A Sweet Spin on Holiday Decorating

An unconventional color scheme lets this homeowner put her own sweet spin on holiday decorating. HGTV Magazine takes you on a tour.

From: HGTV Magazine

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Photo By: Zach DeSart (styled by Elizabeth Demos)

Visions of Sugarplums

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.

From: HGTV Magazine

Exterior

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.”

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Entry

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.

From: HGTV Magazine

Living Room

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.

From: HGTV Magazine

Dining Room

Two of Whitney’s most beloved finds, the Julian Chichester walnut table and the gold-finish lantern-style light fixture, dominate the dining space. For seating, she mixed Bungalow 5 wood wishbone chairs with upholstered white stools. “I get bored easily, so it doesn’t pay to invest in chairs that all look the same,” she says. The photo of a diver reminds her of one of her favorite mottos: “Sink or swim. I choose to swim.” Bubble gum pink taper candles jazz up resin candlesticks. For Christmas, a gold-leafed étagère is draped with a peppermint candy garland and monogrammed stockings.

From: HGTV Magazine

Kitchen

To keep costs down for her kitchen reno, Whitney painted the existing cabinets the same color as the walls (Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore) and opted for subway tiles from Lowe’s. Instead of an island, she placed a farm table she’s owned for more than a decade front and center. During the year, it serves as the family’s main dining table, and over the holidays, it’s cookie-decorating central. The bench is by Currey and Company, and the wool-blend rug is by Aelfie, both available at shopcandelabra.com. Whitney loads ball ornaments into the chandelier for the holidays. Vintage-style candy jars are stocked with goodies on the countertop.

From: HGTV Magazine

Sonny's Bedroom

Dressed in vivid shades of pink, this space looks cheery year-round. In fact, the only yuletide addition is a tabletop tree from a crafts store. To create the princess-y atmosphere Sonny wanted, Whitney got her an Eloquence carved wood bed, then installed a crystal chandelier and hung an Outpost Original magenta feather headdress on the wall. “It looks like a big flower—perfect for my girly girl,” Whitney says.

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Sonny's Bedroom

The room’s wild card: a retro acrylic bubble chair hung from the ceiling and filled with sheepskins and pillows.

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Sofie's Bedroom

An Oly four-poster bed, accented with tie-dyed curtains and a bed skirt from Target, reflect younger sis Sofie’s laid-back style. “She’s the fearless, funky one,” says Whitney. The woven pendant light and electrified peace sign amp up the ’70s vibe—and create a cozy glow at night. “Sofie will close the curtains to her bed and just camp out,” Whitney says. A garland Whitney made of plastic and foam sweets from Hobby Lobby hangs across Sofie’s bed.

From: HGTV Magazine

Master Bedroom

With its soothing shades of blue and camel, Whitney’s bedroom has a look all its own. The centerpiece is a Grace & Blake feather chandelier, one of Whitney’s favorite pieces from her store Candelabra. “We’re an all-girl house—the perfect place for a feather chandelier,” says Whitney. Piled with texture-rich pillows and a vintage wedding blanket, her Oly bed has major presence. At its foot, she added a leather armchair and a rattan side table. The Tibetan lamb rug is so soft, “you could sleep on it instead of the bed!” Whitney says. What looks like a necklace stand is actually a sculpture of strands of beads.

From: HGTV Magazine