Thursday, December 15, 2011

CorpGoth Xmas 2011

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to our holiday decorations. I like to put out essentially the same things year after year, with just small additions or changes to reflect my current mood or anything that's different in the house. But, to me & to my husband, part of the charm of the holidays is enjoying the traditions that connect us to family, childhood, & the past in general.

Most of our decorations have an old-fashioned, Victorian-esque feel with a gothic tinge. They're a mix of things from my mom & stuff I've made & collected since my husband & I moved in together a million, billion years ago.

Here's a look around the 2011 edition... Click on any image for a larger version, if you like.

Starting on the front porch, I pile up leftover tree branches around this metal lantern & add a few ribbons for a festive welcome. The wreath on the door is dried grapevine that I spray-painted gold & wrapped with burgundy wired ribbons scavenged from our wedding decorations (they were aisle bows).


Inside the front door, there's an archway between the dining room & living room where I've hung a long faux-greenery garland that I decorated with more of that formerly wedding-decor burgundy ribbon, plus I wired it with white fairy lights. A similar garland is over the dining room window (not shown).


I make up a different holiday centerpiece each year. This time, I used pinecones that I long-ago spray-painted gold, crystal candlesticks, & yes, more of those burgundy ribbons (nothing goes to waste around here ;-), all on a silver platter with some round red candles added. The tablecloth is black with poinsettias from April Cornell.


"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care..." Yep, we have stockings hanging on the fireplace mantle. Big burgundy velvet stockings with our names in silver.  Another garland decorates the mantle, along with velvet poinsettias & some glass ornaments.


Finally, the tree. We always get a Douglas fir, a real tree, because it smells divine, & it's the eco-friendly choice (they're farmed just like the lettuce or artichokes about 20 miles away from us -- one year, we went & chopped our own, but that was more trouble than it's worth!). See a photo of the gothic tree angel & find out how I made her on my Gothic Martha Stewart site.

I also have a silver menorah & a clay dreidel (the later I made), in honor of our Jewish family & friends. I'm an atheist, but I've always been a student of world religions (nearly switched my major to religious studies as an undergrad!). I like to show equal respect to both major the holidays of this time.


As I mentioned, the decorations are a real mix -- some childhood faves & some new additions, like this glass black cat bought in Salem, Massachusetts.


Old & new live next to each other. A blown egg hand-painted with Winnie-the-Pooh by my mom when I was a toddler & a delicate glass skull found far more recently.


Flashy embellished fabric shoe from Cost-Plus World Market as a sign of a fashionista holiday.


Psychedelic partridge in a pear tree, painted by my mom when I was a wee thing in the early '70s. This one kind of freaked me out when I was a kid (maybe because it doesn't have eyes?), but I've grown to love its weirdness.


And lastly, the tree lit in glowing red lights. I have strings of white lights & strings of purple lights, but this year, red seemed right. Such a warm, inviting glow...


Happy holidays, whatever you celebrate, if you do! No matter what, I hope you're surrounded by lots of pretty, shiny things this month.

(Note: I'm going out after work tonight to see the new Muppets movie with my husband & sister-in-law, so I'll probably be home too late to post today's outfit. Since I had this post prepped for tomorrow, I figured I'd just switch them up instead :-)

8 comments:

  1. I love your decor. It's eclectic, but all blends.

    The 60s partridge, I'm sad to say, makes me think of a slug with tail feathers! It really does need eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So nice to see pictures of your home. I loved the garlands and the christmas tree. I was out buying mine yesterday and dressed it in white and silver.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your tree is fabulous :) It must be nice having all those memories associated with the decorations, especially the ones from your family before you. My Dad sent me some baubles from his house because this is the first Christmas I'm going to have that's not at his house, seeing as I moved out the country and can't afford to go home. The kitty and the skull are both extra lovely. Glass ornaments are the best. That partridge is definitely psychedelic. Reminds me of the things my Dad (a bit of a hippie-in-proffessor's-clothing) has.

    I've got two Christmas trees at home, a traditional one (red, silver, black, gold, with painted pine-cones and lots and lots of baubles) because my other half is very traditional about Christmas, and then in our bedroom I put up a black and purple miniature synthetic tree. The mini-tree has been nicknamed the Gothmas Tree and has black "needles" and black, silver and purple baubles and purple star-shaped lights.

    I'd LOVE a real tree, but sadly even the big tree in the living-room is a synthetic one. We live in an upstairs apartment, and I don't fancy my partner and I trying to get a real tree up the staircase, and I'm not sure how happy our landlady would be about us having a live tree with all the mess that comes with that in her fully-furnished apartment, so we've got only synthetic trees.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gorgeous decorations!

    I have that exact same candle-holding wall hanging thing over your mantle, only mine is smaller and painted black. Very gothic!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very cool! The red-only tree lights are a fantastic idea.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Laurie Brown - Totally weird '60s/'70s thing, I know. Gotta keep the history ;-)

    linnea-maria - Oooo, white & silver sounds lovely.

    The HouseCat - Yay for the Gothmas Tree!

    Hexotica - You'd never guess that candleholder is faux-painted plastic ;-)

    LovleAnjel - Thanks! I love single-colored lights on a tree.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Awwww, you still have the candle-sconce-thing I gave you (a long time ago)! It looks great!

    (Sparky from the old alt. gothic.fashion)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hells yes, Sparky! I was thrilled to finally have a proper fireplace to put it over. one of the best gifts ever :-)

    ReplyDelete