The Reston-Great Falls Interior Design Corner:

The Holidays are at the door and this is a great time to think about holiday décor and tablescaping, the art of decorating and setting up a table. Though there are many options to dress up your holiday table, nothing can compare with the fragrance and color that fresh evergreen leaves add to your Christmas décor.

As you prepare to celebrate the season with family, it is important to take time for yourself, away from the December stress of the DC Metropolitan area. While experiencing the Spirit of Christmas, you can get some ideas for holiday decor. I highly recommend Fredericksburg, VA, where only an hour from Washington DC, you can combine learning about the history of Virginia with wonderful dining. This weekend the 49th Holiday Candlelight Tour takes place!

The Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserve, protect and revitalize the character of Historic Fredericksburg, organizes every year a Holiday Candlelight Tour. Each year, six historic houses are selected to be decorated for the Holidays and are assigned to six interior designers.

In 2016, I had the honor of decorating a historic home known as “The Major Benjamin Day House”, located on 1015 Prince Edward Street. This spacious two-story, predominantly Federal house was built in 1807.

In the following paragraphs I would like to share some highlights of this project, and I hope to provide a source of inspiration for your home project. It is a lot of fun to create your unique décor. Let's get started! You need Christmas Greenery: Fraser pine, boxwood, cedar and pine cones. Magnolia leaves and seed pods are a wonderful local resource. Ribbons are essential for the personal touch.

The exterior of the house and a welcoming feeling

Decorate your doors and windows! Wreaths and garlands add a welcoming feeling to a home and they are very fragrant. Add the personal touch with bows!

The dining table, the fabulous centerpiece

The history of centerpieces can be traced to the Greek and Roman civilizations. Though the elements used to create a centerpiece have changed through time, the sense of grandeur that they confer has not. The centerpiece is the focal point of the dining room and, as such, it requires special attention. In order to achieve a harmonious décor, the shape and size of your centerpiece has to be in proportion to the shape of your dining room table. We want to avoid an overwhelming or a skimpy look.

In order to balance the long table, I used a silver piece (Champagne ice-bucket! It had the perfect height that I was looking for.) and two small glass vases on both sides. The mirror under the center piece added a sparkling touch. The dark green of the magnolia leaves gave the perfect contrast for the twenty four elegant red roses. For the bouquet on the sides, I used ferns from my garden. In order to keep the flower arrangement in place, I held the stems with wire before placing them in the vase.

The elegant and ethereal organza ribbons made the perfect pair for the golden candles.

The mantel of the fireplace

Little glass ornaments and red berries are wonderful accents to the fresh garlands above the mantel.

The Reston-Great Falls Interior Design Corner will come to you on Fridays. The posts are focused on home improvement and décor. Comments and questions are always welcome! If there is a topic that you are interested in, please bring it to my attention (ameliavinteriors@gmail.com), so I can include it in future posts. At the bottom you will find a link to my previous posts.
Amelia Vallone Logan, Ph.D.

The Reston Great Falls Interior Design Corner: Published Posts

1. Getting Ready for the Spring Home Projects -Avoid making expensive mistakes
2. Developing your Home Improvement Project: Turning your home vision into a reality
3.Developing your Home Improvement Project: The role of virtual 3D models in your home vision

Amelia Vallone Logan, Ph. D.

Interior Designer

ASID Allied Member

Virtual complimentary Initial Consultations (phone, facetime and zoom)

Virtual Design presentation (zoom)