Remodelaholic in Review: December 2017

December is the month when every home suddenly becomes a stage set. The entryway wants garland. The mantel wants drama. The dining room wants to look like it has never once hosted a pile of mail, homework, or mysterious keys. In that cheerful chaos, Remodelaholic in Review: December 2017 captured exactly what DIY lovers needed most: holiday inspiration, useful home projects, clever decorating ideas, printable gifts, contributor tutorials, and a little reminder that beautiful homes are usually built one approachable project at a time.

Looking back, this month’s Remodelaholic roundup was more than a holiday highlight reel. It reflected a bigger moment in home design: the rise of practical farmhouse style, budget-friendly decorating, handmade gifts, easy woodworking, natural Christmas decor, and DIY projects that felt polished without requiring a professional workshop, a contractor’s van, or a second mortgage. December 2017 was cozy, creative, and full of ideas that still feel useful today.

Why December 2017 Was a Strong Month for Remodelaholic

Remodelaholic has always appealed to readers who love the phrase “I could make that” almost as much as they fear the phrase “some assembly required.” The December 2017 review leaned into that spirit. It gathered seasonal decorating projects, home inspiration, reader-friendly tutorials, and gift ideas that worked for real householdsnot showroom homes where nobody owns a charging cable.

The month’s content had a clear rhythm. First came the holiday decorating energy: fresh greenery, Christmas printables, alternative trees, natural accents, and handmade details. Then came the practical home projects: benches, storage boxes, ladder chairs, desk calendars, and small furniture pieces. Finally, the roundup mixed in recipes and family-friendly ideas, proving that a home blog does not live by plywood alone. Sometimes it needs cranberry bread.

Holiday Inspiration: Festive, Handmade, and Not Too Precious

One of the strongest themes in Remodelaholic in Review: December 2017 was holiday decor that felt personal rather than mass-produced. The featured ideas included natural holiday decor, free farmhouse-style Christmas printables, DIY alternative Christmas trees, and last-minute printable gift projects. These are exactly the kinds of projects that make a home feel warm without making the homeowner feel like they accidentally wandered into a luxury catalog.

Natural Greenery Took Center Stage

Fresh evergreen swags and wreaths were a major highlight. The appeal is easy to understand: greenery instantly makes a home feel festive, smells wonderful, and covers a surprising number of decorative sins. A plain front door? Add a swag. A lonely mantel? Add garland. A stair rail that looks like it gave up in October? Greenery to the rescue.

Natural Christmas decor also fits beautifully with the broader design trends of the time. Farmhouse, rustic, and modern cottage styles were everywhere in 2017, and fresh greenery worked with all of them. It brought texture to neutral rooms, softened hard edges, and gave budget-conscious decorators a way to create impact without buying a truckload of glittery objects shaped like reindeer.

Alternative Christmas Trees Added Personality

The roundup also celebrated DIY alternative Christmas trees. These ideas were especially useful for small spaces, rentals, apartments, craft rooms, kids’ rooms, and anyone whose pet sees a traditional Christmas tree as a personal climbing challenge. Wall trees, stick trees, tabletop trees, and printable tree art all gave readers ways to celebrate the season without committing to a full-size evergreen.

Alternative Christmas trees remain a smart decorating idea because they solve real problems. They save floor space, cost less, and allow homeowners to match their decor style more precisely. A wood triangle tree feels modern and minimal. A branch tree feels rustic. A printable tree adds charm with almost no storage needs. That is the DIY dream: maximum cuteness, minimum attic clutter.

DIY Tutorials: The Month Was Full of Buildable Ideas

December 2017 was not only about tinsel and bows. Remodelaholic also featured several hands-on tutorials, including a DIY rag rug, a ladder chair, a modern woven bench, a tree stump side table, and a one-sheet plywood storage box with a geometric inlay. These projects represented the best of DIY content: attractive, useful, and achievable with planning.

The Ladder Chair: A Space-Saving Classic

A DIY ladder chair is the kind of project that earns its place in a home because it does double duty. It works as seating, but it can also become a small step stool. For compact homes, multi-purpose furniture is not just cleverit is survival. In a laundry room, kitchen, craft space, or small apartment, one object doing two jobs is basically a tiny domestic miracle.

The December 2017 review highlighted this kind of practical creativity. Instead of chasing trends for the sake of trends, Remodelaholic focused on projects that improved how a home functions. That is why many of the ideas still hold up. A good storage box does not go out of style. A useful bench remains useful. A smart calendar stand is still handy even when the year changes.

The Woven Bench: Texture Meets Function

The modern woven bench fit perfectly into the design mood of the late 2010s. Homeowners wanted clean lines, natural materials, and handmade texture. A woven bench offered all three. It could sit at the end of a bed, in an entryway, beside a window, or anywhere someone needs to put on shoes while pretending they are not already late.

Projects like this also show why DIY furniture became so popular. Store-bought benches can be expensive, and they often come in limited sizes and finishes. A DIY version allows the builder to adjust dimensions, stain color, and materials to fit the room. That customization is one of the biggest benefits of building instead of buying.

Top Home Posts: Fixer Upper Style and the 2017 Design Mood

The December review included several “Get This Look” features inspired by popular home makeovers, including bathroom, living room, and dining room designs. In 2017, the influence of modern farmhouse style was hard to miss. Shiplap, warm woods, white walls, black accents, rustic tables, vintage-style lighting, and cozy neutral rooms were everywhere.

What made these posts valuable was not simply that they admired pretty rooms. They translated aspirational design into practical decorating choices. That distinction matters. Most readers cannot recreate a television renovation from scratch, but they can borrow the mood: a wood dining table, a black metal light fixture, a soft rug, layered textures, open shelving, or a framed printable that says something charming enough to distract from the laundry basket nearby.

Why “Get This Look” Content Works

“Get This Look” articles are useful because they teach readers to see rooms in layers. Instead of copying every detail, you identify the ingredients: color palette, furniture shape, lighting style, texture, wall treatment, and accessories. Once you understand those ingredients, you can recreate the feeling of the room at a more realistic budget.

For example, a farmhouse dining room may rely on a large rustic table, simple chairs, a statement chandelier, pale walls, and warm wood tones. A homeowner does not need the exact products from the original room. They need the design formula. That is where Remodelaholic’s approach shines: it makes inspiration feel usable.

Printables and Last-Minute Gifts: Small Projects With Big Payoff

December is the official season of remembering gifts you forgot to buy. Remodelaholic’s printable gift ideas and DIY desk calendar tutorial were perfectly timed for that moment. A printable calendar, art set, or gift tag can turn a simple frame, clipboard, or handmade stand into something thoughtful and polished.

These projects also demonstrate a smart content strategy for DIY blogs. Not every reader wants to build furniture in December. Some readers have twenty minutes, a printer, and a desperate need to look prepared. Printables meet that need beautifully. They are beginner-friendly, budget-friendly, and easy to personalize.

Why Printable Decor Still Works

Printable decor remains popular because it is flexible. You can change art seasonally, match colors to a room, and refresh a shelf or gallery wall without buying new decor every time. In December, a farmhouse-style Christmas music printable or winter-themed art piece can make a room feel festive without adding more physical storage after the holidays.

That is an underrated benefit. Holiday decor is joyful in December and somehow becomes a storage monster in January. Printable art offers seasonal style without demanding an entire garage shelf labeled “miscellaneous sparkly things.”

Friday Favorites: Community, Discovery, and DIY Momentum

The December 2017 review also highlighted Friday Favorites and link party features. These posts helped Remodelaholic function not just as a blog, but as a community hub. Readers could discover projects from other creators, find new blogs, and see a range of styles beyond one editorial voice.

This community-driven format mattered because DIY is often learned by example. Seeing many projects from different homes gives readers confidence. One person paints a crate dresser. Another uses peel-and-stick tile. Someone else builds a faux mantel or styles Christmas decor in a new way. Suddenly, a reader thinks, “Maybe I can do that.” That little spark is where many home projects begin.

The Sweet and Savory Side of Home

One charming part of the December review was the inclusion of recipes such as Parmesan popovers, Christmas wassail punch, cranberry bread, and coconut curry carrot soup. At first glance, recipes might seem separate from remodeling and decorating, but they belong in a home-centered roundup. A beautiful home is not only about finishes and furniture. It is also about how people gather, eat, celebrate, and live inside the space.

Holiday recipes also support the emotional side of homemaking. A decorated mantel is lovely. A warm drink shared with family or friends makes that mantel feel like part of a memory. December content naturally blends decor and food because the season is about atmosphere. The house looks good, the kitchen smells good, and everyone pretends the wrapping paper situation is under control.

What Modern DIY Readers Can Learn From December 2017

Even years later, Remodelaholic in Review: December 2017 offers useful lessons for homeowners, renters, decorators, and weekend builders. The first lesson is that small projects count. A printable calendar, a fresh swag, a painted crate, or a storage box may not qualify as a dramatic renovation, but it can still improve daily life.

The second lesson is that seasonal decorating should work with the home, not fight it. The best December projects in the roundup used natural textures, simple materials, and flexible ideas. That made them adaptable to farmhouse, cottage, transitional, rustic, and modern spaces.

The third lesson is that DIY success comes from choosing the right project for your time, tools, and energy. December is usually not the month to demolish a kitchen unless chaos is your chosen love language. But it is a great month for decor, storage, small builds, giftable projects, and planning for the new year.

Practical Project Ideas Inspired by the Review

If you want to recreate the spirit of Remodelaholic’s December 2017 content today, start with approachable ideas. Build a simple entry bench and add baskets underneath for shoes. Make a fresh evergreen swag for the front door. Print seasonal art and place it in frames you already own. Try a small plywood storage box for toys, craft supplies, or blankets. Make a desk calendar stand as a handmade gift. Add peel-and-stick tile to a small backsplash area before committing to a larger project.

The best approach is to pick one project that solves one problem. If the living room feels unfinished, add texture with a bench, throw pillows, or wall art. If the entryway is messy, build or buy hooks and add hidden storage. If the holiday decor feels stale, use greenery, ribbon, and printable art instead of replacing everything. Small improvements compound quickly, and unlike holiday cookies, they do not vanish overnight.

of Personal Experience: What This Topic Feels Like in Real Life

Looking at Remodelaholic in Review: December 2017 feels a bit like opening a time capsule from the golden age of cozy DIY blogging. The projects are cheerful, practical, and refreshingly human. They remind me of the kind of December when the house is half decorated, the dining table is covered in craft supplies, and someone keeps asking where the tape went even though the tape is clearly under the ribbon, under the scissors, under the one ornament nobody remembers buying.

The most relatable part of this review is how it balances ambition with reality. December makes people dream big. We imagine handmade gifts, a perfect mantel, a front porch with fresh greenery, a guest-ready bathroom, a sparkling kitchen, and a living room that looks peaceful enough to be used in a candle advertisement. Then real life arrives wearing muddy shoes. That is why the Remodelaholic approach works so well: it offers projects that feel special but not impossible.

For example, a fresh evergreen swag is a wonderful December project because it delivers fast satisfaction. You gather greenery, bundle it, tie it, add ribbon, and suddenly the door looks intentional. It is not a six-week renovation. It does not require moving plumbing. It will not lead to a mysterious conversation with a building inspector. It is simply a beautiful, manageable project that makes the whole home feel more welcoming.

The same goes for printable gifts and small decor updates. I have always admired projects that rescue busy people from the “I need something thoughtful by tomorrow” panic. A printable calendar in a simple frame or a handmade stand can feel personal without being overly complicated. The secret is presentation. Add nice paper, a clean frame, a bit of ribbon, or a handwritten note, and the gift suddenly looks curated instead of last-minute. It is last-minute, of course, but it has manners.

The furniture projects from the roundup also speak to a deeper DIY truth: useful pieces are the ones people keep. A trendy object may look fun for a season, but a storage box, bench, ladder chair, or side table earns its place every day. When a project combines beauty and function, it becomes part of the home’s rhythm. It holds blankets. It catches backpacks. It offers a place to sit. It solves the small annoyances that make a room feel unfinished.

Another experience this topic brings up is the joy of learning from multiple creators. Remodelaholic’s contributor model gave readers access to different voices, skill levels, and design styles. That matters because no single blogger can represent every home. Some people love farmhouse neutrals. Others want color. Some want woodworking. Others want printables. A strong roundup lets readers browse until they find the project that makes them say, “That one. I can start there.”

In the end, December DIY is not really about perfection. It is about making the home feel cared for during a busy, emotional, glitter-covered season. The December 2017 review captured that beautifully. It celebrated handmade charm, practical creativity, and the simple pleasure of improving a home one project at a time. And honestly, that is still the best kind of home inspiration: useful, warm, and just brave enough to involve a glue gun.

Conclusion

Remodelaholic in Review: December 2017 remains a valuable snapshot of what makes DIY home content so appealing. It combined holiday decorating, smart storage, handmade gifts, furniture tutorials, design inspiration, community features, and cozy recipes into one seasonal roundup. More importantly, it showed that a beautiful home does not have to be created all at once. It can be built through small, thoughtful projects that reflect real life.

Whether you are decorating with fresh greenery, building a small bench, printing holiday art, organizing the entryway, or planning next year’s home updates, the spirit of this review still applies. Start with what you have. Choose projects that fit your skills. Make the home more useful, more personal, and more welcoming. And when in doubt, add greenery. It fixes more than it should.

Note: This article is fully rewritten in original language for web publishing and synthesized from real Remodelaholic December 2017 themes, DIY home improvement practices, holiday decorating ideas, and U.S. home design context.