Cozy Townhouse Holiday Home Tour

Welcome into our holiday home tour: see how we styled our townhouse for Christmas 2025 with classic colours, thrift finds and meaningful décor- creating our own kind of classic or trendy (depending, I guess, on your age! tee hee) “Ralph Lauren Christmas”!

Welcome to our holiday home tour, sweet friends!

If you were coming over for coffee today, I’d meet you at the front door of our little townhouse and hang your coat in our wee entryway closet. Then I’d lead you straight to the kitchen to pour you a cup of hot coffee (or tea—whatever you prefer!).

From there, we’d wander into the main room of our home – the dining area and living room where we spend most of our time. We’d settle into a comfy chair—maybe at the dining table chatting over a Christmas snack, or with our feet up in the living room.

And today? It’s extra fun, because our home is all decked out for Christmas, and I’m so excited to show you around. I hope you’ll feel cozy as can be and maybe pick up a few ideas to bring into your own holiday décor if you’re looking for some easy inspiration.

My holiday décor philosophy

If you’ve been around here for a while, you know one of the anchors of our home is keeping seasonal decor simple, meaningful, and intentional. For 35 years I have limited our Christmas décor—no matter the size of our house—to only two totes and now, a little artificial tree. Why? Two reasons:

I don’t have a huge stash to dig out and pack away each year.
It forces me to keep only the pieces I truly love—those that tell our story, remind me of people or places we cherish – and things that can be “mixed and matched” to form a new look every year!

This year I discovered something fun: the “Ralph Lauren Christmas” look is the latest Christmas “trend”. I chuckled when I discovered that, because I’ve been loving Ralph Lauren and his classic never-goes-out-of-style look since 1996 when I painted our living room Ralph Lauren blue!!

In those 2 totes of Christmas decor, I already had things stashed to create our own “Ralph Lauren’-ish look! Come on in and I’ll show you around.

Dining Area & Christmas Tree Decorations

A vintage quilted table runner ties in with the red and gold color scheme for the tablescape
Layering a wreath over a mirror gives it instant holiday charm.
Layers of shelf decor include vintage, new, & sentimental decor
Putting a small Christmas tree on a box elevates it & makes it look “grand”!

In our long “bowling-alley” style room (the dining room is at the far end), the tree is nestled in the corner of the dining room beside the buffet. We lifted it up onto a wooden box to make it appear taller (even though it’s a small little thing). Then we dressed it in classic colours: red & gold ornaments, green bows and a tartan bow on top.

Above the buffet, on the shelves, I went full-on layering mode—just like Ralph Lauren loves. I mixed vintage finds and thrifted treasures with newer pieces: platters, angel figurines, framed prints, & bits of greenery. It makes the display feel rich and full, but still personal because each piece has meaning.

On the dining table I created a centerpiece using what I already had (except the container): a thrift store ice bucket, a tiny faux tree, spray-painted gold hydrangeas, & bits of faux greenery —arranged casually but with intention. Charger plates in a leather look, crisp white dinner plates, red cloth napkins with tartan napkin rings and pine-cone wreath napkin rings for the end seats. The antique chest in the corner holds a mirror with a wreath in front, a vintage lantern, some greenery and my grandma’s angel chimes—because why not celebrate the sentimental treasures?

Tip for you: You don’t need every new décor piece. Use what you have, borrow from other spaces (like the kitchen!) and let your decor remind you of your own story and memories.

Christmas in the Townhouse Living Room

My grandparents’ vintage chairs (now red) fit right in for Christmas!
Plaid throws and pillow covers are a classic Christmas look.
Our townhouse room from the front door includes the living and dining rooms.
Arranging books by color makes a great decor look in bookcases.

When we cross into the living room area, you’ll see we don’t have a fireplace mantel, so I chose to decorate the top of our bookcases with garland instead. I took one scraggly garland, split it in half, draped it across the tops of the bookcases and filled it out with faux greenery bits to make it lusher – inspired again by Ralph Lauren’s full, layered garlands. I finished each corner with green velvet bows with ribbon tails hanging down.

On the bookcases themselves I embraced the “books + décor” look: vintage books arranged by colour, some stacked horizontally to act as little platforms, and I tucked in little meaningful holiday decor in between— with my balsa-village display on the top shelf.

Above the couch I chose a vintage art print (with a horse!) that I had printed at Staples with rich colours that picked up the rich color and equestrian style of Ralph Lauren. The couch is layered with all the plaid and faux-leather cushion covers I’ve made over the years. On the coffee table is a simple round basket holding tall candles and a vintage red-truck décor. It’s cozy, rich, full of story, and very simple, really.

Tip for you: If you have no mantel, decorate doorways or shelves with layers of garland.

Why less is actually more (and how to make it meaningful)

I keep coming back to this: limited décor = intentional décor. Because I only bring out two totes each Christmas season, it sort of “forces me” to be really choosy with what I use. I love to use items that have meaning and story, but I also like to shop for new things and tuck it into the boxes, too.

Then, finding them the next year when I open the box is a little pre-Christmas gift to myself!;) Buying something new often means parting with something that doesn’t really means much to me anymore. The system works well for me – but, if you have a different one – that’s good, too!

The bonus: storage is easier, setup is faster, teardown is less painful. And your home feels like you rather than a décor store.

Visit Grandma Rita’s Christmas Shop!

Come see my holiday collection filled with my favourite classic Christmas décor finds, holiday gift guides, and even my holiday recipe e-book — all gathered together to make your Christmas planning a little easier (and a lot more fun!).

More Fun Holiday Ideas for You

Love to make handmade gifts? You’ll love these felt ornaments!
Looking for recipes? Here are a whole bunch of Christmas recipes – including the very popular rolled sugar cookies and holiday dinner dishes (like roasted turkey with bacon).

Come back each day and click to the other houses in the home tour. To make it easy, pin this post to your favorite holiday Pinterest board so you can find it later!