White (and Caramel) Christmas

I'm a little late getting these pictures to you because we had a little bit of a whoopsie daisy with the photos, and I have spent the last 10-days trying to have the memory card scrubbed and have photos recouped. Thankfully, they found a few of this beautiful tree, and I'm hoping they'll be able to find more. Fingers crossed! 

I was asked to participate in a Tour of Homes this year to benefit housing assistance for displaced families, and I couldn't wait to get set up. This entire tree ended up being auctioned off to a lucky winner, and I spent several hours taking each ornament off piece by piece making sure they didn't break for the long trip to the tree's new home in Pittsburgh! 

I started with a great base, the 7' Flocked Alpine Tree from Tree Classics. The tree comes pre-lit with clear lights, and comes out of the box in 3-pieces. Simply connect them together, and voila! You're done! A little fluffing was all it needed to get it ready for it's close up! 

Of course, the 300 pound urn had to stay near the tree, moving it even this far was quite the challenge. So it found itself the happy host to more of those 10" glittered balls from the tree. Tree Classics has some amazing ornament collections, and I used a couple for this tree. 

It's hard to pick a favorite, but I would definitely urge you to take a look at their 12-piece finial collections. They're stunning, and they hang so beautifully on the tree. I love the interest that they provide, with the unique shapes and varied styles. They have them in red, green, gold, and a rich matte red they're calling burgundy. Definitely a lot of bang for your buck with these beauties! 

I used some ornaments from my old show-house decorating days, too. Little blue and white birds, the snow and glitter picks, and those giant glitter orbs. Just in case you couldn't tell, there were a ton of picks in this tree, white magnolia blossoms, and ornaments in soft blues, golds, and brilliant green. The green ones were hand picked from the Merry & Bright collection from Tree Classics to go with the theme, and then I used the left over red ones to work into the dining room trees. This is a great idea - you can split up the ornaments from the collections Tree Classics offers to decorate multiple trees in multiple themes. 

There were a lot of oo's and ah's over this tree, and it was amazing getting to talk to people about the apartment and the changes I'd made. Chinoiserie obviously played a big part in the creation of this space, and I loved the play of the blue in the tree against all of the Chinoiserie blue and white porcelain, and the gold and cream of the ornaments and that beautiful Tree Classics tree against the colors of the sofa and cushion. 

The tree was really loaded down with ornaments, which isn't unusual for me. There were even little glass icicles that hung from the ends of 50 branches. It took forever to put this beauty up - and even longer to take it down! 

But it gets to spend a lovely season in a new home. Like I mentioned, there were also trees in the dining room - which I'm so hoping they can recover the photos of, as they were just as stunning. 

If you're still looking for ornaments, or perhaps some of the finest life-like artificial trees, please look no further than Tree Classics. The website now has free shipping site wide until December 14th, and most everything is on sale for 50% off! A great time to land a great deal on an even greater product! 

See you soon with some more Christmas decor ... I hope! 

Balsam Hill

All of the trees that I used in the barn this year were from Balsam Hill. Once I found this company just three years ago, I haven't looked anywhere else for my artificial Christmas trees, wreaths and garlands. They are, and this is my own unpaid, unbiased opinion, the BEST source for all things Christmas.

I had so many trees and garlands in the barn. That's what a showhouse at Christmas deserves, right? And Balsam Hill did not let me down with their amazing trees of supreme quality!

Balsam Hill trees are extremely realistic looking. I can't even begin to tell you how many people asked me if the garlands and trees were live! Built with their patented true needle technology, the trees have more tips and lights than any other trees available online or in stores.

I used their Tannenbaum Tree trio, their 9' Sonoma Slim pencil tree, their 7.5' Vermont White Spruce tree, multiple Vermont White Spruce garlands, and some ornament trees (so cool!).

Each of the trees were remarkably beautiful - and not just AFTER they were decorated. They came out of the box with very little fluffing necessary. But once I was done getting them perfectly fluffed, (using their awesome, super soft gloves), and decorated - they were THE most beautiful trees of the whole tour. Plus, after the tour was over - they were SUPER easy to store. Balsam Hill provides you with durable tree storage bags with every purchase, so no more fighting to get those trees back in a box! 

I went a little crazy with my trees this year, using large tree branches in the trees to give a real "forest" look. The trees ended up being incredibly architectural and sculptural, and honestly, I think that if I had gone with any other tree but the amazing quality of the Balsam Hill trees, they would have toppled over and been a huge mess! 

So, all in all - if you're looking for an artificial tree, garland, or wreath - don't look any further than Balsam Hill. Free Shipping, and a current promotion of more than 50% off, you aren't going to find a better deal either! 

Christmas Barn

Vanderpool Design - Lewiston Tour of Homes 

I took the day off of work today to take apart this space and get it all packed away or taken to their new homes, and I couldn't help but think ... I need to blog about how quick this tear down really was. 

It's a short post - I'm tired, and I've still not worked on the photos that I took. I also have cross bottles to make, and a whole new project that I have to design and decorate. So, bare with me, please. 

I got to the barn today at 8:30am. I had coordinated pick ups of all the things I was loaned between 9 and 10, and literally 6-weeks of work was torn apart in less than 6-hours.

Looks a little different doesn't it. It's actually a little sad to see it all torn apart like this. It just goes to show that if you have some creativity and talent, and a little money - you can turn just about anything into something spectacular. 

See you soon!

Showhouse is OVER!

Barn Main Room - Lewiston Tour Of Homes - Vanderpool Design

Well it's over! I'm exhausted! I've got a lot to clean up tomorrow - and tons of things that are being picked up and moved. But I wanted to let you know that I am still alive! I'll have more posts later about some of the great products I chose for the space that I think you'd love! 

A Little Barn Update

So, it's almost here. I can't believe I've been working on this barn for the last couple of months and I'm still scrambling to get things done. I suppose that's not unusual though, I typically leave things to the last minute so that I don't have time to second guess my work. That's most often when the best work comes out of me anyway.

I've got several trees in the barn. One was decorated by Meg over at Oliver and Rust when she came over to help. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, I walked in on Thursday, and it was on the ground - shattered ornaments underneath, and one incredibly angry Artie. I think I may have even been green!

Anyway, in getting it up off the ground and anchored to the wall, I came up with a theme for both trees that can be modified to be similar but each unique in their own way. Here's how one of the trees turned out. I'll take better pics to share by the end of the week of the whole space (these were taken with my iPhone).

I wanted to have a lot of fresh greens in my artificial tree. Almost as if you were walking through a forest and decorated the tree from the things you found around you. Yes, I know you're not going to find Eucalyptus and Magnolia and Pine trees all in the same area ... but Christmas decorating is an opportunity to suspend disbelief ... just roll with it! 

Next, the tree - from Balsam Hill. Balsam Hill is by far, the best place to buy an artificial tree. They're incredibly lifelike, perfectly lit, and come with easy instructions and heavy duty storage bags. This is their pencil tree, which you can buy here. I love it because it's 9 feet tall, but only about as big around as a 5-gallon bucket. It gives you a ton of impact without having to buy a million ornaments to fill it up! Not to mention, everyone who has seen this tree has asked me if it was real! Honestly - best money can buy! 

We recently had a few branches on our block that came down during a wind storm. I didn't think twice about them, but after I decided to do this tree with a natural theme - I quickly scooped them up. They had a wonderful natural curve. 

Again, I apologize for the photo quality. I'll get some better pics for you when I'm all done in there! 

The tree is not decorated all the way around. I wanted more of a spray in the front, with very few pendant style ornaments on the side and back. The spray includes some HUGE sugar pine cones, seeded eucalyptus, eucalyptus, magnolia leaf, red and gold ornaments, and some beautiful fern leaves with gold glitter! 

It's totally asymmetric, and I like it like that. The branches throw it into a whole different realm ... just so charming and interesting. It's almost like sculpture. 

The tree will be the first thing people see when they walk into the room. Of course, there are 4 other lit trees they will have an opportunity to enjoy. (Fingers crossed!) 

The lanterns are gorgeous, too. They're from Progress Lighting. They hang a little low - but I needed to create the intimacy. 

A little closer this time. You can see how the spray works. I really can't wait to take pictures of all of this space finished. I've been so busy lately that the last thing I've thought of was taking photos with my camera. I have to get some portfolio shots this weekend, so I'll have a big long post for those of you who can't make the tour. 

So, there you have it. Something I've never done before - will likely not have the opportunity to do again. This barn just lends itself to this very natural looking display - and the crazy branches. But if you think this one is crazy ... just you wait! 

I had to update the blog - just so you knew I was still kicking! And please, when you're missing your Color Outside the Lines updates, check out my Instagram! It's your daily view at what's happening around this part of the world! 

Georgeous Christmas Tree Inspiration

Are you looking for inspiration for your Christmas Tree this year? 70% of American households will put their Christmas tree up after Thanksgiving dinner - and while I won't be putting one up in my own house, I am looking for inspiration for my many Christmas Tree's at the Christmas show house this year. I've already decorated one and taken it all apart, something was just all wrong. I don't know what it was - it just was.

So, I came home tonight and started searching - as I'm sure many of you have been - and I thought, why not throw a post together with Inspiring Christmas Trees that may or may not strike your fancy this year and have you decorating outside the box.

Mary McDonald

RAZ Imports

GrandinRoad

Lisa Luby Ryan

Pinterest

Pinterest

Lisa Luby Ryan

RAZ Imports

Pinterest

RAZ Imports

So, gorgeous, right? I mean who doesn't love a packed Christmas tree, filled with ribbons and ornaments, and branches, and fun big pieces like snow shoes and sleds. But when you do these home tour things, you have to change it up and do something different each time ... people begin to look for what's next. 

Thus, I've just ... like two seconds ago just ... been inspired by some pretty unlikely, and not so Christmas'y displays: 

That's right folks! I had already planned on filling some shelves with books - and bought a ton at a local 1/2 off sale at the thrift store. The bindings were removed, so just the pages remained ... and I had a million, literally! So, let's see how it turns out! It's too close to the day of to turn back now! 

The Ribbon Tree - Lewiston Tour of Homes

The tree of tour was in the sunroom of the house that I decorated for the weekend long event. Everyone came through enamored by the use of burlap strapping as tree ribbon. When I found the balls at the Pottery Barn outlet in Ohio, I knew that they had to be the focal point of the tree. So, 7 went up, and then the ribbon and red ornaments were peppered in around them.

At first, I was going to use ribbon exclusively in this tree, but again, after finding those huge orbs, literally the size of basketballs, that changed. So I pulled the red from the rug up into the tree, and out onto the patio, as you saw in the tablescape featured here. My intention with all the decorating for this house was to seamlessly blend the color from the decor into the Christmas trimmings.

I'm so sorry that the pictures of this room are so heavily over-exposed. They get so much wonderful light in this room, that it makes photo taking a real chore! So, enjoy the rest of them ... and as a quick note: I WON! The tour has a "winner" each year, and I was informed just moments ago, that this house was chosen by those who toured as the crowd favorite! Many thanks to those of you who may have come and voted!

The Stone Room - Lewiston Tour of Homes

Well, I have been so happy to see that you all love the spaces I created in the house for the tour ... the homeowner is equally as in love. She and I worked together on her space for two months, having slipcovers fabricated, ordering lamps and chairs, pillows and fabric for curtains and valances. It all amassed to what I believe to be a glowing reflection of the homeowner, and some of my best work. I teased you with a look into the stone room with this picture:

Let's go in there today, shall we? Enjoy: