Christmas at Moss Mountain Farm is a busy time of the year. We enjoy receiving guests throughout the season and sharing the beauty of this special time.
Planning holiday themes and decorations begins in early fall and I’m always trying new approaches to decking the halls from one year to the next. No matter how early I plan, it does seem like it always is in some ways a scramble.
I suppose I’ve always been a bit of a contrarian when it comes to seasonal decor of any kind. For me, it must flow with the design and colors of the rooms of the house, and for that matter, the exterior as well. So what if the traditional colors of the season are red and green? If these ‘status quo’ colors don’t harmonize with your home, move past them unapologetically!
The real creative fun for me begins when integrating ‘this and that’ – and anything goes (from persimmons to taxidermy); provided colors, texture and forms harmonize and create visual interest, the occasional ‘wow’ moment. My mantra has always been use the ordinary to create the extraordinary.
And then there’s that use, reuse and recycle part of me. It’s a voice from my past, you know those old tapes playing in our heads from our mothers and grandmothers: Don’t throw anything away, you just might need that some day. Use it again and again. It’s an addiction that may eventually lead you in a 12 step program for hoarding. But, I will say, coming from a long and distinguished line of ‘pack rats’ has come in handy. We have used the same silver bowls, cone wreaths and various ‘bits and bobs’ of bling for years. Always used in a slightly different way each year.
I love a well-set table for special occasions, well for that matter, anytime. Don’t you? It seems to have gone the way of good manners and curiosity these days. I know it seems to be passé with the younger set to drag out all that old dining accoutrement, but I like it. Our old dishes are a mish-mash of gathered and inherited. Yes, it’s a place where Williams Sonoma meets Old Paris cups and 19th century Coalport. Oh, what the heck…they all play well together!
Don’t bow to convention. Take a look outside and in your attic and then get creative and have some fun.