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I may still have a few gifts to buy, but I'm eager to set that out-of-office message and settle in for a long winter nap. Anyone else feel the same? Luckily, we don't travel during the holidays. But with a toddler and no babysitters available, we don't do much else either. This year, I don't mind at all. Our home is finally, finally, finally coming together (did you catch that major sneak peek?). So this Christmas, I'm fully leaning into my homebody tendencies—especially now that I can enjoy my favorite holiday movies without a giant TV dominating my living room.
Yes, that stunning artwork sitting prominently above my credenza is actually the Samsung Frame TV. This is a television designed for us—the design-obsessed, aesthetically inclined (no shame in that). Co-created with designer Yves Béhar, the Samsung Frame is the most beautiful TV you've never noticed (catch that pun!). The Frame breaks away from the traditional black box by combining elegant design with the high-quality display we've come to expect these days—especially my tech-loving husband. Its customizable frame can perfectly match any space, with three bezel choices: wood, white, or metal (I chose metal).
When not in use, The Frame becomes a lovely piece of art by showing a gallery of 100 professionally curated artworks from various genres. I adore how the line drawing I selected pairs beautifully with my prints from Minted. It perfectly matches my pseudo-Scandinavian holiday aesthetic. You can also upload and display your own family and friend photos if you prefer. One of my favorite features is the Brightness Sensor. It lets you enjoy the art in any lighting, automatically adjusting color and brightness to match the room's ambient light. The art always looks natural, no matter where it is or what time of day. It's an ideal feature for our moody living room (room details here).
Now that we own The Frame, I love curling up on our sofa with Christmas treats and a favorite holiday movie for at-home date nights. While our two-year-old sleeps, we indulge in oatmeal cookies (the liquid kind—details here) and a different movie each night. Our must-watch list includes White Christmas—I love Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney—plus The Holiday, Love Actually, The Family Stone, and Elf. There are also the Harry Potter movies (any fellow nerds out there?). No matter what we're watching, the picture looks fantastic thanks to the lifelike, crisp 4K HDR Pro display, which delivers rich color and contrast with four times more pixels than full HD. That makes my husband very happy (I think I can tell the difference too). But what really delights me is that when TV Mode is off and Art Mode is on, our toddler has no idea there's even a TV on the wall. To him, it's just another piece of art. Now that's a Christmas miracle.
I'm wondering—what are your favorite holiday movies? Old classics? Recent releases? I still don't understand the tradition of watching Die Hard at Christmas. Can someone explain it to me? I'd be happy to add one or two new movie nights to our rotation. I'll take any excuse to snuggle on the couch from now until 2018.
All photographs captured by Leslie Santarina.
Originally featured on Apartment34.
