Toile and Tartan for Christmas!

I am so excited to share my English-inspired "Toile and Tartan" Christmas decor! I normally don't have a theme for Christmas as I just love to use things that I have collected over the years along with lots of natural elements.

This year, however, I was inspired by some photos I had seen and my "Romantic England" transferware, which you will see later this week. 

These next two inspiration photos are from Charles Edwards lighting in the UK, which you can visit HERE.

I love the colors in these, particularly the persian rug and the dark furniture. Also, the wall color and accessories really spoke to me, I also love to mix old and new. Dreaming of the chandelier:-)

This photo was from a 1995 issue of Country Living, and I really loved the tartan window treatments, so that was the jumping off point for me.

I lucked into this fabric, which is so similar to the inspiration photo, on ebay, and there was just enough for four generous panels. 

I made pillow slipcovers with remnants of the Waverly "Sweet Pastimes" toile in Spice that I had leftover from a runner project. 

I also added vintage quilts and afghans that were made by my great grandmother and family friends as inspired by another book I love, Perfect English Cottage, available HERE at Amazon. 

So here is my English cottage Christmas...

I wanted a really comfortable family area that we could gather in and enjoy...

I also draped the tree with more toile and lots of tartan bows.

...a few night pics

A cozy spot for reading the Christmas story...

Having seen antlers everywhere in decor lately, I begged and pleaded with my parents for this set over the buffet, and my dad finally let me have them. These are from a hunting trip he took when he was just 14 years old...his very first deer.

"Romantic England" red transferware plates by J & G Meakin were part of the inspiration for the English cottage style.

Now a closer look at the tree...my 5-year-old loves to rearrange things on the tree:-)

I used a lot of handmade, crocheted ornaments along with others I have collected over the years on trips to Germany and Italy. The gold ball ornaments are from Sacile, Italy.

Home is a very special place for us, and I work really hard to make it that way for my family. We cherish the time we spend together and make that a priority. Our house is very small, but I really try to make the most of it in creative ways. We are so thankful for what we have, and we make every effort to share with others as opportunities arise. 

A cause near and dear to our hearts is the plight of homeless veterans. We regularly volunteer at a local shelter dedicated to their needs, and we are the ones being blessed by them. A wonderful thing to do during this season is to give a gift in honor of someone to a charity that will help someone in need. Also, please take the time to volunteer at a shelter, or simply take food or necessities to someone. There are so many opportunities to give, just take one. We could so change the world if we all did that:-)

Merry Christmas

Anita

I'll be joining Kim for Wow Us Wednesdays