AT HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Photography by Kathryn Feldmann 

Decking the halls with nature’s bounty 

As you approach Julie and Ab’s stately colonial home, English boxwoods enhance the home’s front behind wrought iron handrails that flank the gray flagstone steps, balanced by the black metal lanterns and offsetting the beautiful brick. Metal urns in a rust finish flank the front door: filled with magnolia and holly branches bright with berries, they hint at the natural beauty waiting to greet you upon entering the home. Together, all of these gracious features set the tone for this stylish home that Ab’s parents’ — Mary and Buck Boxley — originally built in 1965. Julie and Ab have built upon the family tradition, bringing well-designed updates to the home over the past 30 years. 

Garden gifts come inside
Julie’s seasonal décor is sophisticated yet whimsical; and during the holidays, her creativity especially shines. From room to room, she decks the halls by bringing the outside in. She says, “I like to go into the garden for greens to make wreaths and swags and to put into silver vases.” Julie adds twinkling lights and sparkling balls to each holiday vignette, rearranging and repurposing garden statues and containers to enhance the furnishings throughout their home.

In the family room, Julie decorates an entire tree with her cousin’s colorful hand-painted ornaments. Mary Boxley Bullington, a local artist, makes these custom ornaments out of paper that she carefully paints in elaborate designs. She then cuts them into shapes: angels, fish, butterflies, birds and dogs. “I collect more each year because I love them,” Julie says. “And it’s special that they are made by my cousin.” Colored balls nestled in the tree complement these one-of-a-kind works of art. With a high ceiling, the room has a well-appointed look, and the walls, papered in green grass cloth that Lynn Warren with Stedman House helped Julie choose, wrap the room in subtle texture. It is a beautiful, soothing color, and it goes with Julie’s vision of bringing the outside in. Julie topped the room off with a sculptured chandelier that illuminates the room and creates the perfect place where the family gathers most evenings. 

The kitchen comes alive with a large boxwood wreath trimmed with a gold star and vibrant green bow that Julie hangs in the triple window over her sink. A tiered silver stand holds yellow pears, limes and red apples that Julie arranged alongside bright green potted plants and a beautiful glass bowl housing an orchid among moss and decorative birds. Over the range, a shelf holds a collection of wooden Christmas trees, angels and crosses. Their soft patinas glow against the white hues in the cabinets and countertops. 

Wallpaper sets the stage
The dining room is set for the festivities to come. Julie’s exquisite China plates come alive — butterflies, flowers and vines frolic on a white background edged in gold. Each place setting sits on a blue scalloped placemat that tops an antique linen tablecloth Julie’s mother-in-law used for many family holidays. Matching napkins are rolled in beaded napkin rings shaped as flowers with vine-like ring holders. Sitting under a crystal chandelier topped with white shades and graceful crystal swags, Julie arranged the centerpiece. Julie says, “I use this floral container often. The verdigris bird-cage floral container is a wonderful find.” 

Julie is a talented floral arranger. The flowers in her dining room table centerpiece, in corals, shades of pink, yellows and creams, tie together the hand-painted wallpaper mural Julie chose to envelop the dining room. The tablescape fits in beautifully to make a bright, graceful scene for their holiday dinner. Glass vases filled with gold and silver balls are topped with boxwood balls on the buffet. 

Designed for family gatherings
Walking into the living room, one sees the stockings hanging under a mantel draped in magnolia. Tall urns are filled with greenery from Julie’s garden. On trays and tabletops, small vases of foliage give the room a well-dressed appeal. Julie wanted a long sofa to accommodate her large family gatherings, and Elaine Stephenson of Elaine Stephenson Interiors worked with her to find just the right one. “We found this one at a small North Carolina company and sent them the fabric and the fringe we chose,” Stephenson says. “They did a beautiful job making it.” The handmade fringe on the sofa mimics the colors in the upholstery, and its elegant length makes it a showstopping detail. “That was a highlight,” Stephenson says. “That is the prettiest sofa I’ve encountered.” Both Julie and Stephenson agree it is one of their favorite things. In keeping with the color palette, a large blue and white bowl holds white flowering orchids nestled in moss and greens on the coffee table. 

The front hall features a curved banister displaying one of Julie’s most decorative garlands. A swag of magnolia, pinecones and gold bows plays off the blues in the artwork they chose for the entrance hall and the gold tones in the wallpaper. The large gold mirror hosts a boxwood wreath with a blue bow which pulls out the blue skirt on the front hall table. Her needlepoint pillow sitting on the ornate love seat states it well: “I believe in Santa Claus.” 

Floral touches abound
In the den, back hallway and kitchen counters, Julie fills vases and floral containers with green cuttings from her garden. It gives each dresser, shelf or cabinet top a woodsy, fairyland feel. Orchids and poinsettias, placed for impact of color, add blooms amidst the greenery in just the right spots throughout their home. 

The open air back porch beckons visitors to linger. A stone fireplace is set for a roaring fire. The mantel, draped in a swag of magnolia and evergreens, draws the eye to the pops of red berries. A pinecone swag scallops the front of the fireplace to accentuate the decorative silvery blue JOY sign. Over the mantel, Julie designed a large wreath of magnolia, evergreen and red berries. In the wreath’s center, a cherub swings holding a red and green Christmas ball as if announcing the coming of the season. 

Colorful holiday pillows enhance the serene white fabric used on the two sofas that face each other. In the middle, a matching wood coffee table offers plenty of room for drinks and snacks. Flanking the fire screen, urns topped in boxwoods, metal balls and magnolia warm the stone surround and round hearth. The heavy wood ceiling is painted in a soothing blue, and the covered porch opens to the left and right into Julie’s ornamental gardens. 

Adorning the gardens
Julie even decorates the gardens for the holidays with pots, statues and seasonal décor. The beautiful stone fountain is topped with a simple evergreen swag and surrounded by containers full of ornate sticks, branches and greens from her gardens. A large wreath of magnolia, juniper and boxwood hangs over the fountain on top of the ornate metal wall sculptures. The blue berries in the juniper emphasize the metal wall hangings, and a small statue of two children playing gives a nod to the family members who have graced this home over the years. 

The side door where the family often enters is especially delightful. A long pine bough swag covers the glass-paned door and two sidelight windows. Red bows harken that the home is full of wonder. The small stone statue by the door boasts a boxwood wreath on her head. Julie designed a wreath for the side door out of boxwood and greens that holds a bell. Its ring announces someone is home. The green bow highlights the metal bell and the metal sculptured topiary on the other side of the door. A metal wall planter overflows with holiday greens. Even the small statue of a girl wandering off out of the garden is adorned with a jeweled crown of straw. 

Julie and Ab took a family home and over the years, they crafted it into a home that displays their talents. Julie’s gardens with their arched trellises, azaleas, tulip beds, Lenten roses, daffodils, peonies, ferns and grasses swath the home in nature. Julie’s eye for detail, creativity and thoughtful design bring the gardens alive outside and in where she fashions touches of elegance and color in every space she touches. ✦