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Welcoming Rustic Beach Christmas
I am an Island Girl through and through. My home decorating style could be called rustic beach casual with some boho sparkle. The first thing I design every season is my mantle. This year’s holiday theme is Rustic Beach Christmas with a nod to Santa. I developed my theme after finding this Aqua and White Sand Dollar Ho Ho Ho sign at my local At Home Store in Orange Park, Florida. #AtHomeStores #sponsored
Rustic Beach Christmas Mantle Inspiration(s)
If you are looking for inspiration, head on over to your At Home Store because they have aisle after aisle of Christmas divided into collections like Ethereal Season, Seas & Greetings, Magical Merriment, Cozy Traditions, and many more. The one that almost had me scrap my usual aqua-based color scheme for red and green was the Santa’s Elf Decor. It was so stinkin’ cute, I almost caved. Almost, because that table runner with elf legs dangling just about sealed the deal. {Winsome Pout}. I selected things from a few different collections of course. {WINK} My cart was truly full of joy as I headed to check out, and the tab was just over $100.
Styling is my happy place. My At Home finds give me some ‘new’ treasures to add to my growing Rustic Beach Christmas collection. If you know me, you know I love to buy bits and pieces at flea markets and thrift stores. I tend to buy aqua, turquoise, and unloved items with history. My new things blend seamlessly with my old ones because they have that rustic beachy look I love.
The Ho Ho Ho sign was just the focus piece. I found the warm and cosy white faux fur stockings with a hint of sparkly sequins next. I picked out angel wings with tiny bells and Nativity scene ornaments for under $3 each. Starfish, glass net balls, tiny white lights, mercury glass candle holders, a shell tree, sparkling reindeer, and a giant package of aqua tree ornaments (you can’t have too many tree ornaments) rounded out the decorations.
I wanted a white fur throw and shiny pillow for the chair beside the fireplace. Plus, I was able to purchase a large, rolling Christmas tree storage bag and keep within my budget. No more disassembling our tree after Epiphany!! Score!
Styling My Rustic Beach Christmas Mantle
Styling with new purchases and items from my stash is awesome. I can add a piece or two and change the entire look and feel. Here is my system for creating a magazine-worthy rustic beach mantle:
Start with a Focal Piece
An eye-catching focal point sets the tone of the home. In this case it is the Sand Dollar Ho Ho Ho sign backed with a rustic salvaged window frame. That screams Rustic Beach Christmas to anyone who enters the room.
Shop Your Home
Take a walk around your home looking for items that coordinate and accent the theme. If you are anything like me, you are always on the lookout for props to style mantles, tablescapes, shelves, tabletops, etc. That’s what we do, right?
Coordinate Colors
Next, I gather new items and old treasures and separate them by color. I am drawn to things that fit with a beachy color palette, so this one is easy for me.
Height Matters
Separate the items by height. You want a mantle to take the eye on a journey of differing heights. It can be a balanced style with matching heights on each side or a more casual, asymmetric style with varying heights across the mantle. There is no right or wrong here, just a matter of preference. Some believe they must have two of everything in a balanced style. You can see here that mine is balanced but not matchy, matchy.
Think Texture
Decorating 101 is about texture and mixing different textures. Texture is eye candy for most people. My texture is soft warm faux furs, hard glass, burlap, peeling wood, and something that sparkles.
Layering
Layers make it feel good and help to create different heights, such as leaning something against another piece or stacking items on something else like the candles on the upturned candle holders instead of inside them as I did here.
Light
Twinkling candle flames, little string lights, and no flame candles light my mantle. I let it flow across and stop here and there for effect.
Edit–Keep It Simple
Editing is a skill. Knowing when enough is enough is critical to success. I add, step back, look, move and remove; this is how I make magic. Be critical, and if you are stuck reach out to a friend or family member who will help you decide what is working and what is not. Below you will see a dark Naught and Nice book on the mantle. I wanted it to be in the scene, but it was too dark on the mantle. Now it rests gracefully on the coffee table.
Carry the Theme to Other Rooms
I am having guests over for the holidays. I found a few items to create a themed space on the night stand to make them feel special.
I filled a mercury glass bowl with starfish and added two tiny stockings filled with little treats to welcome them. The little stockings keep with the beachy theme – one has a crab on the front and the other has a sparkly starfish.
I also placed this tiny rustic Nativity scene on the bedside table to share the reason for the season.
I recommend that you visit your At Home Store to see the thousands of holiday items available at everyday low prices. I know you will find those perfect items to refresh your mantel, guest room, kitchen, porch, yard, and more. At Home is the one-stop-shop to decorate your whole house – from an entire room makeover to smaller refreshes for every season, on any budget.
UPDATE: As a creative decorator, I am always tweaking and rearranging. I know you do it too. {WINK) So when I found a new Santa while shopping with my daughter in Atlanta over Thanksgiving I had to adjust. A different At Home Stores might have something different too. I added a shell or two and some velvet touches , et voila, a new look for the mantle.
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