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Vintage Victorian-Inspired Christmas Decor

Welcome to the first stop on the 2024 Holiday Housewalk! I decided to take my inspiration for Vintage Victorian-Inspired Christmas Decor from turn of the century meets 1940’s Christmas decor. I don’t have an exact name for it, though my daughter did ask me if I was trying the “tacky Christmas tree” trend this year, so I am not sure what it says about that. I really loved the idea of talking elements like sugared fruit on the tree like the Victorians used, and the 1940’s use of tinsel, paper and handmade decor and melding the two together.

A holiday-themed banner with "Jennifer Rizzo Holiday Housewalk 2024" in decorative text. Features a snowy cabin, people, pine trees, and snowflakes. Website included at the bottom.

Festive living room with a decorated Christmas tree, garland, and framed artwork on the mantel. Cozy seating and decorative items on a wooden table complete the holiday setting.

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I started by swapping out the art over my faux mantel for a vintage oil painting in a gold frame. I did follow the current trend of decorating for Christmas using bows, so I added a velvet one with bells and greenery to the painting and then one on my tree instead of a star.

Elegant living room with a decorated mantel featuring candles, garland, and a painting. Christmas tree to the right with colorful ornaments. Cozy ambiance with festive decor.

On the mantel top I clustered brass deer and candlesticks with faux greenery and battery-operated flameless candles. I love having candles going, but not having to watch them so these battery-operated ones with a remote were the perfect solution. You can shop the items on my mantel her

Gold deer figurines and greenery decorate a mantel in front of a framed river scene painting, with a lit candle on the right.

I decided to really go for the 1940’s glam factor with a fun gold tinsel fringe garland.  I just thought it was so fun an unexpected and really gives it that vintage feel. It really made it sparkle when I added the silver strand tinsel on the tree. I do want to mention we don’t have any littles running around, because I did notice the tinsel is pretty, but it does shed a bit.

A decorated fireplace mantle with gold tinsel, deer figurines, candles, and greenery. A painting above and three bells hanging in the center.

I really embraced the nostalgia this year and also pulled out all of my grandmother’s and aunt’s vintage Shiny Brite ornaments this year. It just felt right to use them and they looked so pretty and full of color on the tree.

Festive room with a decorated Christmas tree and a mantle adorned with greenery, lights, and a painting. Vibrant ornaments adorn the tree, and a silver garland enhances the mantle.

One decor item I really embraced this year was sugared fruit ornaments. I bought a few from Etsy sellers and them decided to tackle making my own.  You can see how I made an orange here with spun cotton which was really fun! You can shop some of the spun cotton ornaments I have on my tree here.

A Christmas tree adorned with colorful ornaments, including a large pear-shaped decoration, and silver tinsel under warm string lights.

These sugared cherries were an Etsy purchase because I though they were just so cute! They are linked in the link above.

Close-up of a decorated Christmas tree with fruits, a white house ornament, and tinsel among green branches illuminated by yellow lights.

The other things i wanted to bring in was some regular sugared fruit. These were so easy to make and you can see the tutorial to make you own! I love how they look clustered in a vintage brass bowl.

A bowl of frosted fruit and greenery sits on a table. A decorated Christmas tree with glowing lights is in the background.

In our dining area I also embraced some vintage-style paper decorations like honeycomb decor. I not only think these paper trees are cute, but I gathered some greenery from our yard and created the bell garland on the mirror. These bring back so many memories of them sitting in the middle of my great aunt’s bingo tables on Christmas eve. You can shop paper bells and trees here.

Festive table centerpiece with wooden trees, greenery, a deer figurine, and ornaments. Wall mirror reflects decor with paper flowers and greenery.

I wanted to make sure that the holiday garland over the mirror looked like a vintage-inspired holiday garland and not like it was for a baby shower. I really like how it ended up looking. I think the greenery and varied colors makes a difference. It has that vintage-y, holiday feel to me.

Festive holiday decor featuring paper trees, evergreen branches, and glittery deer figurines with Christmas ornaments on a table. A round mirror and hanging paper decorations are in the background.

I just adds such a vintage, yet festive flair and it’s just fun. We all need a little bit of fun in our holiday decorating!

A round mirror decorated with greenery, paper starbursts, and bell-shaped ornaments. A table with a tree-themed centerpiece is reflected in the mirror.

Round mirror on a paneled wall with decorative paper flowers and greenery draped over the top. The room's reflection shows a light fixture and part of a kitchen.

This is actually one of my favorite things and I wish I had done a display like this at the store!

Cabinet display with Santa face mugs, a tree decoration, bourbon cream bottle, and glasses featuring trees and animals.

In our dining hutch,I added my grandmother’s glassware and collection of vintage Santa mugs.

A cabinet displays glassware, swan figurines, small Christmas trees, Santa mugs, and a black bourbon bottle. Various decorative items fill the shelves against a dark floral background.

My vintage brass geese/swan collection which has previously been on my mantel for Christmas gets to hang out on top of the hutch this time. I love being able to reuse my decor! I just noticed it looks like the two swans are kissing each other!

I hope you loved my vintage Victorian-Inspired Christmas Decor from turn of the century and 1940’s Christmas decor mash-up! You can shop many of the items I’ve used in the links above and now it’s time to head over to the next house at Finding Silver Pennies and take her lovely tour!!

Festive holiday banner for "Finding Silver Pennies" by Jennifer Rizzo Design Company, featuring a snowy cabin scene and snowflakes on a maroon background.

 

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8 Comments

  1. “Tacky Christmas tree” trend LOL that is so something my daughter would say to me. So wrong! I love the tree! And now I want a tinsel fringe garland too! Happy Holidays!

  2. Jennifer, I love the darker colors in your home! And is that mushroom wallpaper I see? So cute. The sugared fruit was a great touch for Christmas this year. I always enjoy seeing new holiday decor and you always do something beautiful and artistic.

  3. Jen, I love your 1940’s Victorian Theme and the beautiful sugared fruit ornaments. Your daughter and my son sound about the same when it comes to the tree’s lol. As always, thank you for hosting us for all these years, your home is stunning. Wishing you a very merry Christmas. XO Kristin

  4. So beautifully creative and unique Jen! I love all of your vintage touches especially your swans and Santa mugs and those paper trees are so popular this year! Thank-you so much for continuing to host this tour. I look forward to it every year! Wishing you and your family a magical holiday season.
    Jenn

  5. Jen, I love this Victorian / 1940s style. What a fun mash up. I LOVE how you did the sugared fruit and the shiny brite ornaments. I used to love loading our tree with tinsel and it looks so pretty on your tree. I also love the honeycomb decor. I wanted to get some white paper ones at Ikea for our tree but they were already sold out. Thank you for organizing this tour. I was so excited to be able to take part this year!

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