A Rustic-Glam Christmas

This year, the theme of our Christmas decorations is "rustic-glam." Think of it like shabby chic, but not quite as frilly. I wanted to combine rustic, outdoorsy elements with pretty, sparkly details. (A little for both of us, right??)  It sounds like a bit of a stretch to mesh these two ideas, but I do think the end result is fairly elegant, and not too over-the-top.
This is my first year decorating with a theme in mind, and I truly enjoyed it. It allowed me to thoughtfully consider each item of decor, rather than throwing up anything and everything that was Christmasy. I hope you like it too! Since there are still parts of our home that I want to tweak, I'm going to show you each space over time. Today I want to share our new entry hall table (aka, our stand-in mantle place).
Sadly, our apartment does not have a fireplace, and by extension no mantle (on which to decorate or to hang our stockings with care...). This is the first time that I have a surface large enough to create a "mantle-esque" display. Since mantles are usually the focal point of the room, I feel that our table will suffice; it is certainly the first thing you see when you walk into our apartment, and it sets the tone for the rest of our home's decor.
I used many elements from around our home to create this vignette. I started with a large mercury glass vase. (You may remember this one from my recent Home Goods excursion.) I arranged some glittery branches that I purchased at Michael's (50% off!) and then added some sparkly baubles to the branches. I used lots of silver and gold Christmas balls of various sizes (you can get these anywhere for cheap-cheap). I also added some (free) mini pine cones and some Dollar Store snowflakes.

My favorite part of this arrangement would have to be the "crystals" (which are actually acrylic). I found these on the floor of The Room of Requirement, left over from an old broken chandelier. I used a little windex to shine them up and added them to my tree.

While my tree may be the centerpiece of this "mantle-scape," the supporting characters are just as important. Off-white candles on various-sized glass candlesticks and mercury glass votive holders complete the look. I've had my glass candleholders for a while. I came across them at various stores, including Pier One and Home Goods.

 The mercury glass votive holders are also easy to find. I've purchased different sizes at places like Anthropologie, Target, and Michael's. All of them are pretty cheap (around $1 - $5) and oh-so-sparkly!

Lastly, as you can see in the background, I added some faux garland and twinkling lights (battery-operated, since our closest outlet is the kitchen!). The garland is a stand-in until we get our Christmas tree, and I can add some real clippings. 

So that's the beginning of our rustic-glam holiday decor. There's much more to share (including a very special project made by my hubs!) What do you think?? Any themed holiday decor happening at your house?

      

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