Blogger Jessica Sara Morris of White Picket Farmhouse has amassed tens of thousands of fans who flock to her Instagram account for shots of her gorgeously styled neutral home. Morris's home is stunning, but her feats of design are even more impressive when you consider that her house is a rental built in the 1970s, and she does all of her projects on a budget (you'd never guess by looking).
Because she inspires us to push the boundaries in our own homes on a day-to-day basis, we were thrilled when she agreed to give us an exclusive peek at how she decorates for the holidays. (Spoiler alert: You'll probably want to copy every square inch of her modern-meets-rustic Christmas decor). Check out her gorgeous space, and some of her top Christmas decorating ideas, below.
Jessica began her holiday decorating this year the way she starts many of her home decor projects: with a single source of inspiration. This year's jumping off point was fresh greenery.
"For so many years I decorated with white flocked trees and garlands as they felt soft and warm," she says. "This year I was craving fresh greens! Even though I typically decorate in mid-November, you can still achieve a real looking tree and garland with faux greenery."
To get the greenery look on her mantle, above, Jessica enhanced a standard garland. "I fluffed out a basic pine garland and stuffed faux cedar, Eucalyptus and leafy greens into it," she says. "To the average eye, it looks very real, but it will last until the end of the season and I can use it again next year."
Re-using her decor is import to Jessica, so it's something she tries to do year-to-year, and also another reason she chooses to keep holiday decorations timeless and simple.
"Every year I try to re-use or DIY as much as I possibly can," she says. "But this year since I wanted to switch themes, I did sell my white flocked tree and incorporated this beautiful 7.5’ Clarksville Fir Tree from Gluckstein Home."
Once she had her greenery in place, Jessica stuck to her roots--in both a design sense and a broader one--to flush out her holiday scheme. "I really wanted to show my Scandinavian roots this year," she says. "This style of decorating means less is more. Lots of wood tones, greenery and minimalism."
In her dining room, this translated to a few festive additions to her usual decor. "Cedar stems in a bowl, a DIY candle holder as the centerpiece on our table and simple candlesticks on our mantle," she explains.
To contrast the Scandinavian-style décor and add some rustic warmth to her space, Jessica incorporated a few favorite vintage items, like the skates hanging in the family's entryway.
Regardless of how you like to decorate for the holidays, Jessica has a parting word of advice for dressing your home for the holidays. "Decorating for the Holidays doesn’t have to be daunting," she says. "Stick true to what you love and the rest will follow."