Styling by Annette Maldonado and Victoria Van Vlear
A Santa Claus-inspired theme and fun pops of color combine with touches of farmhouse charm to create a cozy and inviting Christmas home.
As Christmas approaches, creating a home full of festive cheer is a great way to bring the holidays to the forefront. For Instagrammer Annette Maldonado of Cherished Treasures, decorating her Christmas home in California is the perfect creative outlet.
These two trees bedecked in holiday cheer stand in the entry area to greet guests. “I wanted a tree in every room,” says Annette Maldonado. “I really hadn’t seen two trees together in this way, so I put them together.” Taking from the year-round book wall behind, she rolled up pages from a Christmas book to create scroll ornaments. The classic colors of red, green and white take center stage in the Santa’s Workshop theme décor.
As the owner of a daycare center, her love for interior decorating began with celebrating her children. “I used to get really extravagant for my kids’ birthday parties,” she says. “I’ve always enjoyed the little details.” It became a hobby for her, and she branched out to her entire home. “I enjoy gathering my décor and bringing it all together, and the end result makes it worth it,” she says.
In the formal living room, bright and cheery reds pop against a neutral background. For Annette, it’s all about the details. Vintage spindles and a wooden bread bowl filled with greenery and ornaments add farmhouse charm to the space. “I try to think outside the box and find creative details to make the space cuter and more festive,” she says.
Combining classic and trendy Christmas colors, as well as bits of cozy farmhouse charm, she creates a warm, inviting and fun Christmas home brimming with holiday cheer.
Passersby have no doubt as to Annette’s interior décor style. The charming Christmas vignette on the porch incorporates rustic sign art with metal and wood accents that can stand up against the weather.This mini-mudroom in the entryway is a nod to farmhouse charm and features an introduction to Annette’s Santa’s workshop theme for the rest of the home. Playing off the Santa’s workshop focus, she included Santa’s coat, sash, bells and boots in this fun vignette. “To me, it’s really sticking with a theme and adding small details to finish the space,” she says. The shiplap wall is another display of her creativity in the rental home. “It is actually faux—it’s just peelable wallpaper that’s super easy to put up and take down,” she says.
Choosing a Christmas Home Theme
Decking the halls can feel daunting, and Annette starts the process a full year in advance. “First, I like to scroll Pinterest and Instagram to get some inspiration,” she says. From there, she comes up with ideas for a theme that will help her narrow her shopping. “I’m a budget shopper, so at the end of each holiday season, I go out to the local shops and stores and see what I can find on clearance,” she says. This year, her theme in the front part of the home centers around Santa’s workshop. After her shopping spree, she packs away her finds until the beginning of November, which is when she pulls all her Christmas décor out to begin again. “I have tubs and bins and trees in the attic and in the garage,” she says.
Pops of blush pink are a fun addition to Annette’s Christmas palette in this cozy family room. She uses throws, pillows, garlands, a decorated tree and various holiday pieces to fill the space. She was even able to modify the fireplace in her rented home to give off farmhouse-style appeal. “The fireplace is tiled, and I wanted a different look, so I got peelable wallpaper that looks like wood,” she says. “It was a nice addition of texture to make it more my style.”
Basing your palette on your chosen theme can help narrow your options for décor while also allowing your creativity to shine through. Classic red and white is Annette’s favorite color combination for Christmastime, and she incorporates it into her design every year. “It just feels like Christmas to me,” she says.
Choosing a less traditional color for your holiday décor can be a fun challenge. For Annette, it was all about mixing the traditional with her own unique flair. “I love the blush pink, so it was a challenge for me to incorporate that color,” she says. “Thankfully, once I started looking, I found a lot of pink Christmas items.” Some of her blush-pink décor items are part of her year-round collection. “I just layer in the seasonal stuff,” she says.
In the back part of her home, where the family spends most of their time, she continues her classic palette in her Christmas home, while bringing in other colors like blush pink and canary yellow. “I use similar colors throughout to keep things flowing and together, but I added the pink for a pop of color,” she says.
An abundance of ribbons on the tree in the living room creates the layered look that characterizes Annette’s Santa’s Workshop decor. She decided to glue several ribbons on top of each other for added volume. “I like to put faux presents under the trees to make it look full,” she says. A little faux fireplace adds cozy charm to the space.Especially in open floor layouts, finding ways to tie spaces together with décor is essential to create a cohesive look. Annette uses her classic Christmas palette, as well as seasonal greenery, to create a sense of flow between the entryway, living room and dining room. “I like to use a ton of garlands, and I create my own,” she says. “Most of them have multiple strands.”
Creating a Christmas Home
Just as having a theme plays a central role in Annette’s decorating, her use of textures and details brings a sense of warmth and welcome. “My big emphasis is on coziness and creating a place where you actually want to spend time,” she says. Throw blankets and pillows in every room create an inviting feel, as well as adding festive color and fun to her Christmas home. Farmhouse elements such as shiplap wallpaper, signs and vintage pieces are simple features that add further texture and interest in each space.
Annette’s eye for fun and whimsical décor shines in the kitchen. Many pieces were DIY projects. “All the gingerbread houses were white porcelain, so I hand painted them,” she says.Annette kept her traditional palette in the dining room, but changed it up with some nontraditional features. “I like to think outside the box, so I used the mitten to hold the silverware,” she says. She likewise used a piece of faux fur as a placemat for added texture and interest in this Santa’s Workshop theme house. “I find unique ways to do more traditional things,” she says.Choosing a theme can help create a cohesive look throughout your home, as well as inspire fun touches that are uniquely your own. Annette came up with the idea of this “Good List” runner as a way to tie in the Santa’s workshop theme.
While the home is a rental, Annette does her best to make the space uniquely her own. “There isn’t a lot I can change physically, but by adding décor I can make the house feel like home,” she says. For her Christmas home, this translates into filling every space with bits of holiday fun. She uses greenery to create a fresh and festive feel, along with several decorated trees that serve as focal points in each room. “The more the merrier,” she says. Altogether, the Santa’s Workshop décor creates a sense of fullness that speaks to the special season of Christmas time.
In this kitchen dining area, Annette changes up her palette from the traditional red, white and green. “I love having the blush pink in the house year round, and this was the first year that I used pink for Christmas,” she says. The wreath on the door was another DIY project. She took a plain wreath and glued leftover ornaments to tie this space together with the adjoining family room.This cute and festive hot cocoa station is the perfect way to bring some holiday fun into the kitchen. Usually serving as the coffee bar, the area gets a makeover for Christmas. “In the colder months it transitions into a hot cocoa bar,” she says. The bottlebrush Christmas trees add pops of color, while greenery, a pom-pom garland and Santa drinkware tie into the classic holiday theme.
“The more the merrier.”
This bedroom exudes coziness. “I used a lot of layers and textures here,” Annette says. Throw blankets, pillows and rugs bring a sense of warmth and welcome while also keeping with the traditional red, white and green palette.
DIY Scroll Garland
Add a touch of whimsy to your décor this Christmas with a scroll garland.
One of the fun aspects of decorating for the holidays is finding ways to incorporate aspects of your everyday décor. The entryway has a distinctly farmhouse feel with vintage wooden-slatted shutters combined with a vintage window mirror atop a timeless, white dresser. Annette spruces them up with a small wreath, greenery, stockings and a book-page garland. “I pulled some of the pages off the book wall, rolled them up and stuck them on the garland,” she says.
What You’ll Need:
Book pages or 8 ½” x 11″ paper
Tape
Ribbon of your choice (look for Christmas colors or patterns such as plaid or polka dot)
Hot glue gun
Scissors
Twine
What You’ll Do:
Gather your pages in one place. If you’re using full-sized letter paper, cut the pages in half widthwise so they’re about the size of a book page.
Roll up each page and tape or glue it so it stays rolled.
Cut a piece of ribbon and tie it around the sheet of paper (don’t worry about getting a perfect bow). Use hot glue to keep it in place.
Cut another piece of ribbon and tie it into a bow; then glue the bow onto the front of the ribbon. This will give you the perfect bow look. You can leave some scrolls without a bow to vary the look.
Use the tip of one scissor blade to gently poke a hole through the scroll on each side.
Tie a large knot on one end of the twine; then thread it through the scrolls, alternating the scrolls with ribbon and those without.
Tie a knot in the other end of the twine, and hang the garland along with your other Christmas décor.
Greenery plays a big role in Annette’s décor. “I just like the look of the greenery, because to me that feels like Christmas,” she says. A vintage side table in the dining room provides a neutral backdrop for this holiday vignette. A red bow and festive sign bring a pop of red, while pillows add texture and a touch of coziness to the space.
Want more Christmas ideas like this Santa’s Workshop? Tour this cozy Christmas cabin! Of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to get your daily dose of farmhouse inspiration!
A lover of history, good stories and beautiful spaces, Laura finds that writing for American Farmhouse Style is a wonderful outlet. Residing in the rugged West, she enjoys watercolor sunsets and finding beauty in the unexpected. She is a wife to a wonderful husband and a brand new boy mom. When not cuddling with the baby or her two cats Tigger and Scout, she enjoys dabbling in fiction writing, attempting soap making, baking and DIY home projects.
