Christmas Dining Room with At Home

I remember my very first At Home shopping experience… it was the week before I moved to Alabama. They had just built a brand new store and I had driven by the “coming soon” sign for months… they opened just in time for one visit before I made the big cross country move. I walked through the doors and my jaw hit the floor… it felt like paradise.

So many aisles and they were all full of fabulous things! I remember calling my hubby to tell him I had found heaven… he thought I was being slightly dramatic but I brushed that off. He wasn’t there, he didn’t know! I snapped up lamp shades for the master bedroom that day… along with a brand new bed-set for the guest room.

Since then we have visited At Home stores across the country… we love their everyday low prices! We bought our living room rug at the Louisville location for $99 and it’s an 8×10! We found new curtains for our master bedroom on a quick trip to Atlanta… 4 panels for $14! (You haven’t even seen those yet!) That’s one of the reasons why I love At Home so much… they’re not just a one-stop-shop you can find something for every single room!

While I already know how much I love At Home…Mom has never been… the closest store is about three hours away so she hasn’t had a chance to check it out! I tried explaining how amazing it is… but seeing really is believing. That’s why we decided to take a little girls day to head up to Birmingham and do some shopping!

We are working on decorating my new dining area for an upcoming Christmas party (Don’t I sound like a real grown-up?!) and I know At Home has over 15 different decorative themes… that’s a holiday look for every single house! Something snowy and white for me and traditional red and green for mom!

We have really different styles so the unmatched assortment of indoor and outdoor decorations at At Home was absolutely fabulous… plus Mom’s eyes about spun around in her head when we walked into the store! I tried to warn her but she just wasn’t prepared for the awesomeness!

I thought I was looking for bling… you know crystals, ice, the whole sparkly shiny thing (I get very easily distracted)… but then I walked through the doors and saw this:

I saw it and my heart just about stopped… it was as if the angels were singing! I’m not sure why (Mom really isn’t sure why!) but I absolutely fell in love! I absolutely adore the delicate paper scroll work. Every time you take a peek into the little forest you spot something new: a fox, a deer, a rabbit… it wasn’t until we took it home that Mom and I noticed there was a moose on the other side!

Do you ever just see something and fall in love? That’s how it was for me… I just had to have it! The best part? It lights up… so it will be absolutely gorgeous as the centerpiece of my dining room table!

How cute is that little fox? He almost came home with me but that big fluffy squirrel tail won me over… plus he’s holding a little pine-cone! Isn’t that adorable? I knew the pine-cones and grass balls would tie in perfectly with the greenery swags I already had at home.

That little bit of rustic really makes the white and glitzy POP!

Of course it wasn’t until we had perused the entire store that I realized I had purchased all of my items from the Snowcapped Scene collection. I thought that I would have items from several different collections but apparently I am digging the snow this Christmas! Which is hilarious since this is my second Christmas in Alabama… where there is absolutely no snow!

Since we moved from Colorado having no snow this last year is a bit of a novelty! Another change? Not being able to cut down your own Christmas tree! I know I could purchase a live tree from a lot but it’s just not the same as bundling up and trudging around in the woods looking for the perfect tree to chop down. We currently have a little apartment sized tree… it’s super skinny and now that I’m all grown up (and having my first grown-up dinner party!) we probably need a grown up sized tree!

The Tree for Me lot had so many Christmas Trees I didn’t even know where to look! It was almost like being back in the Colorado forest… if the forest had pink trees and upside down trees and trees that came pre-lit!

I’ll have to take the hubby back up to the store to take a peek… as much as I wanted to pick up a new tree I knew he’d be upset if he didn’t get to help! He’s use to chopping down his own tree… so not even getting to pick the fake tree wouldn’t go over well! Oh well… I’ll “suffer” through the return trip!

Even though we didn’t get a tree we didn’t come away empty handed… just check out all the fabulous things we found! I love those sparkly candles… we picked up a bunch for the wedding and still use them around the house today! I didn’t expect At Home to still carry them now… almost a year and a half after the wedding! So when I saw them we had to snap up a couple… I love that they work for Christmas decorations and then move seamlessly into our every day decor.

Don’t you love decor that works well all year round?

Mom ended up with a couple ornaments… she said she wasn’t going to buy anything but she just couldn’t resist!

After the long 3 hour drive back home we were fairly tired but we couldn’t wait to start decorating… we wanted to see how it all came together! We started with the centerpiece and worked outwards… I absolutely love how it all came together! The hubby even got defensive when I told him it would have to be put away after the party… he wants to leave it up for the next few months!

Who can blame him? It looks like a Winter Wonderland!

I absolutely love how our everyday dishes translate so beautifully from everyday mode to party mode! We have fancy china but I wanted our everyday dishes to be able to pull double duty… although the hubster loves any excuse to pull out the china. We tend to eat off of both!

The greenery and pine-cones look gorgeous against our dark green cabinets… and they make Mr. Squirrel feel right at home! I love how all of the white pops against the darker base.

I still feel like I’m trapped in a snow globe when I look at this little guy. Just check out that moose! He’s absolutely magical! The best part is that the dome is fairly clear so that the centerpiece doesn’t block anyone’s view as we sit around the table. Don’t you just hate that?

Of course I couldn’t pass up the chance to cozy up our little bench for Christmas. I still can’t believe this bench use to be our media cabinet… I love how he can pull double duty! I could have spent all day looking for the perfect pillow… the At Home Christmas Decor Pillow section is quite extensive! We looked through several aisles of pillows but Mom absolutely adored this blue and white version.

She pointed out that the french script would match the script in the living room and the snow would tie into the snowcapped scene we were creating in the dining room!

I love how the tablecloths turned out! I have one silver and white set that has four matching napkins and one that is a simple white paisley. I thought about putting the matching set on the table but by breaking it up and using the cloth on the island and the napkins on the table it pulls the two pieces together! I always look for little ways to help tie in different parts of the room… using a similar pattern is a very easy trick that will help your eyes dance across the room! 😉

The hubster doesn’t quite understand the empty plates… he says that the island looks unfinished compared to the table! I told him it would be fine once the plates were filled with food 😉 I guess he didn’t think of that!

Did you notice my new candle holder? It wasn’t technically in the Christmas section at At Home but mercury glass is such a pretty way to transition from regular decor to a holiday look! I love that it functions all year round… we’ll be able to use it long after Christmas has passed! Plus it has an S on it for Smith… love!

I am absolutely thrilled with how it all turned out! Now I just need to add a little food, a little laughter, good food, family and friends. It’s time for a Christmas Party!

Psst… if you love it as much as I do don’t forget to pin!