How designers decorated their home for the New Year celebrations

Designers Gene and Benjamin have long practiced decorating their home for holidays in Nashville (Tennessee, USA). However, Christmas and New Year are awaited with special reverence: this time is associated in the couple's minds with nostalgia and family traditions, which they seem to value above all else in their home.

The techniques used by designers are very personal and primarily interesting in their approach to decoration.

The homeowner Gene believes that any decoration should carry meaning and evoke pleasant memories. "The holiday shouldn't strictly dictate how to decorate the interior," she is convinced. "It's better to express your style through festive decoration." Which is confirmed by her own example.

One of the most festive places in the house is usually the hallway. The staircase is decorated with satin, woolly garlands, and, of course, Christmas stockings.

"After installing a live fir tree, there are always trimmed or fallen green 'paws' left. We don't throw them away and decorate the corners that others usually forget to decorate. For example, bathrooms," – Gene shares a lifehack. According to her, in rooms with high humidity, the resinous scent of fir becomes particularly deep.

The center of Christmas and New Year events in the house becomes the glassed-in terrace. Since there is no dining room as such, the festive table is set up precisely there. Gene lays a red tablecloth so that the edges reach down to the floor, as her mother did. Then the table is decorated with greeting cards and porcelain with classical painting.

For Christmas and New Year celebrations, collections of vintage Nutcrackers and an archival collection of engravings are taken out of boxes. In the designers' opinion, pencil sketches of old cities create a nostalgic atmosphere. Gene has collected about twenty Nutcrackers and traditionally decorates her teenage son's room with them as 'trophies'.

This authentic decoration makes the space truly festive and celebratory – just like in a famous fairy tale.