all
decked
out
Sparkly silver
balls, pretty white
flowers, candles
everywhere—getting
ready for Christmas
can be simpler
than you think.
BY TERRY TRUCCO
fter celebrating Christmas for more than a decade in a 19th-century colonial, decorating expert Susanna
Salk and her family—husband Eric and sons Winston, 9, and Oliver, 14—up and moved the festivities to
a new house. Home for the holidays suddenly took on new meaning at the cozy shingled cottage on a
secluded Connecticut lake. With its white walls and no trappings of history, the modern, low-key
dwelling inspired Susanna’s less-is-more approach to holiday 2009. “As much as traditions are special,
I think you can get stuck in them,” says Susanna, who is a design contributor for NBC’s Today show. “The
bowls filled with silver balls.” To keep things easy but elegant, she confines herself to a palette of orange,
green and white, with a splash of silver for sparkle. And instead of fussy embellishments, her tables and
windows embrace Mother Nature, with big helpings of fragrant boxwood, ivy and pine, and bunches of
white tulips and paperwhites. “I love bringing nature into a room,” Susanna says. “It doesn’t cost a lot,
you don’t get tired of it and the house will look great all the way through New Year’s.”
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Prop styling: Loren Simons.
most luxurious-looking decorations are often the inexpensive ones, like masses of votive candles or
photography by David Prince
10/26/09 1:17:15 PM
ORNAMENT EXPRESS
Susanna trims the tree with
garlands of beads and white lights,
glittery snowflakes and plenty of
ornaments, mostly silver or pearlencrusted. When she wants to take
a break from silver and white, she
might try blue lights with silver
ornaments or blue ornaments and
white lights, along with heirloom
decorations. “A tree looks beautiful
when it reflects the personality of
the family,” she says. If inherited
ornaments are in short supply,
look for traditional silver balls.
“Multiples create opulence,”
she says. Instead of a storebought tree skirt, drape the
base with a favorite scarf,
an old pashmina or a
piece of vintage fabric
from a flea market.
photography by tk
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TABLE MANNERS
Candlelight from glass hurricanes and mercury-glass votives gives the table
a flattering glow. White tulips, daisies or lilies, cut short and bunched in silver
julep cups, look more relaxed than a complicated centerpiece. For the window,
Susanna fashions a fanciful wintry scene with silvery mercury-glass
ornaments and snowflakes hung with narrow ribbons. Then she lines the sill
with a boxwood swag. “The snowflakes are like punctuation marks to sprinkle
around the room,” she says. For added sparkle, place one on each dinner plate.
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THE MORE THE MERRIER
Susanna puts out big bowls of moss-covered balls and silver
ornaments on the coffee table, scattering groupings of mercuryglass votives and paperwhites. The paperwhites, nestled in moss,
are grown from bulbs planted in white pasta bowls. “These
delicate flowers are so inexpensive and easy to grow,” she says.
“And they make a great project for kids.”
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IN A TWINKLING
Fresh-cut flowers in silver
julep cups share space with
pillar candles and gold-framed
mirrors on the mantel.
Susanna arranges topiaries
along with bejeweled
ornaments in the shape of
initials—one for every family
member. “I like to use the
holidays as an opportunity to
clean up the clutter and create
a landscape that lasts for
months,” says Susanna.
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Susanna’s Holiday
Strategy
➺ Stick with flowers in one
color, like white lilies, daisies or
tulips, or lots of red roses.
➺ Think seasonless. Hurricanes
and votive holders are useful for
the holidays and year-round.
➺ Topiaries never go out of
style, and quality artificial
versions last forever.
➺ Buy one roll of fat satin ribbon
in a color you love to hang
ornaments or wrap presents.
➺ Crown the tree with your
child’s handmade star or a
favorite memento.
➺ Buy lots of inexpensive
votive candles, and put them
everywhere. “Candlelight
always works wonders.”
See Buyer’s Guide, page 202.
10/26/09 1:22:53 PM