Carrie Loveless likes using natural ingredients when she decorates. Her clients like it, too. The owner of Carried Away Events, Loveless has several clients who hire her to do all their holiday decorating.
One of those clients' homes, Maura and Kevin Dunn, was recently on the Scottish Christmas Walk Home Tour. Loveless was selected as the decorator for the home and the Dunns asked her to do all their holiday decorating. Loveless used greens and other natural ingredients to create some holiday arrangements. She also used dried fruit slices that she had made at home to decorate the smaller trees. Toile Santa and stockings finished the look in the Dunn home.
Textiles created a special look in the Carpi home. Yvette Piaggio, designer and owner of Piaggio's Loft, created several special pieces to get the Carpi home ready for the Scottish Christmas Walk Home Tour. Taffeta slipcovers slipped over dining room chairs, along with a taffeta table round and silk topper helped transformed the dining area. Matching table settings completed the holiday look.
IN THE LIVING room, Piaggio worked her magic with a specially made mantle cover and tree skirt. Custom stockings were hung by the large fireplace in the sitting room.
At River Farm, the staff relied on some simple elements. Tom Underwood, director of gardens and buildings, said that children from all over the country donated homemade ornaments. These were used throughout the building to help decorate American Horticultural Society's themed trees and potted plants.
Barbara Good, catering manager at Gunston Hall, used a different approach to decorating. She created a festive buffet table by integrating large dollhouses, gingerbread structures, lights and holiday decorations. Fresh and artificial plants were integrated into the design, surrounded by nutcrackers and other Christmas decorations.