The Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour

Welcome to the 362nd Metamorphosis Monday!

Happy New Year! How were your holidays? I hope you were able to spend them with those you love most. I was away for a while, visiting my son, dil and grandson. It was wonderful seeing them! Unfortunately, the trip back home was an adventure, and not in a good way. I’ll share that story very soon, complete with pictures, because there are lots of lessons to be learned from it.

 

Postcards From the Porch and In The BNOTP Library

I’ll be starting back up the BNOTP weekly newsletter, Postcards From The Porch, real soon. With all the busyness of moving to a new email delivery system, the holiday season and my travel schedule, I paused those temporarily. But it’s time to get those going again.

If you’re not currently subscribed to receive the BNOTP newsletter, you can subscribe to receive it here: Subscribe to Postcards From the Porch. I normally send it out on the weekend so look for it to get going again soon.

I’ll also get our BNOTP Library posts going again soon. Looking forward to sharing some of my favorite decorating, gardening and entertaining reads again soon.

 

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The Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour

Before the holiday season gets too far behind us, I’m sharing some pictures from the Christmas tour I took in early December. The home below wasn’t on the tour but it’s so pretty I had to include a photo for you. It’s one of many historic homes off the square in Marietta, Georgia area where the tour took place.

Victorian Home

 

A few years ago I shared this photo on the blog. I’ve always loved this home.

Home on Marietta Pilgrimage Tour

 

It was on the tour this year. Unfortunately, I can’t share photos of the interior but I thought you might enjoy seeing how it was decorated for Christmas. It was a gorgeous day for a tour, a bit chilly earlier in the day but it warmed up nicely as the day wore on. Fortunately, the line was much shorter when we toured it.

Marietta Pilgrimage Home Tour, 2015

 

This was another home I shared in a post a few years back. Absolutely love the blue front door! It’s so different and just captures all the whimsy you would hope to see in a cottage.

Painted Brick Cottage with Bright Blue Door

 

It was also on the tour this year and I noticed that it’s still sporting that delightful blue door.

Cute Cottage with Blue Door

 

I really like what they’ve done with their window boxes.

Winter Window Box

 

Window boxes don’t have to lay fallow and empty all winter. Dress them up with pine cones, pussy willows and other plants that look great in their natural, dried, winter state.

Window Box Filled for Winter

 

As we stood in line, I glanced up and saw the cutest weather vane-wind vane atop the roof.

Sailboat Wind Vane Weather Vane

 

It’s a sailboat!

Sailboat Weather Vane

 

I’ve shared this house before here on the blog but I think the front door was brown back then. I really like a bright front door. It adds a bit of unexpected joy for guests who come knocking.

Charming Brick Cottage

 

Another adorable cottage decorated for Christmas. Wish it had been on the tour, but then I wish every house I saw was on the tour! lol

Cottage Home with Porch Swing

 

This Victorian was on the tour! During the tour we learned that once upon a time it had been cut up into 4-5 apartments. Then it sat empty for while and fell into disrepair. Fortunately, it was eventually purchased and the new owners set to work restoring it back to its former glory.

Victorian Home with Cupola Style Porch Addition

 

They added one new element to the front of the home, this wonderful turret-style porch. I would never have known that it wasn’t original to the home if the docent hadn’t shared that info. Such a perfect place for a Christmas tree! Did you notice the ceiling is painted haint blue?

Christmas Tree on Porch Style Cupola

 

As we walked up the steps to the front porch, we could see a beautiful magnolia garland above the entrance.

Magnolia Garland for Front Porch Entrance

 

This house also had four window boxes along the side and they were decorated beautifully!

Marietta Pilgrimage Tour, Victorian Home

 

These special touches really make this house a joy  for those who pass by on the sidewalk just a few feet away. They also looked great from inside the home, too!

Christmas Window Boxes

 

Aren’t they beautiful?

Decorate Window Boxes for Christmas

 

A little closer view…

Window Box Decorated for Christmas

 

Once we made it up onto the porch, this was the view of the right side of the porch.

Christmas Decorations for Porch

 

The front door was decorated beautifully, as well. The other side of the porch was wonderful, even prettier than the side I was able to photograph. Unfortunately, due to the crowds, I could never get a clear shot of the other side of the porch until the door opened and we were ushered inside. By that point, it was too late because we had to go in.

After our tour was over, I walked back around to the front hoping I could go back up on the porch to get a photo of the side I had missed, but the crowds were even worse by then. I remember it had a wonderful seating area and a porch swing. I’m still mad at myself for not getting that picture somehow.

Christmas Garland Around Front Door

 

You can just make out the porch swing a see a chair on that side in this photo. Such a wonderful porch! This house sits on a corner with the entrance to the porch facing out to the intersection and the surrounding neighborhood. Wouldn’t this be a wonderful spot to just sit and enjoy a spring or summer day? I love me a porch! Every home deserves a beautiful porch like this!

Magnolia Garland for Front Porch Entrance

 

As always, we did the combination tour which included three homes during the daytime and three at night. On the way to one of the nighttime house tours, we passed this beautiful home. If you follow BNOTP on Instagram, you saw it when I shared it recently. Such a great tour this year!

Historical Home Decorated for Christmas

 

You’ll find more information about the homes that were on this year’s tour here: The Marietta Pilgrimage

Looking forward to all the wonderful Before and Afters for this Metamorphosis Monday!

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Comments

  1. Thanks for the tour Susan! I love the turret porch with the tree. Next time our porch ceiling needs paint I want to go haint blue. Happy New Year!

  2. Susan, thanks for hosting! I love the house with the blue door, and the window boxes with the big pinecones. I also love viewing other peoples homes on house tours.

  3. I did a walking tour in the neighborhood of a co-workers house. It was really nice seeing a neighborhood all lit up. I bet it’s fun to go inside someone’s home to see how they decorate and get ideas for yourself. Speaking of decorating…..

    I picked the old-fashioned candy holder at work. I told everyone how you filled yours up with the conversation heart candy and we all decided that I can use it year round for different tablescapes as well as a display for fall, christmas and winter. We also thought if there were more sizes that would look really nice. Maybe filling once with candy, one with rose petals and the other with something else valentiney (is that a word?). They are sold at Pottery Barn. Go figure. But I think it will look nice for Mardi Gras filled with beads or feathers. I’m so excited about the possibilities! Have a great Monday

  4. How cute is that weather vane! First time seeing a sail boat on one of those! 😉
    All the homes are so gorgeous, their insides must been wonderful! Touring a holiday home will be on my list next Christmas. Have a beautiful week, Susan!

  5. Beautiful tour of beautiful homes!!

    Thanks for sharing and thanks for hosting each week!!

    Hugs,
    Deb

  6. Happy New Year Susan! I love house tours, and all these look so charming! Love all the colored doors. Thanks for the Monday fun~

  7. Linda Page says

    Aww, these houses are beautiful. I love the window boxes with the pine boughs and red ribbons and such. I would have never thought to put garlands and such in empty window boxes to keep them pretty through the winter. I am storing that idea for future reference. I am thinking of putting shutters on the two double windows (living room and bedroom) on the front of my house and I think long window boxes would add just the right touch. Thanks for this idea. On the last house you pictured, one picture shows a door with frosted glass with a flower/vine design etched in it. My grandmother had a kitchen door with frosted glass that depicted Mary on a donkey and Joseph beside her with Bethlehem in the background and the star up above. I loved that door. It was beautiful. But she rented it out and the glass got broken. I wish I had taken a picture of it at some point. I love the etched frosted glass. Love the house tour. Thanks for sharing.

  8. Great tour, Susan. Thank you for hosting.

  9. House tours, especially during holidays, are THE BEST!! Had to 🙂 that sail-boat wind-vane is on top of our boathouse that has ceilings of…”haint blue.” Thanks to all who “DECORATE THEIR DOORS and WINDOW BOX!!” Wished they knew how many smiles have happened. “:) franki

  10. Susan…..
    Thanks for standing in all those long lines; if only they had allowed interior pix for us to further share your experience. About that door on brick home; you said once brown but now much brighter? I bet my bottom dollar that is
    an oak door that was stripped and refinished…looking just lovely and inviting. I grew up in a home with double oak doors at front entrance. My
    Dad painstakingly took them down every now and then and sanded and refinished them so that they always looked their finest. Since my parents passed and house sold, I don’t believe new owners knew or cared what they
    have in those doors and now look just black and grimy. I hate driving by the house and seeing the neglect. I would die for those doors on my house
    today. SOoooo…..all you who have oak doors on front of house…get busy and appreciate your treasure. The world passing by your house will thank you as they take notice. Sorry to be so long winded but if I were President I would demand that all folks with these beautiful front doors get to work on them. lol

    • I love to see the old doors refinished too…and I love painted doors. I love them both ways. Too cute about being President and passing the door law! lol 🙂 I feel that way about replacement windows. I guess my law would be the old window law. lol I’d make everyone promise to not remove the old windows with true divided light windows. I seriously do not like new windows.

  11. Happy New Year Susan! House Tours are one of my favorite things to do, so thank you for sharing with us! Your exterior photos are gorgeous. So many times there is such a rush to get inside the house that the outside is ignored. Thanks for hosting and have a super week! – Christine

  12. Can you believe that I have never been on a house tour! So pretty! 🙂

  13. pam ~ crumpety cottage says

    Wow, so much to say about this home tour. First of all, all the houses are so beautiful and each so unique. I love that. The first house, the blue/grey house, reminds me of the one little Kevin McAllister passed one night when he was home alone. He saw the family inside, by the tree, laughing and having a great time – as he felt lonely and missed his own family.

    And I smiled at bright and sunny pictures of people with coats on and their hands stuffed in their pockets — and wondered what passes for “cold” in Georgia. 😉

    I agree about the blue door. Gorgeous. And that brick – is that a painting technique or the brick, itself? It looks as though they ‘antiqued’ the house by painting it white and then rubbing/sanding off some spots. I like the way it looks.

    The Victorian is gorgeous as well. How said it was ever abandoned! I wish we could see before and after pictures of that one! Love the porches and the tree on the upper porch. Some people *ahem* just make everything fun! (Present company included) I love the elegant traditionally styled window boxes. The greenery with the red ribbon perfectly compliments the colors of the house.

    Such a pretty tour, Susan. And you’re teasing us again with your (apparently) harrowing return home. Glad you made it safely and so happy you were able to spend a good long with with Chip and family. Happy New Year. This is a great post to get it started off right!

  14. I love home tours! It does not have to be at Christmas. I have not been to any for a while now though.

  15. Thank you for hosting and for the tour. They had some cute ideas for exterior decorations (pity we couldn’t see in what they did inside).

    I read the party title and I think our porch entry totally matches the title. 😀

  16. Happy New Year Susan! We use to have Christmas tours in our little town but haven’t had any in a few years. They were so much fun.

  17. Happy New Year Susan !
    LOVED seeing those houses – and I especially love the Blue front door because that’s what I’m thinking of painting mine !
    Hope this year brings you nothing but happiness
    Hugs
    Suzan

  18. What wonderful tours those must have been Susan!

  19. We went on our first holiday home tour this year and I loved it! I’ll be adding it to my calendar every year. It looks like yours was awesome too. Thanks for sharing and thank you, as always, for hosting.

  20. Thanks for hosting Susan!

  21. Thanks for hosting again this year. Great tour, Susan! I was part of our neighborhood tour this year, again. FUN!

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