a vintage door & a petite Christmas tree

I am sharing a little bit of Christmas magic on the back patio.  The weather has been fantastic here in Northern California; perfect for sprinkling a bit of Christmas fairy dust outside.

Over the summer I shared how we painted the house a light French Gray by Sherwin Williams {the church pew bench}.  Previous to painting the house I had this little corner of the patio styled with a vintage door surrounded by a container garden.

The problem after painting the house was that the house & the door were both a similar tone of gray color.  You can see what I mean in this post{gray container garden vignette} and this post{metal pumpkin garden vignette} where the gray door stood out against the yellow siding on the house.

This door has been on the side of the house against our fence since we painted the house back in July.  These few months in the elements has made the door more distressed with some great chippiness {more so than ever}.  I sanded off much of the paint exposing the wood underneath so the door would stand out more against the now gray siding.

I left some of the gray color on the the door especially around the {Paris Flower Market} graphic since I did not want to sand this away.  After sanding it down to have enough balance between the gray paint and the wood grain I sealed the door with Rust-oleum Ultra Cover to protect the door and prevent any more chipping.

I also added protective felt pad strips on the edge of the back of the door where it leans against the house so it won’t damage the siding.  Then the fun began by adding some Christmas touches with the petite Christmas tree, pine cones, greenery and baubles.

This little tree is flocked and pre-lit.  I originally got it a few years ago to sit on our front porch to welcome guests to one of our annual Christmas soirees.  I have set it up in our family room for the last few years but since the weather has been so mild here for now I thought it would be festive to have some Christmas magic on the back patio where Mr. M grills and we all play with our dog Bailey.

The little flocked tree along with some winter greens, bells and baubles are enough touches among the container plants to whisper Christmas delight.

We got our real Christmas tree yesterday.  We will be trimming and decorating around here over the weekend and hope to share with you real soon.  You can read about our {Christmas tree tradition}here.

I also have some holiday baking and crafting to do, which will be fun to share here as I get it done.

Are you decking your halls yet?  I would love to hear some of your traditions and favorite things to do for the holidays.

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas;

Soon the bells will start,

And the thing that will make them ring

Is the carol that you sing

Right within your heart.”

~Meredith Wilson~