Hi Everyone,
Welcome to my Holiday Home Tour! This year’s tour is a little different—and extra special—because we’re taking a look back at how we decorated our home in Los Angeles. It was such a meaningful space for our family, and we made so many wonderful holiday memories there. As we reflect on those traditions, we’re also excited to be starting new ones in Montecito, where we’ve already begun adding our own festive touches to our new home. I’ll be sharing a few glimpses of that, too!
Without further ado…let’s deck the halls!
Exterior Decorations
Even without decorations, our LA home had a naturally cheerful charm, but during the holidays it truly came alive. We loved adding wreaths to every window and framing the front door with an ornament-adorned garland. Burlap ribbon, pinecones, and fruit ornaments—especially my favorite avocado—made it feel wonderfully personal and festive.
One of the things my mom taught me growing up is that every great home should have a beautiful welcoming entrance. I love changing out the decor on my front entryway table for the different seasons. For the holidays, I chose a beautiful faux floral arrangement from Diane James Home. I also added a couple accent gold reindeers and my favorite snow globe that created a magical greeting the moment you walked in.
The Stairway
One of the first prints we hung at our home was Ocean Rain Nantucket leading up our main stairway. I love how this print is so versatile for any season, adds a sense of motion to the walls, and complements the holiday accents around it. I love having garland on the staircase railings because it makes the home feel so cozy and ready for Christmas morning when the kids come down the stairs to see what Santa Claus brought them!
Just off the entry, our office became a cozy holiday hideaway each December. We added a tree, wrapped presents, and sprinkled festive minis throughout the shelves. Spotted at Palais Royal from my Dogs of Paris series looked especially charming here—the sunlight always hit it just right, making the room feel bright and joyful.
The Kitchen
To the side of our kitchen we placed this adorable Serena and Lily blue dresser. I like to make sure there's a touch of Christmas in every part of thehome, so I added one of my favorite holiday images, Lakeside Holiday, which I captured near our lake home in Michigan one summer.
Family Traditions
As an official holiday launch at our home, we love to make our favorite festive cocktail recipe for Peppermintinis. We love to sip these delicious and adorable drinks by the Christmas tree - it is easily one of my favorite drinks of the holiday season, and it is the perfect sip to make if you are hosting a holiday party! I've linked the recipe here.
I love sharing family traditions we have with the kids such as these adorable advent calendars that my parents gave us which we reuse every year. They have little doors that fit small trinkets inside so the kids can open one each day as we countdown to Christmas! This year since the kids are getting a bit older, we've also started doing Elf on The Shelf, and they are loving it - not to mention it is working: they are both trying very hard to be on Santa's good list this year!
As much as we cherish the memories from decorating our LA home, we’re equally excited to be creating new holiday traditions in Montecito. Our new home already feels so special, and we can’t wait to share a peek at how we’re decorating it for the season.
I hope you all enjoyed this tour and that it helped put you in the holiday spirit. I created a fun Holiday Playlist on our Spotify for all of you to listen to throughout the season. We've had it on repeat in our house and I know you all will love it too.
Happy Holidays!
Xx
Gray