You may recognize the name The Identité Collective from the many features we’ve done with founder and branding expert, Anastasia Casey (6 Helpful Tips for Getting Published, A Sample Workday Schedule, The Best Hashtags for Design & Home Inspiration, An Inspiring Interview, and more.) But today, we’re putting a hold on the career tips (more to come!) and getting an intimate and merry peek inside of Anastasia’s very own home. Read: THE loveliest holiday home tour ever!
I specifically told her I’d be channeling all of her festive goodness, because #toddlerlife over here. There will sadly be no bowls of ornaments, floor- grazing greenery elegantly draped over the fireplace (how good is that?!) or mini wooden houses at fingertips reach. You can bet that I’ll be trying to transform those ideas and inspiration into baby proofed action—because this truly is an attainable and approachable look… minimal, yet sophisticated and just the right amount of merry without going overboard. Madeline Harper captured it all, for your viewing and pinning pleasure and Anastasia is walking us through the design, with all of the sources you need to get this look yourself!
From Anastasia Casey of The Identité Collective… One year ago we purchased our first home. The house was move-in-ready but I had cosmetic changes I wanted made throughout the house. Slowly but surely, we’ve knocked out furnishing one room after another. After living with our initial living room configuration for the first year, we had a better understanding of how our space was used.
Just last week, we swapped our large sectional for two contemporary sofas with cleaner lines. This made the space more conversational and easier to entertain when we have guests over.
For the holidays, we always head home to San Francisco, so I keep our holiday décor minimal and natural. This year I opted for lush greenery and silver metallics. I ordered our garlands from Farmgirl Flowers and love how full they were. After the had dried out a bit, I added additional pine, cedar and eucalyptus. The house is so fragrant because of it. I added varying sizes of silver bulb ornaments in three different finishes: matte, glitter and chrome. Paired with larger disco balls, they add a constant holiday sparkle that looks great with the lights on or off. I love piling them up in my vintage olive wood bowls to really contrast the materials.
Year round, our house is decorated pretty minimally. My biggest collection is definitely the art gallery, which we’re constantly switching out. To make the gallery wall feel more festive, I tucked a few branches behind the leaning artwork and swapped a large painting for a fragrant wreath.
On the oversized windows (they reach 12 feet tall on the first floor), I simply strung a double sided satin ribbon in a pewter gray through the bamboo blinds, looped it around and tied a bow to hold the wreath. None of our Christmas décor is attached with hooks, staples or tape. It’s all designed to easily lift off and leave the house undamaged.
In the foyer, I hung a mixed greens wreath on both the interior and exterior side of the door. We displayed our sweet wooden advent calendar on the entry window sill and tucked a few simple greens behind them. The looser pine garland around the hanging sculpture wall is just from Trader Joe’s, but we doubled it up and tied a few yards of the silver ribbon from one corner. I swapped the usual straw hat and basket on the hooks for a wintery cardigan and leather tote.
Upstairs, we focused our holiday décor in our guest room. Since we’ll have house sitters here over the holiday, we wanted them to feel welcomed and festive. I started by draping two nine-foot garland swags over the curtain rods. They nicely frame the space and bring the fresh pine scent upstairs. With a simple swap of accessories on the bedside tables, we added some gold bells and a small bundle of pine and berries. The guest room has existing wall hooks that normally hold a storage basket, which we swapped to hold the holiday wreath.
Our holiday gifts always take the role of leading lady in our décor. I used simple black and white matte gift boxes wrapped in cotton striped ribbon. I snipped a small branch off the garland to tuck in each package. It keeps the color palette cohesive in the house. Most importantly, it makes each recipient feel special when they open it.
The best part is – all our decorations are sustainably harvested and are composted at the end of the season. Our ornaments fit into a single box for easy storage and our house goes back to “normal” in about an hour. Someday, we’ll host the holiday at our house and then you might see something a little less “minimal”.
Home: Anastasia Casey of The Identité Collective | Photography: Madeline Harper
Product Sources: Garland | Sofas | Candles | Credenza | Stockings (similar, similar) | TV (above the fireplace) White Lamp | Art Shelves | Side Table | Jute Rug | Vintage Rug (similar) | Disco Ball – Large | Disco Ball – Small | White Hands Bowl | Marble Tray | Window Treatments | San Francisco Print | Gold Frames | Console Table
Dining Room: Chandelier | Jute Rug | Dining Chairs | Dining Table | Olive Tree Planter
Guest Room: Bedding | Bed | Lamp | Draperies | Wind Chime | Rug | Pyramid | Leather Bolster (similar) | Artwork (similar)
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