Happy first weekend of December! Are you busy decorating or are you already finished?  I am still in the process of decorating and I have been busy working on creating a classic, cozy  Christmas cottage which includes my signature vintage-traditional Christmas style. It is a mix of all kinds of vintage Christmas from various eras, and this year’s hottest two “trends” which are the Ralph Lauren Christmas trend and Little Women Christmas. While they may be trending, both of these are timeless, and I have always incorporated elements of these styles in my holiday decorating.

 

I am so thrilled that some of my favorite blogging besties are joining me today in sharing some “Seasonal Saturday” ideas during the most wonderful time of the year. You will find links to all of their fabulous blogs at the end of this post. Today I will be sharing some Christmas inspiration photos or our “still feeling new to us home” and older photos of the yellow brick home that illustrate how I create a classic Christmas cottage every year, without spending a lot of money on new holiday items.

 

Elements of a Ralph Lauren Christmas

So I’m sure by now you know all about the Ralph Lauren Christmas trend, but anyone who has been interested in decorating or fashion for any amount of times knows Ralph Lauren is just about as classic as it gets!

 

Here is a photo of Christmas 2019, before the phrase, “Ralph Lauren Christmas Trend” came about. When it comes to Christmas decorating, I always have areas in our home that have the Ralph Lauren Christmas look. This actually is a Ralph Lauren plaid throw, (a great Home Goods score!) I was going for a Ralph Lauren/English Country equestrian look here with the plaid blanket, an antique brown velvet riding cap and plaid ribbon on a woodsy winter garland with pheasant feathers.

 

Last year I used the plaid blanket as a table cloth on a little round table next the fireplace. Mainly I set up a little table here because I just wanted a place to showcase the fabulous vintage Bouillotte lamp I had thrifted in New York just before Christmas. .

 

 

 

The year before that, I draped the plaid blanket over the chesterfield sofa. I haven’t made up my mind where it will end up this year, as I am still moving things around.

 

As a Kentucky girl, I have always been drawn to equestrian items as a nod to Kentucky being known as “horse country,” so the RL look seems to make sense in our old Kentucky Home. By the way, we just confirmed that this home was built in 1926 and finished in ’27. We will probably just be wrapping up all the main details we have envisioned for this home just in time for it’s 100th Christmas the year after next!

 

In this photo of my Christmas Home tour of the Yellow Brick Home’s 100th Christmas in 2021, I was mixing velvet, plaid, tartan and animal print all together on the wing chair. Mixing all of those textiles is an easy way to achieve a Ralph Lauren aesthetic. The Cottage Journal featured our 100th Christmas Home Tour in their 2022 Country Cottage Christmas magazine.

 

 

 

I do love Ralph Lauren, but I could never stick to just one style or aesthetic however, basically because our homes have always been full of thrifted treasures and personal items that speak to me, and I end up finding a way to make them work.  I just do what I love and mixed it all together.

 

 

As an example, this vintage-farmhouse Christmas styled coffee station area was just around the corner from the living room with all the Ralph-Lauren-vintage Christmas vignettes . It all worked together though because it was tied together by a predominant vintage theme.

 

 

And yes…I miss the LOOK of the brick floor, but NO I would not want a brick kitchen floor again!

 

We did do a brick entry “rug” in the sunroom which is the entrance from the Garden. Garden muck on boots isn’t an issue. It was the food that would get smashed down the grout and I had to scrub with a toothbrush to get out. 

 

I am getting my “brick fix” with our new kitchen wall! More about that on the upcoming Christmas home tour. I digress…

 

 

Back to Ralph Lauren Christmas talk!

In this photo, the Ralph Lauren, Victorian, Frenchy-Brocante, English country and rustic-winter garden-inspired treasures all together from Christmas 2019. Chances are you will see most of these decorative items on this year’s home tour too, but I will just use them in different ways or combined with some new treasures I have found since moving here.

 

I guess it’s really just my Amber Christmas style, since I tend to do the same sort of vignettes, but I move things around or add new found treasures in to make old things feel new. Having so much Scottish heritage and loving all things Scotland, I collect anything plaid and tartan and incorporate those items in our home all year round. By the way, did you know that all tartans are plaids, but not all plaids are tartans?  Here is a great article explaining the difference.

 

 

 

Here’s a close up of last year’s English Country/Ralph Lauren inspired mantel with pheasants, equestrian pictures, pheasant feathers and old books.

 

 

So if Insta-world and blogland is going to call anything plaid, leather, brass, or rustic, natural and woodsy the “new” Ralph Lauren Christmas trend, it’s seems a bit odd to me. Nevertheless, I love it and I’m here for it and will be for years to come!

 

 

 

 

 

Probably the BEST Ralph Lauren Home Goods score ev-errr was a pair of gorgeous wool and leather trimmed large pillows. I bit the bullet and spent $60 for the pair, knowing I would use them for Christmas year after year, and even year round in the in-progress guest bedroom, which is going to have a Scottish/British aesthetic. 

 

 

When we got home from shopping that evening, I did a google image search and found the pillows still listed on the RL website at the time for $350 a piece! So yeah, probably $60 well spent! I would never spend that on pillows but hey, talk about getting the look for less! 

 

 

 

A Little Bit of  a Little Women Christmas

 

The Little Women Christmas aesthetic is all the rage this year too. But again, this is a timeless, simple style that I start to crave toward the end of Christmas when my senses are overloaded. Last year’s winter tree with crocheted snow flakes and dried orange slices, along with the fresh lemons and paperwhites in an ironstone bowl on the counter all evoked that handmade, natural, Little Women Christmas vibe. And how about that $20 yard sale Ralph Lauren Chinoiserie lamp for the win!

 

 

 

 

Bowls of fruits and natural (or nearly natural) touches of evergreen are simple Christmas touches that evoke Little Women nostalgia or a couple of other styles I love, Colonial Christmas and primitive Christmas.

 

 

You can’t go wrong with a  simple dough bowl of greenery, fruits and a candle. I was stressing over doing something new for the island this year, but why? I loved this dough bowl on the island last Christmas, so I am doing the EXACT SAME THING and so happy about it! I was upset that it was always gloomy last December after I got the dough bowl styled, so I am looking forward to getting some good pictures this year.

 

 

Another Little Women/colonial Christmas idea that I am repeating or  at least drawing inspiration from is my fresh fruit, nuts, and cinnamon stick candle wreath centerpiece from several years ago. 

 

 

I have used my long dough bowl as a Christmas centerpiece for the past few years, so it will be nice to change it up. Also I am borrowing another idea from myself to repeat that I had forgotten all about, which is the cloche with a nativity on the vintage footed pedestal. By the way, those candlesticks are dollar tree candles with gold rub and buff. 

 

 

Cloved orange pomanders and other fresh fruits? Gotta have ’em for an old-fashioned Christmas!

 

 

 

 

Handmade, quilted homespun, needlepoint or embroidered stockings speak to a nostalgic Little Women Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 

Use lots of ribbons, bows, old oil lamps and flickering candles for Christmas nostalgia.

 

 

 

 

 

I just thrifted a pair of antique oil lamps and they are perfect for Christmas on the piano! I will share more photos of the lamps on Wednesday on my Christmas home tour.

 

 

These lamps fit in both a Ralph Lauren and Little Women Christmas!

 

 

Don’t forget to make it smell like an old-fashioned Christmas too! I always keep the ingredients for a delicious smelling stove top simmer close at hand for the holidays and winter.

 

Mix and Mingle Your Christmas Treasures

I guess if I had to pick a favorite Christmas style, I would just say vintage Christmas. It just isn’t Christmas to me without all the Shiny Brites, vintage tinsel, gingerbread houses, peppermint sticks, and colorful candies.

 

 

 

As I said in my recent Instagram post, “Just gimme ALL the vintage Christmas!

 

 

Are you all about the Ralph Lauren Christmas trend or Little Women Christmas aesthetic? Regardless, I hope this post has inspired you to follow your heart and create a Christmas style that is all your own, drawing inspiration from any Christmas style that appeals to you. I also hope you are inspired to use things you already have and not be stressed about keeping up with trends. The Christmas items we have collected over time are the most meaningful, and those are the treasures that make a house a home for the holidays!

 

Now it’s time to head over to see Laura’s beautiful Colonial Williamsburg Christmas in the Living Room. Be sure to check out the other beautiful holiday ideas via the link up below.

Thanks for visiting and Merry Christmas!

Amber