Sorry guys this is a long overdue post. Last year was our first time we spend Christmas in Jakarta and I had to buy more decor for the Christmas dinner we were hosting. From my earlier posts, you can tell I love gold, so to keep with the theme of my home (white, natural wood with gold and capiz accents) I decided it would be a GOLD Christmas in our DiploHome – or until I change my mind anyway. =P So this year I only had to make a few improvements on last year’s decor.

Before I placed these string of light balls (from Phuket Thailand) on the couch, but now I have enough lighting in my couch area I strung them up on my new modular bookshelves.

BEFORE

AFTER

I like it a lot because we highlighted the beautiful recycled teak shelves which carry a lot of books interspersed with some decor. We hung our makeshift parol in between. (I wish we had a capiz parol from the Philippines but until I figure out how to transport one intact, we will have to settle for an IKEA version).

DIPLO TIP: Place Christmas balls of different sizes in a fruit bowl at the end of a row of books, to add to the Christmas feel of the bookshelves. Instant additional Christmas decor without spending more!

Just grab balls from the least visible part of the tree and a fruit bowl from your china cabinet! My super cute bowl is from the gorgeous collection of Jenggala (I got it at the 50% holiday sale).

OUR CHRISTMAS TREE

I didn’t place a gold ribbon this year. Last year, I used ribbons as a filler because I didn’t have enough tree decor. Ribbons are a great way to fill up the tree, when you don’t have enough ornaments yet. So don’t hurry and get cheap, badly made ornaments. Use some matching ribbon and take your time to buy fewer but better ornaments. You will be happy you build your collection over time instead of hurrying.

Another thing I moved around to add more Christmas cheer is some of the gold strands that was in my incomplete belen, I got  4 and divided it between these two existing arrangements of  twigs, then hung a couple of ornaments – again from the back of the tree! Next year I should add some Christmas lights no?

I love my DIY gold tree skirt. Last year I just bought 2 meters of gold cloth and swagged it around the tree base. I find that it looks more lovely and luscious than the usual tree skirts sold in stores. This year I hemmed the edges so it looks neater.

I love using sinamay, which is a very Filipiana material as it is made from Abaca fibers (a species of banana native to the Philippines)  or brown paper to wrap gifts. Sinamay makes it easy to wrap irregularly shaped objects. I just place the item in the center of sinamay wrapping laid flat, then I gather the sinamay around the the object, and tie a gold ribbon to close and voila! It looks so elegant and makes the gift look more special! I buy rolls of Sinamay from the Philippines for about 6 USD each because it’s very expensive to buy in Jakarta.

Last year we had a faux belen (traditional Filipino Chrismas symbol of the baby Jesus’ birth in a manger) because we didnt have the baby Jesus & Holy Family in it. I am hapy to say that I finally found a gold and white wooden belen (in the perfect size for my teak tray) in KemChicks supermarket, Pacific Place Mall Jakarta. It is also a Kalingga Product (same as what they sell in Grand Lucky Superstore and ChicMart). What do you think of my comleted belen?

 What do you think of my completed belen?

See where I bought my starter Christmas decorations here. I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! Happy New Year!

So sorry for the silence the past 2 weeks! I’ve been spending time with family in the Philippines and amidst all the travel (Manila-Bali-HCMC) and family time, I just couldn’t keep up! Normally I do advance posts but everything just caught up with me. I will be better after the holidays and try to go back to my 5 times a week posting when I can. Thank you for  your patience!

Chic Mart – Kemang, Jakarta

021 – 719 92 49
Jl. Kemang Raya No. 55, Jakarta Selatan
Be sure to check out Retota on the 2/f

Kalingga Home Gallery

www.kanacrafts.co.id
kalinggahomegallery@gmail.com