Christmas in the Dining Room

This is where the great family Christmas Eve dinner will be taking place:


There's still no proper floor in there, but I figured that was no reason not to dress it all up for the holidays.
The curtains certainly make it feel like a more finished room, and will even more when I get a proper rod for them (they're currently tied up with twine.) I got the idea for the lights behind them (they're icicle lights strung side to side) from a Christmas special I saw on HGTV, and it really does add to the holiday ambiance.

I also finally hung this cute shelf I picked up on the sale rack at target a couple of months ago. The votive holders are the same ones we used for the centerpieces at our wedding. And yes, those are the notorious branches! These were sprayed gold and interspersed with the bittersweet vines (hard to see against the orange walls without the candle lit behind it...)

And while I was having fun with the spray paint I went ahead and did some pine cones (there were lots to be had in all the fallen branches from the storm!) I thought I might tuck them in the tree, or a wreath, but to store them I just put them on a gold plate that was sitting on the dining table (I had switched it out from the fireplace a couple weeks ago and hadn't quite gotten around to properly storing it), and lo! A centerpiece was born!!

I may add a couple red bulbs to the plate and a candle on either side, but what a happy accident that setting was!

I also dressed up the hanging iron baskets I'm using as mini-chandeliers in the corner:

And since the palm tree had to come into a warmer room (there's a door between the dining room and the main house, so we don't normally heat it) I picked up a small potted evergreen to put in his place for the winter months. I will put him in a proper pot and dress him up in sparkly ornaments as well!

There's no such thing as too much sparkle this time of year!!

Okay, who am I kidding? There's NEVER such a thing as too much sparkle!