Monday, October 4, 2010

Holiday Preview

On the heels of the fall wreath, let me show you a little preview of last year's holiday and the greens I used. This is FUN to me, and you will soon see the result in Romantic Homes Magazine, when I can scan the spread this week. The theme I chose was Pere Noel; there was a wonderful pile of presents at the big front door, as if Father Christmas had just been there.... a second theme was natural....the blown quail eggs nestled in among the greens, also at the front door; I will post on the eggs shortly~
loads of greens from the garden and flowers from Corona del Mar farmers market with two exceptions, these tulips~

and the tall red Ilex berries here below. The short red berries used throughout the house are from our Toyon or California Holly trees; they never fail each year. I bought just a few sticks of proper Ilex because I wanted the effect of the red against the fragrant while lilies & pine with the yellow walls; sorry for the flash, this is my "old" camera~
There were many flowers inside; you'll see in the magazine, such as these; the Editor and Photographer have a tremendous eye, it's amazing...
this 1920's archway outside the kitchen door did not make the final cut, but I will redo it this year, differently, with the antlers & apples I mentioned. The date cluster is off of our Phoenix palms, it was like an early Christmas gift from the garden~
The dates were the "natural bow" I was searching for. I use what is on hand. I never thought yesterday to use red onions or garlic or red peppers on a wreath, but they were there (and I traded a few produce bags for them) so it worked, same as the date cluster.

The dates worked well with the rest of the yellow/orange fruits on the archway, all from the market; apples, meyers lemons, clementines. Every bit of greenery is from the garden; pine, pepper tree, juniper and Toyon; I will show how I did the archway when I set it up this year. The Toyon berries again; the fruits set up so naturally, it was a good look and lasted for months~

yes, forgot, there were lights in the arch, for night-time. More tomorrow....

6 comments:

  1. Bonjour Andrea,
    Beautiful, you have a fabulous flair for decorating and design. You must be excited about the magazine feature.
    Félicitations on the launch of Metis Linens. Wishing you and Laura every success with your new venture. It sounds wonderful!
    Bon semaine,
    Mimi

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  2. Beautiful! I can't wait to see the magazine!
    You have a lush, abundant style! Visually, your designs are the best!
    I love to visit.
    Yvonne

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  3. Loving it....especially the eggs & nest in the tree!
    xx

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  4. Andrea, I love the combo of the red and white with the greens-just gorgeous!! I can't wait to see the magazine! I love nests and eggs too!

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  5. I am thinking that my neighbor Kristina might be missing a few of the clusters off of her palm come December. Hee hee.

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  6. Congratulations, Andrea! Absolutely stunning! I'm a subscriber of Romantic Homes and when I received this issue, oh happy day! I absolutely loved the cover and rushed inside to read the article and drool over the photos! It was complete bliss!

    Love your style!

    Cheers!
    Tina

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