By TERRI GLAZER • Photography by GREG CAMPBELL
This Christmas home is filled with generations of joy, heirloom treasures, and playful new pieces that create a magical holiday atmosphere in every room
“We’ve always loved Christmas. We’ve been collecting Christmas decorations for a long time,” says this Clarksdale homeowner.
A long time, indeed. Some of the couple’s most treasured holiday pieces have been in the family for generations. Mixed in with newer acquisitions are favorites passed down from both the husband’s and wife’s families. Mingling the nostalgic with the more recent treasures keeps memories of Christmases past fresh for this couple and their grown children and grandchildren.
This home is positively bursting with holiday spirit, beginning on the exterior. Wreaths hang from red ribbons on every window, front and back. “Since it sits on the golf course, it has to be decorated all the way around,” says the homeowner. A warm welcome awaits friends and family throughout the season with a festive red sleigh—found years ago at a local antique store—which sits near the front door, overflowing with whimsical gifts and ornaments.
Across the way, a dapper soldier stands sentry at the front door. He came to his current post in an unorthodox manner thanks to the homeowners’ persistence. She recalls, “I had heard about a man in Arkansas who has a huge store, a warehouse, with nothing but Christmas. It’s called Guess and Company, and it’s in Des Arc. I had been wanting to go, so one rainy day [my husband] and I got in the car and drove over there.
She continues, “I have a lot of Christmas stuff already; I really didn’t need anything, I just wanted to go. I saw this Nutcracker, and it wasn’t for sale! It was a part of their display. But Paul Guess, the owner, was there, so we talked him into selling it to us.”
For the front door decoration, the owner decided to continue the motif she used at her previous home: a trio of wreaths hung vertically. She creates the unique look by embellishing plain evergreens with fresh magnolia leaves, then inserting smaller red berry wreaths in the center. Paired with the traditional live garland framing the front door, it is a stunning presentation, and the feel is warm and welcoming.
That mood continues into the entryway, where additional lush garland, accented with gold ornaments, ribbon, and pale green lamb’s ear for contrast, drapes the front staircase balustrade. A petite chest on the opposite wall holds several of the owner’s longtime favorites. “I’ve had that Mr. And Mrs. Claus for a very long time. They are [from Maryland-based designer] Bethany Lowe, and I love all her designs,” she says.
Nostalgia gives way to glam in the adjoining front room that the couple affectionately calls “the cocktail room.” Painted a crisp, neutral color and furnished with elegant white upholstered pieces, light wood, and gold accents, the space is an ideal backdrop for a showstopper. The Christmas tree is just that, flocked and filled top to bottom with ornaments in pinks, magentas, and blues that reflect the chic tone of the setting. The fireplace on the opposite wall is dressed in the “jewelry” of the season—an evergreen garland with gold balls, white “pearls,” and just the right amount of ruby red.
Even the Santas on the mantel are coordinated, glittery, and clad in refined colors. Amid all the sophistication, the family’s traditional needlepoint stockings look right at home. The grouping has grown as the children grew up and married, and again when grandchildren joined the family.
From the cosmopolitan flair of the front room, the mood changes to warm comfort in the den, which is off the kitchen. Design elements, including the dark wood of the room’s exposed beam and furniture, the brick fireplace, and the pine flooring, create a cozy feel year-round—and the Christmas decorations take the look to the next level.
A fresh tree provides the signature aroma of the holidays and a home for more of the family’s extensive collection of blown-glass ornaments. “We love the Old World Christmas ornaments; that’s what we first started collecting,” says the homeowner. “When Christopher Radko came out, we started getting a few of those, but the majority of what we have is Old World.” Illuminated with multicolored lights and finished with glass bead garland, the tree harkens back to Christmases past. Another nod to times gone by comes from an Eskimo Santa statue on the room’s coffee table. “It was my mother-in-law’s. I have a lot of her Santas,” the homeowner says.
The mantel over the room’s fireplace holds verdant garland and another group of Santas—these dressed in traditional reds. Below, more stockings are hung. This hand-knitted set fits perfectly with the old-fashioned “home-for-Christmas” ambiance.
The dining table in the adjacent breakfast area boasts some of the couple’s most treasured seasonal pieces, which have added to the joy of the holidays for years: their whimsical Christmas china and a whimsical reindeer centerpiece. The owner recalls, “My holiday china is a little different. My mother found this when I was still in college, and I started collecting it then. I hadn’t seen this pattern and didn’t know anyone who had it. It’s called Mason’s Christmas Village and is made in England.”
The pair of joyful red reindeer from Clarksdale’s Flower Bouquet + Interiors have graced the table for at least fifteen years, according to the homeowner. Handmade Christmas crowns sewn for each of the grandchildren by an English artisan are a more recent addition to the tablescape. The owner adds a small wreath on each chair’s back and garland woven around the chandelier to complete the look.
The couple recently had an outdoor cooking area enclosed to create a stylish TV room. Painted brick walls, a rich Oushak rug, and a slip-covered sofa give the space an elevated casual feel. Much-loved Santas and greenery, along with forced Narcissus blossoms in a cheerful red pot, provide Christmas spirit in the new addition, but the homeowner admits its Christmas decor is still a work in progress. “The decorations for this room are evolving,” she explains. “The area was just finished, so it wasn’t done in time for Christmas last year. I don’t quite have the feel of this room yet.”
But whatever inspiration strikes for the space, there’s no doubt it will lead this talented homeowner to create a stunning holiday design. As with each room of this lovely home where no detail is left unattended, every space is beautiful, festive, and deeply rooted in the family traditions she has created and fostered in the home for over thirty years.
