Have you been enjoying the month of December? It's amazing how quickly this month passes by. 

We'll be hosting friends and family soon so I've added Christmas decorations to our basement. The basement is where we hang out for movie nights, crafting, and where the kids escape to during family parties. Today I wanted to give you a tour of our basement family room, our kitchenette, and laundry room with their pretty holiday touches.

When we renovated the basement three years ago, we transformed it from an awkward, dated room that always felt a little creepy to this comfortable, multi-functional, and stylish space.

Extending the sofa wall allowed us to center the sofa in this room, creating just enough space along the far wall to add in this kitchenette. The kitchenette completely changed how we enjoy this basement.

I've continued with the red Christmas decorations here in the basement. Red birds, deer, and fur-trimmed plaid skate ornaments create a cabin vibe. The reds are vibrant and bring needed colour to the all white walls (Simply White by Benjamin Moore) and enliven the space. 

There are a lot of beige tones and natural wood accents in the basement so I've used that to complement the reds. Wicker baskets, patinaed silver trays and galvanized metal art, and pinecones help bring this chic  woodsy theme to life.

I don't have any floating shelves in our main kitchen so its really fun to style the ones we have here in the basement. There's a mix of thrifted figurines, Christmas decor I've had for years, and dishware and glassware.

Creating vignettes was a skill that never came easy to me but I've improved over time. The key to a pleasing display is to vary the heights of objects and to have them slightly overlap and touching. Here you can see how I've used plates to raise objects, and how some items are displayed upright to lend height.

This little corner is popcorn central. We have regular family movie nights and its so convenient to have the popcorn maker and drinks fridge stocked and ready to go.

I've kept the rest of the basement decorated with very simple Christmas decorations. I anticipate a lot of family and friends down here during the holidays so I didn't want too much decor to get in our way.

On the sideboard, I've created a seasonal display. The model ship and lamp stay here year round but I've added a Santa figurine and small Christmas tree for a festive touch.

The games table gets a lot of use so I've added just a footed bowl filled with gold glass ornaments.

I've switched out the beach art above the sofa with the limited edition snow polo photograph by Gray Malin. Changing out your art to seasonal prints is an easy way to update your look.

Plaid pillows and warm throws enhance the wintry feel. The baby blue lacquered box is functional and pretty - it holds all the remotes for the TV and Christmas lights!

This area is an open transition space between the family room, the crafts room on the left, and the laundry room on the right. A simple garland and tartan bows on the bannister and Christmas sign on the nautical hook lend holiday cheer. The striped pillow-top ottomans look charming when pilled with wrapped presents.

Do you decorate your laundry room for the holidays? Its completely not necessary but with attractive shiplap walls and greige cabinets, this vintage-inspired laundry is just begging to decorated for the season.