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Seriously —

Has it been a year already???

It seems like it was just a little while ago that I shared my simple decorating for Christmas ideas with you!

And guess what?

We’re still in the middle of our remodel here at Interior Redoux and the fireplace still isn’t done!

But we have made some progress —

Like the media wall

Pin for later

See the post about this TV cabinet HERE

And we added some crown molding

But everything else in the living room?

Still the same as last year at about this time.

So, just for fun

Let’s have a little flash back to last year’s Christmas decor:

You can read the story about decorating the unfinished fireplace HERE

Since we can’t have a real fire yet I added the next best thing — candles!

I love the warm glow they give in the firebox

On the other side of the room is my rustic armoire (You can read about how I created the weathered wood finish on it HERE) I took the doors off of it and used them to flank the fireplace. I’m loving the look of it without the doors

I added some simple Christmas decor —

Wooden houses (See how to make them HERE)

Bottlebrush trees

Large glass ornaments

Bleached pine cones in a vintage bucket (see how to bleach them HERE)

Wrapped gifts

And lights

I ‘planted’ a little tree in an old milk crate and added ornaments in blush, silver and gold to fill it up

I made this Christmas wreath pillow out of scraps of white cotton duck. I just cut out leaf shapes and sewed them in a circle and added beads as ornaments. See the how-to HERE

It’s such a simple, subtle look

Even the Entryway got some simple Christmas decor with a minimalist wreath, some gifts, and a couple of silver ornaments

See how to make quick and easy gift bags HERE and HERE And this quick and easy wreath HERE

So even if your house is under construction

Have you ever given hand-made Christmas gifts?

I have!

I love giving DIY Christmas gifts that I’ve created.

There’s just something about giving a little of yourself

That makes the gift extra special.

But one of the hardest things about making your own Christmas gifts

Is trying to come up with ideas of things to make.

So here’s my curated list of 9 DIY Christmas gifts to get you inspired

And each one only takes a couple of hours or less to make!

You know how tissue boxes think they’re all pretty and cute but they really aren’t?? Well, I think they all could use a slipcover! See how to elevate your bathroom with this tissue box cover HERE

2. COAT RACK

This coat rack is made from a vintage dresser drawer front. All you need to do is add hooks on the front and hangers on the back and — ta-da! — you’ve made a great gift! See all the details HERE

3. WOODEN BEAD GARLAND

I saw wooden bead garlands like this at Pottery Barn for $99 and they didn’t even have tassels. This one cost me about $25 to make. See the how-to HERE

4. LOTION BARS

These are so quick and easy to make! And your kids can even help! Get the recipe HERE

5. BOHO THROW PILLOW

This pillow is so fun and easy to make — just use the cotton textured throw from Amazon (it’s on sale right now!). Read all about how to make it HERE

6. STENCILED MIRROR

Who wouldn’t love this French-inspired vintage mirror in their bath?? See how to make it HERE

7. PILLOWCASES FROM A VINTAGE TABLE CLOTH

These pillowcases are dreamy! They’re made from a vintage tablecloth and they would make a great gift. Get the step-by-step HERE

8. JUTE ROPE DOOR STOP

This jute rope door stop is so cute! And you’ll never guess what’s inside to make it heavy… Find out HERE

9. VINTAGE WINDOW DECOR

Got some old windows laying around?? HERE are some ideas for what you can do with them.

So I hope this list of DIY Christmas gifts

Has given you some good ideas

For things you can make

For some of the people on your list this year!

Oh, and by the way, I just checked —

And you have 9 weeks

To get them done!

And did you notice the mirror??

There’s a little story there…

We tried to re-use the wall mirror that was there before but it broke when we cut it

So….

There was another mirror in the Master Bath that we haven’t remodeled yet

So we used that one!

It was a really tricky project to get the holes cut for the lights, then get it up on the wall and build the frame around it

But I’m so happy with the way it turned out!

You can see how we did that project HERE

Here’s one more look at the before

Yes, it’s Actually a Thing

I recently read about a new trend – The Messy Bed.

It sounded interesting and fun.  So I decided to try it.

Believe it or not, there is actually a technique to creating a messy bed.  Can you believe I just said creating a messy bed???  Apparently it’s not quite right if you just get out of bed in the morning and leave it.  It must be styled to look messy.   There is a difference.  

Go figure…

If you’ve been around here for more than a hot minute, you’ve probably figured out that I love white.

I’m not exactly sure where that comes from…

Maybe it’s because I lived in a forest town in Northern California for 38 years. Where things were kind of dark…

And now I live in a coastal town in Southern California. Where it’s sunny and bright!

Whatever the reason, I just find that I’m really drawn to the fresh, clean, easy look of lots of white.

See how to make pillow cases from a vintage tablecloth HERE

But the thing is, white rooms can sometimes be plain and boring.

So you really have to bring your decorating A-game to make sure they’re always interesting.

With that in mind, here are my best decorating tips for successful white on white rooms:

TEXTURE TEXTURE TEXTURE

Texture is your best friend when you’re doing a monochromatic room. It’s the thing that’ll give it interest and depth.

In this room there’s texture from Matelasse fabric, washed linen, ruffles, embroidered pillowcases, cutwork lace, a textured throw…

And that’s just on the bed!

Then there’s the wainscot, a distressed dresser, a grapevine wreath, a vintage No Vacancy sign, a stone urn, chippy vintage frames, and a vintage trunk that all add great texture too.

Nothing plain or boring here!

CONTRAST

Even in an all white room, you’re going to want a little contrast. Something a little darker to offset all that white.

See how to make a messy bed HERE

The antique pewter finish on the bed, the wreath, the sign, the metal urn, the trunk and the floor all give a little contrast to all the lightness.

Yet the room still reads as all white.

DIFFERENT TONES OF WHITE

You’ll notice none of the whites in this bedroom match. The walls are creamy white. The lampshades are bright white. And there’s every tone in between in there too. Don’t try to match all your whites in a room (it’s impossible anyway).

Just like texture, varying tones of white add depth and interest.

POPS OF COLOR

This is our temporary living room – not remodeled yet…

It’s nice to add little pops of color in an all white space. You can do that with pillows, throws and accessories. And they’re easy and relatively inexpensive to change out whenever you want.

Flowers are also a nice way to add pops of color to your all white room.

NATURAL WOOD

Natural wood looks great in an all white room. And I think the best way to ground all that white is to put it on top of a wood floor.

Every white room in my home has at least one wood element. There’s the wood floors, tables, trays, signs and wreaths.

Wood adds so much warmth to white on white rooms.

PLANTS

Just like wood, plants add warmth and color to your white spaces.

See how to make an ivy topiary HERE

Now I’m not the best at keeping plants alive so I’m really glad there’s so many great faux plants out there that I can’t kill off.

Be sure to add greenery — real or faux — to your all white rooms.

It’ll give them life!

So if you love white rooms like I do, be sure to use these easy decorating tips…

And I promise they’ll never be boring!

GET THE LOOK

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