Decorating a Downsized House for Christmas: Holiday Home Tour

Inside: See how I downsized my Christmas decor to fit my new smaller home and how less space meant more impact and less work!

Decorating my downsized home for this year’s holiday season brings extra excitement—along with a few challenges.

In my new place, I’m figuring out how to bring the same holiday cheer as I did in my previous, larger house but with a bit less space and a little more creativity.

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It feels different. It’s a process. There’s a little more futzing and zhuzhing than usual trying to figure out how much decor to use and where to put it.

But on the awesome flip side, the Christmas decorations have much more impact in my smaller space because they’re all closer together. And less house means less time, with less areas to decorate.

So grab your cup of cocoa and welcome to the 2024 holiday tour of my new villa! I’ll show you how I made my main rooms festive along with tips on how you can fill your spaces with holiday spirit, even if you’ve downsized.

And don’t miss some of my talented blogging friends’ holiday homes at the end of this post for more inspiration!🎄

The Front Porch.

Let’s start the holiday tour right on the front porch, where I’ve added just enough holiday decorations to set the merry tone for what’s inside. Since my new home has a tiny, barely-there porch, I wanted to keep things simple. Two faux trees topped with red bows flank the front walk up to the entrance. Placing them out in front of the porch solves the problem of not enough space for planters by the actual door.

A wreath full of red and white berries and a big red and white striped bow hangs on the front door to greet guests (and the Amazon delivery driver) with holiday cheer.

A small tree, a lantern, and a holiday doormat complete the look, making it feel welcoming without overwhelming the small area. This adorable Christmas doormat makes my new villa feel like a cozy gingerbread Christmas cottage.🥰

Downsized Front Porch Decorating Tip: For holiday decorating in compact outdoor areas, focus on one or two main pieces like a beautiful wreath and small planters or lanterns. A few well-chosen items will add holiday spirit without clutter.

The Entryway.

My “foyer” is the walkway between the dining room, my office, and down to the family room and kitchen. I scored this narrow, long console table on FBMP and gave it a makeover with paint and new hardware.

For Christmas it’s filled with cheery red and white decorations, like these berry trees:

And seeing this group of photos of my kids and grand nephews with Santa makes me smile whenever I walk through this area (and shocked at how fast they grow up).

I finished the entry table with a couple of Santas and a sprinkling of greenery and red ornaments.

The bar opposite to this in the entry is the perfect place for these dancing reindeer to give a fun welcome!

Downsized Entryway Decorating Tip: A garland, a basket of greenery or gifts, or a small wreath on the inside of the door can make your entrance cozy and welcoming when you don’t have furniture pieces to decorate.

The Staircase Banister.

Along the entry wall into the family room, I draped a garland of cedar and pine on the banister. This used to be the garland for my formal living room mantel at the other house, but it fit this shorter handrail perfectly!

I accented the peaks with white berries and red and green bows to match the family room holiday decor.. And attached a few of the vintage bells that have been viral for a few years now.

Downsized Staircase Banister Decorating Tip: Keep the garland simple to decorate this focal point without crowding the staircase visually.

The Family Room.

Let’s step into the family room, where my Christmas tree and mantel are the focal points for the holidays.

Since I don’t have as much floor space as before, I had to buy a smaller tree and let my full and fluffy 76-inch diameter tree go. I went as tall as I possibly could to the ten foot ceiling in here and gave it the fuller look I like with ribbon and picks.

See all of my tips for filling out a skinny tree in the post “The 10 Best Ways to Make a Sparse Christmas Tree Look Fuller“..

This year’s tree color theme is red, white, and green and my existing ornaments in these colors filled the smaller tree really well! Later in the month I’ll add our sentimental family ornaments to this tree.

A few gifts underneath are an easy way to bring in more of the color scheme.

The fireplace mantel holds a garland of magnolia leaves and pine, accented with gold reindeer, snowy pinecones, and white berries to bring some light contrast to all the green.

The berry wreath on the mirror brings a pop of red, all tied up with olive green ribbon.

And the red velvet stockings over the fireplace add another punch of red.

I styled the coffee table with a bowl of mixed metal jingle bells…

And a cake pedestal, mini wreath, and heavenly Christmassy-smelling candle.

I finished off the family room with a little Christmas decor on the side tables:

And holiday throw pillows on the sofa.

Downsized Family Room Decorating Tip: Opt for a smaller tree, and only bring out your favorite and meaningful decorations to avoid looking cluttered. Little wall space? Play holiday TV art on YouTube on the television.

The Kitchen.

Come on into the kitchen where the red, green, and white continues.

With a just a few items on the kitchen counters, the kitchen really comes to life with the Christmas spirit! You can spot my favorite Santa punch bowl and mug collection on the back counter:

Another Santa enjoying his Christmas cookies in the kitchen in this vignette on the island:

And I couldn’t wait to make this arrangement with these snowy faux amaryllis stems I bought on my trip to the Christmas mega store Guess and Company in Des Arc, Arkansas back in October. It became the focal point in the kitchen:

I found some evergreen and pine cone picks at Hobby Lobby that complete the snowy, soft green look.

I added the same snowy pinecones to the cedar and pine garland over the range (and they’re also on the fireplace garland):

And my new barstools are decked out with the mini wreaths that hung on my windows at the other house.

The kitchen table is simple with a nubby, natural table runner, a faux Norfolk pine garland, and a white tray of red cranberries…

And a trio of more of those vintage-style bells.

Downsized Kitchen Decorating Tip: Small seasonal touches like mugs, dish towels, mini wreaths, and Christmas desserts are simple ways to quickly make the kitchen feel festive.

The Dining Room.

Finally, let’s peek into the dining room. In this smaller space, it was easy to make a huge splash with the same amount of decorations that I would have used in the bigger house.

It’s my turn to host my girlfriends for our annual Christmas party, so I wanted to make it feel extra special, fabulous, and full of sparkle—just like them. (I’ll be sharing more details and photos on this room soon.)

My smaller tree is dripping in champagne, gold, silver, white, and soft green in the corner. The colors in this room are a more elegant departure from the rest of the spaces, except for the same olive green ribbon.

The sideboard is filled with more shimmering metallics.

And the table is loaded with glamorous sparkle as well.

Dowsized Dining Room Decorating Tip: A centerpiece, ornaments or greenery hung from the chandelier, and a few holiday items on the sideboard can go a long way without crowding the floor space in a small dining room.

Thanks for taking the tour with me! I may be at a new stage of life, but I still like to do it up big for Christmas. And with less space, I didn’t need as much stuff to make a statement.

I found downsizing doesn’t mean giving up the joy of holiday decor in your home. Through my decorating process this year and learning to adjust everything to a smaller house, I’ve learned that focusing on my favorite Christmas treasures brings the same holiday spirit as filling up a large house.

So whether you’re new empty nesters downsizing or you live in a small apartment, remember that you don’t need as many things to fill your small space with the same amount of holiday cheer!

Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas Season,

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