would be perfect for doing a little dip and raised portion. I used four cedar garlands to create this look. You can watch my mantel decorating tutorial here. I know the garland may be sold out, so I’m linking the exact one and similar below!

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For the finishing touches on the holiday mantel, I incorporated classic items in a more modern shape. I love these simple wooden trees and how they have character. The skiing nutcracker is completely stealing the show for me, too! To keep things light, I added a bright red bow I made out of red velvet ribbon.

We’ve never had stocking holders before so I love how I can put either a tea candle or string of lights inside these houses. I’m all about Tartan to add more pops of red so these charcoal stockings are perfect.

Other Details

To keep things cozy and warm, I swapped out some throws in our living room. While these items can be small, they can make a big difference in decorating our home for Christmas. I love the Ivory Medic Throw and this reversible Tartan throw. They are both soft, cozy and add some red to the space.