async='async' data-ad-client='ca-pub-1704385665578974' src='https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js'/> 2021 - Welch House 1900

A Very Victorian Christmas

 

Welch House is celebrating its 121st Christmas this year with a very Victorian Christmas in red!




I decided to deck the front and back parlors this year in a festive red Christmas! The mantel is completely decorated with all thrifted items. I found a very high end Christmas garland at the thrift store this summer, and only paid $9 for it. The garland was already embellished with red Christmas bulbs. To give the garland more volume, I spray painted a magnolia garland gold and added it in.





The ribbon is a beautiful gold color with a deep red velvet damask pattern scattered all about. I found that at the thrift store as well! Only $5 for a large roll.





Pretty velvet poinsettias tucked in here and there.




My centerpiece is a sweet garden statue that I adorned with a gold crown. I love the soft candlelight glow of my antique church altar candelabras. They are so special to me. I found them on Facebook marketplace this fall and only paid $50 each, which is such an amazing price!





Giant bows are a must on the ends of my Christmas garland! I love how they cascade down the fireplace mantel.




The gorgeous red velvet stockings were also thrifted. I love the shape of the toes on these stockings, they remind me of elf shoes.




The stockings really give a Victorian vibe to my Christmas decor.




I love sitting in front of the fireplace and enjoying the lighted mantel. I usually prefer a simple garland, but this year I felt like going a little over the top. lol






The statue on our library table got adorned with a sweet bow this year.





A festive red runner showcases my gold framed family photos.





A photo of my husband and I on our wedding day. We just celebrated our 15 year wedding anniversary this month.




The back parlor is very festive as well!




I truly love our red tree this year. As much as I adore my pink trees, the red tree is the most sentimental to me. These are the ornaments from my Husband's childhood, ornaments that I've collected since I was a teenager and of course the ornaments that we have collected since being married.





I will be having one red tree from this year on, its important to me to see our memories on the tree each year. I draped the tree with my thrifted ribbon and gold beads. Satin red ribbons were added, but still something was missing. I really wanted some lighted candles for this tree, and I found vintage set of 16 on Facebook marketplace for $6! They are really beautiful and flicker like a real candle, and for being 30 years old, they work amazingly! 




 

 I saw this vintage bear on wheels as soon as I walked into the thrift store, and I knew I was not leaving without him. He is absolutely darling with a cedar garland draped around his neck and a sweet old dolly on his back. I found the doll for a few dollars and dressed her up a bit with a red ribbon in her hair.





Look how adorable they are! Just the perfect touch for the front of our tree.





Of course our son's Polar Express train is set up under the tree as well...its a tradition around here.





A closer look at our ornaments. If you look close enough you might see an ornament with a paw print, our kitties made their own ornaments this year!





This darling snowman is actually a set of two, I found them at a garage sale, but they are Bethany Lowe designs!




On the piano is our reproduction "T'was the Night Before Christmas" book. I bought this while I was expecting my son.




I have a new print above the piano this season.





Found at the thrift store for around $5 is this amazing Victorian print of two girls with the most adorable snowman!




I love it so much! 





I added some cozy pillows to the tufted lounge.





And candlelight always adds some coziness.






I hope you enjoyed our Victorian style Christmas in red! Almost all of my decor was thrifted! I hope it inspired you to do a little thrifting and create beauty on a budget. Thank you to everyone who leaves me the sweetest comments and visits my blogs, it means the world to me! I love you all!







Also, I would like to share with you that I am a finalist in Cottages and Bungalows Magazine's Christmas tree contest! I was totally shocked to have been picked! I would love it if you would visit this link and vote for my tree, or the tree you love best! To be honest I'm extremely far behind in votes, but anything is possible right? The winner gets a spread in Cottages and Bungalow's magazine next year! This is the photo that I submitted.




I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! This week will be a busy one here at Welch house, lots of cleaning and baking! I'm also hosting Christmas this year! First time ever! I'm so excited!


-Larissa

French Style Christmas Decor in the Library

I love an "old world" Christmas.


  



Beautiful fir trees dripping in beads, and adorned with satin ribbons and bows.





My library is a perfect back drop for that type of Christmas. Fresh greenery dressed up the crystal chandelier and delicate glass ornaments can be found hanging among the crystals.







All together is makes for a pretty presentation.






Cedar garland looks lovely draped across a painting. Simple, but beautiful.







I love Marie Antoinette inspired decor, and I was delighted to find two gorgeous French Macaron topiary trees at Home Goods this year! They are absolutely wonderful and unique! I plan to keep them up year round.





They look very nice on my French coffee table with its marble top, which by the way, recently received a makeover. I painted it the same blue as the walls, added gold to make the details pop, and of course added a large gold appliqué.





I wanted my tree to have a subtle Marie Antoinette vibe, so I added in some adorable French Macaron cookie ornaments! These are so lovely!     







The ornaments come packaged in a gorgeous pink box and each pastel macaron had its own tiny gold French fork. You can find them here in my Amazon Store.








Throughout the year I will collect small vintage French portraits and prints of antique paintings. They are perfect for my Christmas tree and the old world style that I love. This print I thought would look lovely at the top of my tree.





I am pleased with my finished tree and each year I plan to collect more French style ornaments  and build on what I already have. 




A antique French box makes a wonderful addition to my old world Christmas. I found this darling box at a garage sale for one dollar.





Another new addition to my tree this year is  this gold birdcage featuring a tiny delicate bird. I found it thrifting and it reminded me of Marie Antoinette.






I hope you enjoyed  the tour of my very French Christmas Library. I will be showing our Christmas living room soon. This year it is very traditional and I used red! The vibe is very victorian inspired.






Thank you for stopping by! 

-Larissa





French Aubusson rug in the Library


I have always admired French Aubusson rugs. I first learned about Aubusson rugs from two of my very favorite bloggers, Amy at Maison Decor and Courtney from French Country Cottage. They both are so talented and have gorgeous homes, I'm sure you are already following them, but if by chance you are not, definitely give their blogs a visit! 

Aubusson is actually a town on the Creuse River in central France and has been famous for its tapestries and carpets since the 15th century. Aubusson rugs were a sign of wealth and grandness as each one is hand woven and extremely expensive. In fact, a 1786 inventory lists more than 100 Aubusson rugs in the palace of Versailles.  



 

Most Aubusson rugs feature baroque designs, including lush cabbage rose bouquets and scrolling acanthus leaves in soft muted pastel colors. They are still very much in fashion today.



I found this large gorgeous vintage Aubusson rug on eBay over the summer. I wanted something that would compliment my blue/green walls in our library. Usually a rug this size could be priced close to $1,000 but that is definitely not in my budget. 





I was delighted to find this particular rug for only a couple of hundred dollars and the seller actually gave me a discount of $75 off! The soft colors are perfection! Over the years this rug has seen some fading, but that doesn't bother me at all, I totally embrace all of its imperfections and the wonderful life its lived so far.




This rug is so detailed and honestly brings me so much joy when I walked into the library! Even vacuuming has become fun when you have a rug this pretty!



I now am on the hunt for more Aubusson rugs for other rooms in my home, especially for my foyer and dining room. I have since purchased two, much smaller Aubusson rugs and I will share them with you in another post. Do any of you have Aubusson rugs in your homes? I would love to know!




I will be sharing some Christmas posts with you very soon! I did not get around to decorating much for Halloween this year because of my surgery and having some Christmas projects that I am working on. We will get back into the Halloween fun next year! Thank you so much for stopping by!


-Larissa

Marie

I've always wanted an oil painting.





 Earlier this summer I found "Marie".




She was tucked away in a dark corner of an old antique shop. 




Her ornate gold frame had some damage, but was still beautiful.





She has such a kind face.




The canvas does have a few holes and I'm sure it has faded over time, but the details are amazing.




I love her jewelry. The gold and diamond earrings are a matched set with her brooch. 



When I turned the painting over to the backside, I was in for another surprise. The canvas was signed "Marie, and also a date of 1871! How amazing is that?




Also from the backside you can see her image through the canvas, and it does look a little spooky! lol



Marie ended up coming home to Welch House, and she has become an instant ancestor! I have her displayed in the foyer to welcome visitors to our home. I just know that she is the first oil painting of many to come!




I am sorry that I have been away for quite some time. This past year has been extremely hard for me. If you have been following me on Instagram you know that I had surgery earlier this month to remove a pituitary tumor. I am three weeks post operation, the recovery time is 6 weeks. I'm not allowed to do much  until then, but I had these photos and a few more saved for a blog post that I thought I would share with you while I'm still in recovery. I hope to be more consistent on my blog soon! 

I've missed you all!


-Larissa