A Sweet Spin on Holiday Decorating

As the owner of two home decor stores, Whitney Moore knows the value of eye candy. “My customers love to see fun, happy things, and I feel the same way in my house,” she says. At no time is that truer than during the holidays, when the single mom of daughters Sonny and Sofie

piles on the whimsy in her Mount Pleasant, SC, home. That means DIY garlands; ornaments in sugary shades of pink, blue, and green; and a giant white tinsel tree. “Christmas is all about what my girls want,” says Whitney. 

The decidedly out-of-the-box take on holiday decorating suits the three-bedroom cottage perfectly. Other than Whitney’s bedroom, the entire house—inside and out—is painted creamy white. “It’s the only time I go for anything vanilla,” she says. Once bogged down by bulky built-ins and dated burgundy and gold walls, the 15-year-old house now features glamorous light fixtures, eye-catching art, and an eclectic mix of furniture culled almost exclusively from Whitney’s stores, Candelabra and Lyndon Leigh. “I go for quirky, and our Christmas definitely looks quirky,” she says. “But it’s so us, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

Since the house lacks a foyer, Whitney turned a well-trafficked spot between the kitchen and the living room into an entryway. Furnished with a slim Parsons table and cowhide-and-acrylic footstools, the area is a convenient place to tie shoes or drop bags. She chose the framed print by Natural Curiosities for its bold pattern. “I can’t commit to wallpaper or colorful paint, so I do a lot of graphic art,” she says. The antique glass lamp is one of a kind. Plastic candy canes become table decor when corralled in a clear vase. 

Although Whitney loves real trees, she and Sonny are allergic, so white tinsel takes center stage. The 8-foot-tall tinsel tree gets loaded with ornaments “until it’s bursting,” says Whitney. “If you go fake, don’t hide it,” she says. The jewel-toned tree adds pops of color to the subdued living space, which features an Oly slatted wood console, a Mr. Brown mirrored coffee table, and a low-slung sofa in tan suede. Fuchsia trim peps up the custom ecru armchair, and the off-white cowhide rug features a patchwork design. A mango wood bowl does double duty as a place to display ornaments.