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How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes

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Now that the Christmas tree is decorated, it’s time to take care of all the other areas of the house.  I like to decorate the bookcases that are in the living room. Adding lights makes them super festive and creates the best nighttime mood. 

But I don’t decorate with just anything.  I am going to show you how to reuse old decor to make bright Christmas vignettes.  Because pretty can be made from just about anything. Even if you don’t know where it came from!

The bookcases in the living room all lit up, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

      ​Disclosure: The items below are affiliate links. If you purchase any of these products through the links, I receive a small commission, that way I can continue to provide you with lovely content.  There is no extra charge to you for purchasing through my affiliate links.  

The Mostly Blue and White One

In order to fill the space of the shelves, I like to use printables and place them in  frames. There are so many great bloggers out there who make pretty printables. My favorite is Katrin of Northern Feeling

blue and white decor with picture frame, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

    I also like to use ornaments as decor to create vignettes.  The angel and church are a natural together. And next year I can hang them on the tree if I don’t use them on the shelves. 

Wood Angel, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

      And you know those clear plastic ornaments that are empty inside for you to fill?  Well I added a pine cone that was painted in a metallic color. 

Clear plastic ornament with pine cone inside, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

    Pine cones are really my favorite way to decorate for fall and winter. This year instead of leaving them alone, I’ve painted many of them in different metallic shades. 

Picture frame with printable, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

​The Silver and White One This second vignette is all about white and silver.  It was built around my little cherub.  Unfortunately he was too heavy to hang on the door with the wreath so I thought I’d display him here.  He has good company with the snowman!​

White and silver composition, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

    The  bottle brush tree just adds to that crisp white feeling. 

Pine cones painted silver and bottle brush tree, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

​The pine cones were painted in various shades of metallic colors and look great against that white metal basket.  You may recall I had used this for the fall vignettes too.  It has a sunflower at the center, but I turned it around so you can’t see it.  Keeping things clean here. 

Close up of pine cone, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com
Nighttime view of bookcase, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

​The One with Shades of Green When I first moved here, a little over a year ago, I found boxes of Christmas ornaments and decor hidden away in the closet.  Who left them behind?  Why were they here?

A lot of it was outdated and no matter how much I tried to revitalize them they simply looked awful.  But some of them were salvageable, case in point the wooden Christmas tree you see below.  

​The little houses were hand painted gifts to my kids. I believe they were meant to be birdhouses but I think they make fine ornaments too. 

Green composition on bookcase, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

    There were little presents hanging from the tree but I didn’t like them. ​Instead I took the light bulbs you see and painted them in various shades of gold and then hung them on the tree with some twine.  The star was a mustard yellow but I repainted it to look more gold. 

Green wooden tree with light bulbs painted gold, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

​Pine cones again.  Can you tell I’m obsessed?  This one was painted in the same shade as the star on top of that tree. 

Gold painted pine cones, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

    This little horse was on my tree last year.  But now he has been moved to sit on top of a vintage wood box (similar)  that my mom had gifted me when I was still a child.  It is a beautiful jewelry box with intricate scroll-work but it never showed until now.  I repainted it from the lackluster brown it was into this whitewashed metallic look.  So much better and now the pretty details pop!

Horse ornament on top of vintage jewelry box, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

​And what would the holidays be without the Nutcracker?  Did you know that this is one of my favorites for the holidays?  I play Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker non-stop from early November till January!

The Nutcracker, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

The Brown One

This shelf is all about the brown tones.  It takes its cue from the picture frame. 

Brown picture frame and brass basket, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

​The little brass basket is full of presents which originally hung on the wood tree.  You see everything finds a new place in my vignettes. 

tiny presents inside brass basket, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

    This strange looking light fixture used to have a wire and plugged in but it had been in disrepair for many years.  I took the wiring out and painted it this metallic color.  I suppose I can add a tealight inside to give it some glam. Or I can even paint the glass-work.  What do you say?

Vintage lamp painted with metallic paint. How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

​This little feller was also on my tree last year but now he has hopped onto the shelf. 

Ornament chipmunk, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

What’s on Top

A few metal pieces and a wreath make up one of the top vignettes of the bookcase. The lights only add to the beauty and ambiance. 

top of bookcase with candelabra, wreath, jar and vase, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

      There were many small wreaths in those boxes I had found and what I did was pick and choose through them and make up my own wreaths using various parts of the old ones. Now they look much fuller and with the addition of the pine cones and the painted lights they are so pretty. 

top of bookcase with star ornament, candle, ceramic pot and wreath, How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

  And that is how after finding a box full of old holiday decor I was able to reuse them to make Christmas Vignettes.  To whom did all that stuff belong to?  I will never know.  But I’m sure glad I was able to reuse a lot of the stuff. 

Do you also reuse your old decor and give it a fresh look?

Picture
Taking old decor and reusing it to give your Christmas vignettes a fresh look, #upcycle #olddecor #makeover #Christmasvignette #vintage How to Reuse Old Decor to Make Bright Christmas Vignettes www.theboondocksblog.com

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    More Christmas Ideas:  

Picture frame with vintage card
Spice rack holding ornaments

This blog is for entertainment purposes only; my DIY tutorials are not professional advice. Read my full disclaimer here.

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Monday 26th of November 2018

Hi Mary: I like all of your Christmas decorations! I decorate a lot like you do. I have favorite pieces that I enjoy displaying together at this time of year. I try to put them together in such a way as they "look good" together and I enjoy looking at them all season! Thanks for sharing your lovely decor!

Mary

Friday 30th of November 2018

Thank you Debbie. I think that is half the fun, coming up with new ways to display things.

Connie

Monday 26th of November 2018

Love the way you have reused everything. Your shelves are so festive!

Mary

Friday 30th of November 2018

Thanks so much Connie. Right now the living room couch is my happy place to stare at all the festive shelves.

Lori Jo

Monday 26th of November 2018

What great ideas! The groupings and soft lighting are wonderful and cozy, enjoyed it, Merry Christmas! :D <3 Lori Jo - 50 With Flair

Mary

Friday 30th of November 2018

I certainly am enjoying all of it Lori Jo!!

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