Welcome to my Christmas in the kitchen tour! 

At this time last year we had only been in our new home five short months and I'm embarrassed to say I didn't pay much attention to the kitchen when it came to decorating for Christmas. Last year my focus was on the living room which you can see here and here and I was so happy with how everything turned out. The kitchen, not so much. In the past I know I've rushed decorating and eventually regretted my choices - especially when I've gone with something trendy. When you're dealing with a new space, I think it's best to take your time and get a feel for it, mull your options over, and only bring in decor that you're really happy with -  and not just because you've seen it on HGTV and everybody has it. Last year with the focus on the living room, the kitchen ended up looking unfinished and very "decorator beginner". 

This year I had the opportunity to get a start on the kitchen. By no means do I find it complete and that is simply because, well, I'm cheap frugal. I got my start in blogging in 2010 as a deal blogger and that commitment to frugality is still a habit that I don't see going away anytime soon. I don't ever pay full price - especially for home decor. 

Pretty much everything you see in this Christmas in the Kitchen tour (aside from the tiered tray on the island and a few things here and there) is from Gordmans. I've been shopping Gordmas home decor for ages now and each year I'm very happy with the selection, the prices, the quality, and the timing of their sales promotions. They don't wait to discount everything right before Christmas, they have great sales well before. 

The deer statue on the kitchen table was something I actually purchased last year at Gordmans and it's one of my favorite Gordmans purchases ever. I plan on giving it a new home every year during the holidays to mix things up a bit. 

Last year it was in the living room on the shelf in the hall (you can see the whole tour here) and this year it's taking center stage on the kitchen table. Between this large statue on the kitchen table, the reindeer on the vintage record player cabinet below the big clock, and the new red reindeer above the kitchen cabinets, I seem to have a theme going on that I didn't even try for. 

When shopping at Gordmans for the kitchen, I was drawn to all of the decor that had a vintage look. And the best part is that so many of the items coordinated without being too matchy-matchy. That's when you know a store has buyers who know what they are doing. 

Both the Santa oversized-tag wall hanging and the "Believe" block letters coordinate perfectly with the Santa countdown to Christmas wall hanging on the backsplash. The red berries happened to be a tear drop swag that I turned upside down inside the pot that is inside the basket. The pine cones are actually attached to the tear drop swag and I'm kicking myself for not picking up a couple more since they are so versatile as both a tear drop swag or a filler. 

This past weekend we had a neighborhood Christmas party and one of our guests was admiring the Christmas decor above the cabinets and asked if everything came as a set. I took that as a compliment for both myself and the buyers who brought these items into the store. Inside the large ceramic pitcher is another red berry tear drop swag and the black, white, and red Christmas scene picture propped up against the pitcher tied it all together. And of course the red reindeer add the big pop of color that I was looking for. 

In the beginning of this post I talked about how this is just a start for the Christmas kitchen decor. As you can see, during the holidays I really need to switch out the blue rug in front of the sink for a holiday themed one. A rug that coordinates better and a wreath that I can hang on the window above the sink will be on my Gordmans after Christmas shopping list.

I'm also going to be on the lookout for garland to hang on the railing for next year.

This Merry Christmas wall hanging (that I have propped up instead) happened to be the exact same color as our IKEA cabinets - not exactly white, and not exactly cream - and can you believe it was priced at only $12.99?! 

Here is a little sneak peak into our mudroom that shows our latest project. :) I'll be posting it on the blog soon! 

You really can't go wrong with pops of red in a neutral space for Christmas. To some people it may be unadventurous to go with classic Christmas red, but that's exactly what I like - classic. I've been adventurous in the past with trendy Christmas colors and home decor in general but I've found that it's just not my style. Neutral and classic colors are very calming and relaxing to me...and that's exactly the feel I want in our home. 

Thanks for visiting my Christmas in the Kitchen tour! I hope I've inspired you with my choices and I really hope you're able to visit Gordmans for fantastic finds like I did. 

If you haven't already, be sure to sign up for Gordmas gRewards (it's free) so you can earn points for every dollar spent and receive coupons both in your mailbox and inbox.