I’m glad I posted my “inspiration board” for our first Christmas at home. Good surprises came as a result of that post =) We were able to finish our hunt for the home items on our list early, and we are now 80% done with the home re-decoration.
I originally wanted just red pillow cases for our sofa, like this:
But I saw some really nice corduroy pillow cases at SM (locally made by Biencarlo, from the VTM Quilts Collection, Inc.) in the shades of red and light green so we got some. We also bought this wonderful furniture cover in a lovely dark brown color, which gave our sofa a totally new look.
Here’s our sofa before the make-over:
After the make-over (and looking Christmas-y!):
Cost of sofa make-over: 20-inch green corduroy pillow cases (P399.75 each x 3), little red corduroy pillow cases (P249.75 each x 2), brown furniture cover (P779.75), a total cost of P2,478.50. All items were bought at SM Homeworld.
Next, the curtains. I wanted bold red damask patterns:
What we saw at SM Homeworld were these lovely fabric curtains in various shades of red, all with damask prints! And they’re on sale! Buy one, take one for only P1,295.00.
It was so hard to choose! Which do you think did we get? =) The curtains are currently with with a seamstress for cutting. The cut-out cloth we will use as our dining table cover hehe.
Now the mantle glass jars. I really, really wanted this one:
There were plenty of these at SM but they cost too much for me (ranging from P600 to P2,000, depending on the size and design). The closest I could find was this candy jar at the Landmark which is just P99.00:
I bought the Christmas balls also at SM (I hope somebody from SM is reading this, they should sponsor my blog already!). Total cost for the Christmas balls – less than P200.00.
I am almost content with this cute, little jar until….
I received a surprise text early this week from Ellen , the lady who gave me my Cath Kidston crush mugs, sharing to me this incredible news: the mantle glass jars below are being sold at a local grocery store in Dumaguete, each with a price tag of less than P500!! Yey!
Ellen is no doubt my Christmas angel. She bought one of tallest jars for me and hand-harried it to Manila. We met today at Rockwell and I happily got my jar! Too bad we can’t stay long to chat.
Thanks so much Ellen! The mantle jar already found its rightful place at our console table:
Now, let’s see. I’m still missing something here. The yuletide picture in frames! Something that looks like this:
We decided not to look for one anymore, since we already have this amazing canvas print that shows a Van Gogh painting.
And oh, we prettified our accent chairs too with these reversible pillow cases bought at the Landmark (P59.75 each).
Now that our apartment has patches of red and green and gold (I deviated from my original motif of red and gold only by adding light green), I feel that Christmas is indeed here.
How about you? Have you started prepping up your homes for Christmas? Share some ideas and pictures!
Source for downloaded photos may be found at my post here.)
Hi sis! lovely home you have here. Uhm, I happen to know someone named Ellen who is also based in Dumaguete and just recently went to Manila for a short visit. Maybe we’re referring to the same person. If so, small world talaga 🙂
Hi Micah! Haha small world nga =) I hope Ellen starts a store soon, she has a knack for finding really pretty but super affordable items =) Thanks for reading my blog =)
Hehehehe, ni hindi umabot ng six degrees ang relationship natin! Yes, Micah, ako nga ito. Went to the office to drop off something, sayang di kita nakita. Was in the second level.
Leah, glad you liked it and glad to meet you and your husband.
Yup yup! wala pang six degrees. Awesome! And I agree with Leah na very resourceful si Miss Ellen in finding inexpensive but pretty things. And I also love the dresses and accessories that you make for your daughter. Wish ko lang na I can have even just a fraction of that creativity. I’m also looking forward to decorating our future home. Kaso next year pa yun. For now, we don’t buy major furniture pa kasi we’re staying with my in-laws until ma-finish yung house namin and it would be hard to move out if madami gamit. I’m glad I got to know you both 🙂
Wow! Kakatuwa naman nagkita kayong 2 ni Ellen dito sa blog ko hehe! Let’s keep each other posted =)
hi Leah, your posts makes me excited to put up our Christmas Tree and our parol. 🙂 I’m afraid that’s the only additional things that I add/change whenever the yuletide season comes. Lovely home you guys have.
I agree! You do have a lovely home Leah! 🙂 and now even lovelier with your Christmas motif. Just this week I told hubs we should start putting up Christmas decors. Then I realized wala pa nagbebenta ng decors. :/ . Christmas starts pretty late here.
Aww, thanks Marj. Actually we have a small apartment lang but I think the good thing about having a small space is that you can easily decorate it but you have to plan it carefully. Can’t afford to go over the top or else it’ll look smaller hehe!
Yay, talaga? Dito lang ata sa atin maaga ang pasko hehe! Ayala Avenue has put up the Christmas lights na =)
Thanks Aleng! What kind of parol do you have there? Yung capiz ba? My tita bought one last year and it’s with us pa. Now she’s in the US di namin mapadala ang mahal kse ng shipping haha! It’s a big parol made of Capiz, yung mga gawa sa Pampanga.
Yup, yung Capiz. Kayo bansot yung parol namin. We bought a bigger one, balak ko sana i-hand carry pauwi, hindi pala pwede. Kasi may mga bulbs daw. 🙁 So ang ending, naiwan sa crew ng JAL yung parol ko. May connecting flight kasi ako sa Narita pauwi. Pwede ko i-check-in , kaso naman $100 ang price eh Php1,000 lang bili ko sa parol! hehe.
Kaya nung umuwi na si Tops, mas maliit na parol na lang binili namin, yung kasya sa luggage nya 🙂
Hehe my officemate’s sister was able to bring one to Australia and ‘di sha sinita sa airport. She handcarried it and naka-box pa yung parol. Mas higpit lang talaga siguro sa US. Sayang!
Yun nga exciting (and yes i have to admit at times, frustrating) with small spaces kasi quite challenging how to cram in your ideas and yet have an overall airy effect. We’re also living in a rented condo and Japanese houses are really small especially when compared to American standards. Kaya right, plan carefully talaga. 🙂
Hi miss le, does ellen have a fb account? I wanna see her cath k items please! Tnx
Hi Leah,
Do you have contact details of Ellen from Dumaguete who sold you those beautiful jars?
I will appreciate it if you can send them to me.
Thanks heaps.
Hi you can follow her instagram account (where she sells a lot of other beautiful things) at @vintageandremembrance. I hope this helps!