European cottage Christmas decor in the kitchen
Blog,  Christmas,  Decorating

Simple & Beautiful European Cottage Christmas in the Kitchen

The kitchen is the most used room in our home, so when I pull out my European cottage Christmas decorations I try to keep it simple.

European cottage style Christmas decor

I’m so excited to be joining 34 wonderful ladies for some Christmas home tours.

There will be so much Christmas inspiration all week, so make sure you keep coming back to see everything.

Before we get into my cottage style Christas decor ideas, I want to say thank you to my friend Kelly with The Tattered Pew for hosting this blog hop.

It’s one of my favorites!

If you’re here from Julie with My Wee Abode wasn’t her tiny home Christmas decor beautiful?!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

minimalist holiday decor in the kitchen

Before we get into this post I just wanted to say a quick “Hi!” if we’ve never met.

I would love for you to head over to the About Aliya section so you can get to know me a bit more.

(Over there I share how and why I came to start Open Doors Open Hearts.)

You can also sign up to get the emails so you can stay up to date with everything that’s happening over here.

If you’d like, you can also watch my European cottage Christmas YouTube video you can do that HERE.

My Process for Decorating A European Cottage Christmas

European Cottage Christmas Ambiance

Set a Simmer Pot

European cottage Christmas in the kitchen

When I start decorating I like to create some Christmas ambiance.

This is pretty easy with a simple simmer pot or a candle.

During the colder months of the year I love to throw together a simmer pot because I’m not worried about over heating the house.

But in the warmer months a candle or diffusing essential oils is usually what I do.

There is just something magical about smelling Christmas.

beautiful European Christmas decor in the kitchen

I love when my husband comes home from work and says, “It smells good in here.”

Whether it’s because of dinner or the fact that I intentionally tried to make the house smell good; it’s a reminder that I’m doing the work of a homemaker.

To me, there’s no greater compliment these days.

Turn on Some Christmas Music or Audio Book

European farmhouse Christmas decor in the kitchen

Another thing I like to do is turn on music, a podcast or a book on audio.

If you decide to watch the video you might see me randomly smiling and laughing while I decorate out kitchen.

That’s because I was listening to a couple of ladies talking about their Christmas decor from last year.

But after they finished chatting I transitioned to Christmas music.

Clean the Area

European cottage Christmas in the kitchen

Once I’ve set the stage and I’m ready to get to work I like to clean.

In the kitchen specifically I remove EVERYTHING.

The dining room is covered with the items from the kitchen while I give everything a good cleaning.

You wouldn’t believe how dirty it gets behind the 3 canisters on the counter.

Which actually really surprises me, because I move the flour out of the canister and away from the wall, not toward it haha!

It must be like the silverware drawer.

How in the world do I find crumbs and such in that drawer.

I only put clean silverware away haha!

Begin Decorating the Low Traffic Areas

beeswax candles and dried herbs for cottage Christmas decor

Once I have everything cleaned and put back to it’s home, I decide where I’m going to start adding in Christmas decor.

I like to decorate this way for two reasons.

  1. Everyday items are always a priority regardless of the season. I don’t want our everyday items taking a backseat to any kind of decor.
  2. By prioritizing the everyday items I can see what parts of the kitchen are low traffic and know that when I add Christmas decor there it isn’t going to get in the way.

When I first started decorating our home I used to just decorate “willy nilly”.

I didn’t give a lot of thought to how life is lived in each room and therefore I found the decor really bothersome.

old world Christmas decor in the kitchen

But as years have passed and we’ve had kids I’ve learned to value decor that isn’t in the way instead of big beautiful things taking the spotlight.

I want the spotlight in our home to be the life we live within it.

How do you decorate a European cottage Christmas?

When I started looking up what an old world Christmas looked like I got a bunch of different answers.

It really came down to the time and location.

But the one thing I found over and over again was this: Keep things modest.

I found this quote and thought it was a beautiful inspiration for a Christmas that was prioritizing family time over aesthetic beauty.

Simple European cottage Christmas decor ideas

“Ma was busy all day long, cooking good things for Christmas. She baked salt-rising bread and ‘Injun bread, Swedish crackers, and a huge pan of baked beans, with salt pork and molasses. She baked vinegar pies and dried-apple pies and filled a big jar with cookies, and she let Laura and Mary lick the cake spoon…That very Christmas, Laura Ingalls was delighted to find a shiny new tin cup, a peppermint candy, a heart-shaped cake, and a brand new penny in her stocking. In those days, these four small gifts in her stocking were a wealth of gifts to the young girl.”

Laura Ingalls Wilder

When I read this I was reminded that the things during Christmas time that have the greatest meaning are not the decorations.

I’ll be honest, the pull to do all the things, and buy all the things is so strong.

Comparing and keeping up is such a battle.

But I’ve found such a freedom and letting go and refocusing my attention on the things that truly bring my family joy.

So, I decided for me to decorate a cottage-style Christmas has less to do with “the what?” and more to do with “how much?”.

minimal Christmas decor in the kitchen

Less is more.

If you want to decorate your home with European cottage Christmas style make your main goal to be using less.

European Cottage Christmas Elements

With that said I want to talk about the 4 elements that I decided to focus on for Christmas this year.

To help achieve that cottage-style Christmas I decided to limit the elements and I think our home this year is my favorite.

Ribbon

burgundy ribbon for Christmas decor

Ribbon is a simple statement.

I just took 2 yards of muslin fabric and ripped it into strips and then dyed them the color that I wanted.

I love ribbon for Christmas decor because it is such a subtle statement.

It’s not a flashy decoration, but it still says Christmas.

ribbon for simple cottage style Christmas decor

It reminds me of a time long ago when Christmas was a little more simple that it is today.

Which is one of the main reasons that I love using it so much.

Do you love ribbon like I do?

Simple Greenery

simple evergreen wreath with burgundy ribbon for Christmas decor

I’ve been known to buy garland and wreaths with pinecones and berries before.

In truth that’s probably pretty simple greenery when you think of some of the options available these days.

But this year I wanted it to be even more simple.

So I took all the berries, and many of the pinecones, off of the garland and wreaths that I used.

I feel like this helped simplify the Christmas decor.

simple Christmas decor on the kitchen counter

It also helped me make all the greenery across the home look even more cohesive.

I have garland that I still use from years ago and it doesn’t look like the cedar garland I started buying.

But by removing everything that wasn’t greenery I was able to create a calm and cohesive effect across our entire home.

If you’re interested I shared our finished basement all decorated for Christmas last week.

The garland and swag I used down there look very similar to the wreath in our kitchen window, even though they are different.

Candles

beeswax candles and dried herbs for Christmas decor

I absolutely LOVE these beeswax candles.

I bought them last year one day while I was picking up chicken feed.

This is why my husband tries to be the one to pick it up as much as possible.

When I buy our chicken food I almost always walk out of the store with some really awesome locally handmade item that I simply can’t resist.

I am actually thinking about trying to make hand-dipped candles with the girls this winter.

I remember doing it as a little girl and I had so much fun.

Brass

brass bell for Christmas

The last element that I decided to use this year was brass.

I have a few brass things, but truth be told I made some of the brass decor in my Christmas theme this year.

I had a jar of Jolie Gilding Wax and decided to turn a few of my things into brass items.

The bells were brass before, but they needed a face lift for sure.

cottage Christmas decor in the kitchen

I also added brass to a few Christmas ornaments that I can’t wait to share with you soon!

But until then I made some European farmhouse Christmas ornaments last year that have some brass in them.

Now that I’m done sharing my simple country Christmas decor make sure you head over and visit with Kim with Cottage in the Mitten for more Christmas inspo!

And come back all week to see all the girls sharing their beautiful homes and ideas.

Pin for Later!

cottage style Christmas decor ideas

Don’t forget to head over to your favorite social media platforms Facebook or Instagram.

Also, make sure you follow along on YouTube & Pinterest to check out all the other Christmas decor ideas I’ve been pinning for this year!

Have a great week! XoXo

Open Your Doors,
Aliya

If you missed it, make sure you sign-up to join Open Doors Open Hearts mailing list!

You’ll be the first to find out all that’s going on over here and you’ll get decor and DIY inspiration!

Bloggers’ Best Holiday Home Tours

This week I am joining some of my blogging friends for the Bloggers’ Best Holiday Home Tours 2022. Thirty-five talented and creative women will be opening their homes up for you to tour all week long. You can visit each Christmas home tour by clicking the links below.

Monday’s Tours

Monday

The Tattered Pew | Cottage On Bunker Hill | Stonegable | My Wee Abode

Open Doors Open Hearts | Cottage In The Mitten | My Thrift Store Addiction

Tuesday’s Tours

Tuesday

Midwest Life & Style | She Gave It a Go | Sand Dollar Lane | Bricks n’ Blooms

Pasha Is Home | Robyn’s French Nest | The Ponds Farmhouse

Wednesday’s Tours

Wednesday

Shiplap and Shells | White Arrows Home | This Is Simplicite | White Lilac Farmhouse

Peacock Ridge Farm | Cloches and Lavender | Simply2Moms

Thursday’s Tours

Thursday

County Road 407 | Country Peony | Eleanor Rose Home | Le Cultivateur

Thistlekey Lane | My Family Thyme | Follow The Yellow Brick Home

Friday’s Tours

Friday

Southern Crush At Home | A Life Unfolding | Southern Home and Hospitality | WM Design House

Dabbling and Decorating | Lora Bloomquist | Vintage and Grace Living

Hi! my name is Aliya and I'm so glad you stopped by today! Truly you have no idea how much it means to me. I live in Ohio with my husband and 3 little girls. I believe that once we start opening our doors, that hearts will start to open around us as well. You can head over to the About Aliya page to get my whole story.

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