A Chic and Boho Christmas Home Tour with DIY Ideas
A very global boho Christmas home tour with renter-friendly holiday decorating ideas and DIYs for small spaces in eclectic style.
Howdy! I’m so excited to be joining Carrie from Lovely Etc. in A Very Merry Christmas Home Tour with 30 Christmas home tours and 100s of Christmas decorating ideas!
Today is also the kickoff for A Very Global Christmas series with my friend Stephanie from Casa Watkins Living where we are sharing 12 days of globally influenced Christmas decor ideas and DIYs.
You’ll want to check in every day this week for more creative Christmas home tours and to see what Steph and I are sharing for global inspiration. You can find all updated posts on A Very Global Christmas page.
A Chic Boho Christmas Home Tour with Renter Friendly Decorating Ideas

Today I’m sharing with you our global Christmas living room. You can find Casa Watkins Living’s Simple Boho Christmas Living Room here. We live in a small Japanese rental so I was a little nervous about using all three pieces of our 7 feet tall Christmas tree. Last year I just used the top two-thirds but this year I went all out!
Amazingly it fits! We had to push my baby grand piano all the way over to the garden window but it really created quite a bit of extra space. You can see how it looked last year here.
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I really wanted to use this starlight pendant as the tree topper and I’m so glad it worked out. Even though it’s wedged between the tree and ceiling it looks beautiful and at night you can really see the star glowing. It’s the perfect boho tree-topped in my opinion! Make sure to check out the boho Christmas ornaments in this story!

I kept the holiday decor pretty minimal due to space but still managed to get in a few lovely vignettes. I used the same color inspiration that I had with our Fall decor. The color palette came from my Eddie Ross inspired tablescape.

Bohohemian Christmas Living Room Decor
Our coffee table Japanese ceramic bowl decor went from being filled with velvet pumpkins to mercury ornaments and faux air plants. Bohemian Christmas decor definitely needs green elements like plants!


A faux sheepskin rug adds a wintery touch to a modern advent wreath. (The quickest DIY ever!) Cozy layers are a must for bohemian Christmas decor and faux sheepskins are perfect for that added warmth and texture.

More faux stems and succulents keep with the global boho Christmas theme and since I found most of the items from our dollar store, this quick DIY was cheap.

I just updated my West Elm inspired modern nutcrackers for this year on Thanksgiving morning with wool pom-poms on their little hats. You can find the supplies for this DIY at the dollar store too!


I recently found some metallic ceramic pinecones at the 100 yen store (Japanese dollar store!). Seriously, my favorite store hands down. I styled them with a black bamboo birdcage we picked up in Hong Kong. More faux succulents and a wood stump table add the perfect globally inspired bohemian Christmas vibe I was looking for.


The other wall is the entrance to the living room. A cute wood french door greets you as you walk in from the foyer. For a small rental, this home has a lot of charm. 😉


And then the wall that was the biggest challenge as a renter. It has an intercom/doorbell system smack in the middle with the cord trailing up to almost the ceiling hence the large threshing basket and leaning art pieces to cover the eyesores. A few bottle brush trees and a pair of antlers decorate the mantel and hold DIY Stockings with Trim.

The faux mantel and room heater/stove create a nice focal point for the living room and is super cozy with the twinkling lights and “flames”. I created a boho Christmas garland with pom-pom trim, dollar store greenery and mini ornaments.
On top of the heater is a stack of books with a DIY mini moss wreath, brass singing bowl, and more mini ornamental balls.

This small living area serves as our main hang-out room, my piano studio, and my office. With two kids and two pets, it can easily get crowded and messy but we are enjoying our adventures of living in Japan! The trade-off is definitely worth it.

Next week I’ll be sharing our winter eclectic dining room holiday decor! Head over to the winter holidays, DIYs, and decor page for more articles and resources!
In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the home tours!


Casa Watkins Living * Lovely Etc. * Designing Vibes * Oh Everything Handmade * The Turquoise Home

Lehman Lane * Our House Now a Home * The Striped House * My Creative Days * Newly Woodwards

All Things With Purpose * House by Hoff * The Happy Housie * A House Full of Sunshine * Thrifty and Chic

This is Our Bliss * Boxy Colonial * Little Red Brick House * Green with Decor * Blue I Style

Sincerely Marie Designs * Up to Date Interiors * Southern State of Mind * A Fresh Squeezed Life * Meegan Makes

Wife in Progress * Place of My Taste * Restless Arrow * Bigger Than The Three of Us
Join me on Instagram for behind-the-scenes, DIYs, decorating tips, room tours, and home inspiration. I’ll see you over there!

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Your tree is gorgeous! The colors you chose to decorate with are perfection!
Thanks Randi!! After going with neutrals in our other Japanese rental I was ready for some bolder choices. 🙂
Kathy,
I absolutely adore your take on Christmas. That mantel is rocking my socks for sure.
Much love,
Erica
Thanks Erica! The mantel was a little challenging but I’m super pleased with how it turned out. The gorgeous shibori fabric sure helps!
beautiful as always, kathy! love that tree and the topper!
Thanks Cassie! 🙂
I’m so glad you used the full tree – it looks soooo great in your living room! And your tree trimmings are always so gorgeous, especially that topper! Merry Christmas friend 🙂
Thanks Jen! The tree is definitely the show stopper in this little space. lol I’m glad I used all of it!
Beautiful home! I love the colors and I love your TV stand!!
Thanks Sarah! I can’t believe that white chest hasn’t fallen apart yet. I cram it full of music books!
Kathy, your home is so lovely and chic! I love your tree and all your vignettes! So glamorous and warm for the season all in one!
Thank you so much Laura!
Beautiful! I love the rich, gorgeous colors you used! And I love that huge star on the tree!
Thank you Carrie!
Your home is beautiful – and the tree is really stunning. It’s quite a showstopper with that star on top.
Thank you Kim!! I’m so glad I got it to fit! lol
The colors and textures in your tour are AMAZING!!! Love it!
Thank you Lindsay! 🙂
This is beautiful, Cathy! I love the color palette you chose and those three adorable nutcrackers!
Thank you so much Amanda! xoxo
Absolutely gorgeous Kathy! I am in love with the global touches. Your fireplace looks amazing!!
Thanks Steph! One day I hope to have a real fireplace to decorate again. lol
I’m in awe of what you’ve achieved in a small rental space! That tree is simply stunning – kudos for getting everything to fit!
lol Thank you!! It is a small space but everything makes such a big impact. I guess it’s easy to decorate in that sense. 🙂
Kathy, Your home is lovely and your Christmas color palette is stunning. Thanks for inspiring me!
Aw! Thank you for the sweet comment Meegan!
Love love love how you decorated your mantle!!!
Thank you Ashley! I wasn’t sure how it would go but I love that I didn’t have to buy anything for it. lol
Beautiful Christmas tour Kathy! Your tree is gorgeous and those modern nutcrackers are really fun.
Thanks Tara!