Traditional Home Winter 2021

Has there been a season in recent years when we’ve longed for a sense of calm more than this fourth quarter of 2021? We’ve learned a lot about patience and how to find peace in the here and now while still longing for what feels normal and what can be better. I have an especially deep yearning this year to observe our family’s traditions, some decades old (salt-pack prime rib) and some newer (family pj’s finally happened last year). I hope revisiting these moments provides the cadence to life that’s felt a bit lost lately. As our staff put together this holiday issue, I eagerly learned about each family’s traditions and the homes in which they unfold. Their decorations and points of view filled my inspiration bucket. I hope they do the…

AT HOME ON THE RANGE Colette Shelton, aka Coco, casts herself in many roles: L.A.-based blogger, star and producer of the CocoCozy Design House series on Amazon Prime, and home furnishings designer. Now she adds a collection of kitchenware to her credits. Chic charcuterie boards (and more) for etúHome tie to her French heritage and turn the everyday into functional art. etuhome.com Élan Byrd for Lulu & Georgia Élan Byrd’s education in textiles for the fashion world led to a career as a fiber artist. Calling on the alluring imperfections found in nature as inspiration, she creates prints, collages, and wall hangings. She now brings that organic aesthetic to a collection of rugs and pillows for Lulu & Georgia. Rendered in natural neutrals, the collection encourages serenity. luluandgeorgia.com JIUN HO Part design, part travel, Jiun…

Come winter, barefoot strolls temporarily reside in memory. But the carefree comfort of the beach lives year-round in this serene study. Part of a classic Hamptons home updated by designer Victoria Hagan, it’s featured in her new book, Live Now. Hagan’s first move to bring the outdoors in didn’t involve paint, fabric, or furnishings. “The story of the room is that, originally, there was no big window,” she says. “We asked the question, ‘What if we open the space to beach vistas?’ And that led the design of the room.” First came hand-rubbed wood-plank walls that wrap the room with warmth. Natural texture repeats on a reclaimed-wood game table and finds complements in tactile linen and leather upholstery—fabrics that play to a casual mood. “The palette was inspired by the beauty of nature—the…

the thought alone makes the gesture of a gift trigger gratitude. Add a sensory factor—the delicate scent of a burning candle, the soft texture of a mohair blanket, the robust flavor profile of a full-bodied red wine, or the visual delight of a colorful piece of art—and the gift elevates the level of joy and surprise. This holiday season, there’s plenty of opportunity to weave beauty and style into the items that fill your shopping list. Instead of settling for make-do gifts in a last-minute frenzy, consider pieces that are special, luxurious, and certain to heighten the design factor of a home and the life lived in it. “I ALWAYS LIKE TO GIVE A SUPER CHIC VERSION OF WHATEVER IS ON MY LIST.”—designer Julie Dodson…

Television design shows make the holidays look easy. Christmas decorating and entertaining are over and done in less time than it takes to wrap a gift for a special someone, frost the last few reindeer-shape cookies, or add tinsel to the tree. But when it comes to celebrating the season in real life, designer and TV personality Mikel Welch and his set designer friend Dawn Heuer are committed to sitting down and savoring the holiday spirit. To create memorable moments for a group of their Atlanta friends, the two staged a dinner in the home Dawn shares with her husband, James. They set the scene with quiet elegance, allowing their friends and the flavorful meal to shine. “We approach a table differently as set designers,” Dawn says. “We are all about the…

Slicing and dicing can be the start of something wonderful in the kitchen—unless what’s being chopped up is a glorious view. That was the case in this Telluride, Colorado, home, purchased by a Houston couple as an idyllic mountain getaway. “The problem was, with the original window configuration, you couldn’t see the mountaintops or the clouds,” says Ken Newberry, the Houston architect brought in to reimagine the home. “I told the clients, ‘You have God’s masterpiece out there. Let’s frame it correctly.’” Out went the existing standard windows—and nearly the entire back wall of the house. In came a giant run of structural black steel-frame windows that rise from floor to ceiling to usher in views of the snow-capped San Juan Mountains. “It’s an amazing transformation,” Newberry says. “We stayed true to…