Traditional Home

Holidays bring out the best in us and, I believe, bring out the best in our homes too. During this time of crackling fires, crystalline lights, dazzling boughs, and soul-satisfying scents, our favorite rooms unveil their finest hour. The decorations of the season alight the features we love about our homes all year: swoon-worthy palettes, notable architectural details, beautifully scaled furnishings, and most of all, livability. Case in point, designer Barry Dixon’s citrine dining room, page 22, provides a fresh foil for a traditional holiday feast centered on prime rib. Hint: Consider making the recipe with a Wagyu beef prime rib this year. It’s a splurge, but the buttery richness suits this menu and an elegant holiday gathering perfectly. In Judy and Mickey McLellan’s home, page 60, the warmth of autumn embraces…

TAKE NOTE ’Tis the season for giving thanks. Heather Wiese Alexander, founder of Dallas-based Bell’Invito, a stationer dedicated to traditional letterpress note cards (along with leather goods) is committed to social graces. She believes, especially during the holidays, people should make their gratitude obvious. “Thank hosts, write notes, show up with a token of appreciation,” she says. “Put to use this one piece of etiquette, and you will notice its magical effect.” Part of Bell’Invito’s permanent inventory is a collection of Wi-Fi cards that stylishly reveal the home’s password. “When it comes to tech, set boundaries,” she says. “Set up tech-free zones such as the dining room and the game room so guests can relax.” bellinvito.com SHANDELL’S Famed painter Norman Rockwell bestowed art depicting American culture to the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. Now Susan…

For Entertainers Extraordinaire Designers and event producers Jane Schulak and David Stark pair historical tableware with pieces by contemporary artisans who reinterpret traditional crafts to set tablescapes that will impress any dinner guest. Vendome, $65 For Francophiles For anyone who has ever dreamed of living in an elegant Parisian retreat, designer David Jimenez shares his secrets to decorating with French style, no matter what your address might be. Magnifique! Rizzoli, $55 For Aspiring Decorators Courtesy of John McClain, anyone who has wondered how a professional interior designer really works gets a look behind the curtain. The designer dissects the process and guides readers down the road to a beautiful home. Gibbs Smith, $45 For Fans of the Personal Touch Pulling from recent work, designer Suzanne Tucker shows her path to refined, personal rooms. It’s part anthropology, part…

The book title says it all: Bold. Jamie Drake and Caleb Anderson are known for their fearless decorating and dynamic use of color. That style is celebrated in the design partners’ new book from Rizzoli, featuring 11 Drake/Anderson projects—including Anderson’s own New York City apartment. “I wanted a dark, moody feel for my bedroom,” he says. “The idea was a sanctuary—a beautiful kind of cave.” To evoke that attitude, Anderson swathed the room in midnight blue, calling on a combination of luxurious, textural velvet and silk fabrics—including a subtly patterned moiré—to dress walls, windows, and the custom bed. “People are fearful of dark color, but it’s so calming for sleep,” Anderson says. “I like to create an envelope of color with different tones, shades, and levels of depth brought out in texture.…

At the end of a winter day, the action doesn’t stop. Events sprinkled with festive vibes—cocktail celebrations with your dearest, good-natured game competitions, and streaming classic Christmas movies while hugged by relaxed furniture and cozy linens—are destined to make the season special. We’ve found products to make gifting for these activities good-looking, too. Next time your presence is requested at a party, present a new set of glasses for your host’s barware arsenal. Upgrade a deck of cards with a sleek case that delivers a chic kick long after the game winner has claimed the prize. Extend comfort with an ultrasoft throw blanket. When searching for a gift, it’s the thought that counts, of course. But it’s the style that will add a long-lasting aesthetic memory to your sentimental one. ACTIVITIES…

Charles Dickens got it right, designer Barry Dixon says. Each Christmas as Barry plans for holiday gatherings, he borrows from the literary legend’s A Christmas Carol to make sure the experience he delivers to his guests represents Christmases past, present, and yet to come. It’s also why he never repeats a tablescape, a reasonable feat for Barry, who takes great pride in the dinnerware he inherited from both of his grandmothers, plus new pieces and acquisitions he discovers and collects on buying trips. “The more family pieces that you keep, the more family members you can layer in,” Barry says. “Each Christmas comes with a different memory. If everything looks exactly the same, it’s difficult to differentiate one year from another. Evolving the visual scheme and conversation each year adds to…