Low Waste Holiday Wall Decor for Small Spaces
Creative, low waste alternatives to Christmas trees for small spaces.
Not enough room for a tree in your small space? Here’s one easy way to use fresh greenery to create space savvy holiday decor for a small home. (View the 30-second video here.)
List of supplies:
Live branches
A bit of rope
A nail or damage-free Command strip
Battery-operated twinkle lights (we use rechargables)
A zip tie (to attach the battery pack to the back of the branch)
Clippers
I simply wrapped the twinkle lights around the branch, tied the rope to either end, suspended the entire piece from a sturdy wall hook, and then added small florals and twigs throughout the branch for a pop of color and variation in texture. I carefully spritz the branch with a bit of water every few days, and replace the bright floral clippings as needed after they’ve fully dried up.
The final result is simple yet striking. And, best of all, at the end of the season the rope, hook and twinkle lights can be reused, and the greenery can go in the compost.
A Dramatic, Space-Saving Holiday Table
Creating a space-saving, dramatic, festive table of live greenery for the holidays.
(Originally posted in 2019)
Gathering with friends and/or family around a table in a small home or apartment can be such a uniquely intimate experience. But during the holidays— when we tend add extra decorative touches and welcome more people to the table than usual— surface space needed for tabletop essentials can suddenly become extra challenging to preserve.
Certain items can help with this, such as rectangular plates and pedestal/cake stands. (Skipping some of the superfluous things you don’t need, such as napkin rings, chargers and placemats can save inches as well.) But if you want to add some wild branches or lush floral/greenery/dried bouquets to your table, you might be out of luck. As such, I wanted to demonstrate an easy, low waste way to add striking decor to your table without sacrificing your dining surface. (I also offer up additional suggestions in my book: Small Space Style.)
This display cost me about $150. I bought the garland and branches from a local shop, and used an over-the-table adjustable iron rod and battery operated twinkle lights (with rechargeable batteries) to create an overgrown and glittering display indoors. (I used real candles for the photos, but swapped them out for battery operated versions for safety after we snapped the images.) A bit of floral wire (and a vacuum) were the only other items I needed to attain the look.
Setting up the iron display rod took only a few minutes. The height is fixed, but the width is adjustable. When the setup is no longer needed, it breaks down easily for slim storage.
I used all living branches and clippings, so everything can be composted when the time comes.
Adding the clippings to the garland took the longest, but was simple enough.
The entire process took about 90 minutes, and it was a surprisingly relaxing activity for me.
I (still) don’t really cook, nor do we host that often these days, so I enjoyed going out of my way to do something special for the guests we’ll have over in the coming days.
I’ll share a small space, low waste holiday decor video and post in early December.
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to spending time with our friends and family here at home. (And I’ll be following along with The Conscious Kid for insights and information regarding Native American Heritage Month.)
Whatever you and yours are doing this holiday, we wish you a safe and happy long weekend.
Pregnancy Month 5 / Sheltering at Home Month 9
As we close out November, I’m in month 5 of my pregnancy, and we’re nearly at month 9 of sheltering at home.
We’ve embraced the earlier nights, filling them with glittering lights and fragrant garlands and greenery throughout the Cottage.
Above: A curtain of twinkling lights. (Click here to shop the strands.)
We’ve slowly started decorating for the season. This year, it’s more for something joyful and different to do than anything else, I think…
Above: West wearing his new “Grow With Me” clothes (which last for years and through growth spurts) from Caribou Kids Clothing.
West has picked some of his own ornaments, like a little bird’s nest made of vines, and a bundle of acorns he keeps in an repurposed box on the vintage coffee table.
Our neighbors are still sharing their amazing food with us, while Adam bakes us all sourdough bread to share a few times per month.
This miraculous bump is growing, which is heartening and helps calm my nerves about my “high-risk” pregnancy.
Above: Much-appreciated maternity leggings from Boob Design.
I’m living almost entirely in leggings (pictured above), a loungewear set (pictured below), and a stretchy “Nap Dress” that I suspect will be particularly helpful when nursing in the months to come.
The baby’s first present arrived via a socially-distanced drop-off: a vintage set of handmade crochet booties. Holding them made me process the pregnancy in a way I realized I’d not yet permitted myself to experience.
Our son has grown substantially in recent months, so we ordered him a batch of long-lasting, “grow with me” bamboo clothes, including a holiday set that he’ll undoubtedly wear year-round. (His current grow with me clothes still fit, as they have for years. It’s everything else that he’s outgrown.)
Above: West’s height progression since COVID.
We’ve been attempting our first gingerbread man (borderline inedible) and gingerbread houses (which collapsed within minutes) with West. The excitement of the activity itself is what our four year old clearly relishes the most.
We’re still attempting to be as low waste as possible, using items such as our water carbonator 5-6 times per day, and relying exclusively on things like our bidet attachment. (We’ve bought just one 4-pack of toilet paper in 2020.) I
It’s admittedly more challenging to stay low waste at the grocery store since reusables aren’t permitted in Los Angeles during the pandemic. But we’re still sticking to all the reusables we can, such as our washable face masks and washable un-paper towels, cotton wipes, and so forth.
Above: A face mask made with deadstock fabric from SUAY. This mask is a buy-1-donate-1, with the donations going directly from the maker to Indigenous youth, and the leftover dollars going Seeding Sovereignty.
It’s still a rocky season of life for us, as it is for most. But I’m filled with gratitude for our health and home, and for all the medical and essential workers out there who’ve been working relentlessly in order to keep us all safer.
Low Waste, Small Space Holiday Wall Decor
Not enough room for a tree in your small space? (Same here, although our 4 year old might wear me down with his requests to get a tabletop version this year.) Either way, here’s one easy way to use fresh greenery to create space savvy holiday decor for a small home. (View the 30-second video here.)
List of supplies:
Live branches
A bit of rope
A nail or damage-free Command strip
Battery-operated twinkle lights (we use rechargables)
A zip tie (to attach the battery pack to the back of the branch)
Clippers
I simply wrapped the twinkle lights around the branch, tied the rope to either end, suspended the entire piece from a sturdy wall hook, and then added small florals and twigs throughout the branch for a pop of color and variation in texture. I carefully spritz the branch with a bit of water every few days, and replace the bright floral clippings as needed after they’ve fully dried up.
The final result is simple yet striking. And, best of all, at the end of the season the rope, hook and twinkle lights can be reused, and the greenery can go in the compost.
P.S. Here’s an alternative for folks who prefer an artificial, ready-made version.
Longer-Lasting, No-Carve Pumpkin Decorating for a Small Stoop
On his birthday last month, our little one desperately wanted to create a jack-o-lantern. Knowing full well that a hallowed-out pumpkin wouldn’t survive long under the fluctuating marine layer and beaming sun in our coastal town, we caved in and carved one.
The results were endearing, but — as expected — only lasted until October 1.
After collecting and devouring a dozen Halloween books in recent days, our 4 year old was adamant about replacing the pumpkin. So we took a Tiny Adventure to a local farm / pumpkin patch, and selected a handful of funny little beauties to introduce to our small stoop. The agreement upon securing the batch was that they would be no-carve pumpkins, with the goal of them lasting longer.
We used the metal pumpkin glasses I found on Etsy years ago, along with a few other decorative facial features (made into stakes) that we found on-site at the farm.
(Click here for the pup version, click here for various other characters.)
The results continue to make us giggle whenever we walk into our home.
We’re not quite done yet. We intend to make a VOTE pumpkin, of course. See you at the polls, or at the ballot drop box, folks. Let’s vote in epic numbers — for the planet and for racial justice — so our voices cannot be ignored.
Festive, Outdoor Vibe for Indoor, Small Space Dining
Gathering with friends and/or family around a table in a small home or apartment can be such a uniquely intimate experience. But during the holidays— when we tend add extra decorative touches and welcome more people to the table than usual— surface space needed for tabletop essentials can suddenly become extra challenging to preserve.
Certain items can help with this, such as rectangular plates and pedestal/cake stands. (Skipping some of the superfluous things you don’t need, such as napkin rings, chargers and placemats can save inches as well.) But if you want to add some wild branches or lush floral/greenery/dried bouquets to your table, you might be out of luck. As such, I wanted to demonstrate an easy, low waste way to add striking decor to your table without sacrificing your dining surface. (I also offer up additional suggestions in my book: Small Space Style.)
This display cost me about $150. I bought the garland and branches from a local shop, and used an over-the-table adjustable iron rod and battery operated twinkle lights (with rechargeable batteries) to create an overgrown and glittering display indoors. (I used real candles for the photos, but swapped them out for battery operated versions for safety after we snapped the images.) A bit of floral wire (and a vacuum) were the only other items I needed to attain the look.
Setting up the iron display rod took only a few minutes. The height is fixed, but the width is adjustable. When the setup is no longer needed, it breaks down easily for slim storage.
I used all living branches and clippings, so everything can be composted when the time comes.
Adding the clippings to the garland took the longest, but was simple enough.
The entire process took about 90 minutes, and it was a surprisingly relaxing activity for me.
I (still) don’t really cook, nor do we host that often these days, so I enjoyed going out of my way to do something special for the guests we’ll have over in the coming days.
I’ll share a small space, low waste holiday decor video and post in early December.
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to spending time with our friends and family here at home. (And I’ll be following along with The Conscious Kid for insights and information regarding Native American Heritage Month.)
Whatever you and yours are doing this holiday, we wish you a safe and happy long weekend.
Minimal Halloween Decor
When I look back at the way my family celebrated Halloween when I was growing up, I have strong (and positive) memories of the events, the costumes and the decor at home and in school. But in this time of climate crisis, and with a child who is fascinated but clearly unsettled by certain settings and setups, I’ve found that opting for less during the holidays in general is currently the best fit for our lil’ home and family. (See our Tiny House Halloween post from last year, here.)
If we had piles of picturesque fall leaves here, I imagine would gather some to string into garlands to drape around our home. But, despite the fact that it’s mid-October, Venice is still in late-summer mode— plus we don’t have an abundance of trees here to begin with. I’ll admit that I found myself searching for real leaves online before I realized how silly that was. I closed the computer, annoyed with myself for even considering purchasing leaves (the Florida girl in me is still shaking her head), and then having them packaged and shipped to our house— a completely unnecessary expense and add-on to our carbon footprint.
We chose instead to do the following:
Buy pumpkins to decorate them with borrowed and existing accessories
Take daily strolls and rides around our neighborhood to scout out the decor set up by the businesses and members of our community
Borrow fall and Halloween themed children’s books from our local libraries
We found the pumpkins at long-standing nearby garden center that is a member of the Master Nursery Garden Centers— a co-op of independent garden centers throughout the country.
We carved a small pumpkin with West. It was his first time creating a jack-o-lantern, and he clearly enjoyed it.
We borrowed the carving tools from our neighbor, so we didn’t have to buy one of those cheap sets that often breaks and ends up in the trash. We dressed up another pumpkin as “Scary Potter,” which has been a tradition of ours for several years. (I purchased the glasses from an Etsy maker long ago, and they’re one of the only pieces of holiday decor of any sort that I own.)
Adam later baked the seeds with oil, cinnamon and sugar. (The cottage smelled fantastic.)
Multiple times per day, we stroll, bike or take the wagon through the neighborhood to visit West’s favorite yard installations, and to discover newly situated decor.
This little activity gets us outside, prevents us from spending money we don’t need to spend, and ensures that we don’t have bulky decorations to store in our tiny home for 11 months out of the year.
Shoes: Garnet Hill. Bike: Virtue.
While we’re out, I’ll sometimes clip some fall-like branches from the nearby alleyways for an extra pop of warmth in the house.
The main reason that West wanted to carve a pumpkin and is so excited to see (most) decor is that we borrow fall and Halloween books from our local library, starting in late September. After reading a few titles about harvesting pumpkins, he asked that we grow our own next year.
As West gets older, we’ll see how his interests evolve. But for now, pumpkins, some pops of autumnal toned florals or clippings, and the creativity of our neighbors is all we need to make it feel like Halloween here... even when it’s 80 degrees under the palm trees.
Simple Holiday Gifting
As I look back at 2017, I'm eager to show gratitude and appreciation to my friends, family, and collaborators for their incredible love and support throughout this year of explosive growth and change. But I find myself more reluctant than ever to gift "things" to my loved ones-- especially since so many of them have expressed the desire to downsize (and the holidays are the primary time of year when decluttering can feel borderline impossible).
My family and I agreed-- no gifts, except a few for West. He's receiving a beautiful handmade set of toys, a bike basket, and some wonderful books in his present sack.
I'll be giving our friends and neighbors freshly baked bread wrapped in reusable linen cloths. In my mind, it's the perfect holiday present: simple, delicious, beautiful, and clutter-free.
I feel as though this year rushed by at a breakneck pace. For me, there's nothing I want more than to lounge around with my husband, son, parents, and pups, enjoying good food and swapping stories instead of presents.
However and whatever you're celebrating this season, Adam and I wish you and yours all the best from our tiny home!