A STUNNING Holiday Home Tour + Designer Tips to Recreate the Magic at Home
Take a cue from interior designer Christopher Todd Hall, who decorates by the mantra, "When you think you have enough, get more." Image: Bryan Fay
The Friday after Thanksgiving has become a tradition for Nashville interior designer Christopher Todd Hall and his team. They arrive in Lexington, KY, suitcases packed to the gills with ribbons and ornaments, ready to transform a beloved client’s equestrian estate. The family (a longtime client of 12 years) heads to Florida for the holiday, and when they return, their home is glowing with holiday decor in nearly every room. The effect is both effortless and enchanting, just the way Christopher likes it.
*Keep scrolling for a tour of this stunning holiday home, or click HERE to jump straight to Christopher’s seven essential holiday decor tips.
For four days, the team moves through the house with precision, executing a carefully choreographed holiday vision that’s evolved over the decade-plus of working together. What started as decorating the main rooms of the home has grown into touching nearly every space with festive cheer.
From the front entryway to the living room, dining room, family room, and each of the four children’s rooms, the team carefully curates holiday decor that not only suits the family but also evokes a unique feeling in each space.
“Every few years, we change the look of the decor. We’re never pigeonholed into doing the same thing twice,” explains Christopher. “Over the years, we’ve adapted the look and kept up with trends. We update the garland and greens as what’s available becomes even better.”
The living room, like many of the other spaces, has undergone a holiday refresh as the years have passed and styles have evolved. Its most recent iteration is a towering flocked tree that complements the cool tones of the room beautifully, drawing on the grays and blues found in the room’s year-round color palette.
In the family room, where they gather to open presents and celebrate together on Christmas morning, Christopher designed a nostalgic, colorful tree that feels like the perfect reference to holidays of decades past. Colorful lights and Christopher Radko ornaments are both elegant and whimsical, adding a vibrant glow to the room.
In the dining room, Christopher applies rules that make the space festive yet functional. He avoids decor that needs to be moved for meals — why prevent the room from being used? “I do smaller things that can be moved. It’s not as easy to move a garland that goes all the way down the table,” says Christopher.
Glass Christmas trees are a beautiful, low-profile option that fills up the table yet still allows everyone to see each other and connect during dinner.
The trees in the children’s rooms were designed to align with their current interests, which, in recent years, include soccer. “The daughter went from horses to succulents, and the sons went from Spider-Man to soccer,” says Christopher.
You might wonder how you keep three different soccer trees feeling individual, but Christopher has an answer for that. He created one tree with an overall soccer theme, representing all the teams in FIFA, while the other two trees focused on specific teams — France and Germany.
After the presents have been unwrapped and the cookies are long gone, Christopher and his team return to the home just in time for the family to depart on their New Year’s vacation. And when the family gets back, the decorations have all been put away with care, as if they’d never been there at all — just like magic.
Christopher’s Essential Tips for Holiday Decorating
Christopher’s business is built on long-term clients, and by early November, he’s already completed a handful of houses for the season. People return year after year, with the longest running client currently sitting at over two decades. His calendar includes returning to the same homes on the same dates, making sure the Christmas magic happens annually.
“We know when we’re going to each home. We’ve committed to the loyal clients, and we’ll fill in with new people where we have space,” explains Christopher.
But, luckily for the rest of us, Christopher is happy to share his best tips for holiday decorating. This year, he’s even bringing these tips into his own home, which hasn’t always been the case. “It’s been ‘the shoemaker’s children have no shoes’ at my house,” he shares. “Last year, I ended up with a last-minute HomeGoods tree. This year, I decorated before the season started, so that won’t happen again!”
Tip #1: Embrace Your Personal Style
In the South, Christopher sees clients who want their decor dripping with Santa and Christmas. “The South does up Christmas like no other, and I’ve taken that with me! People would come to my home in Vegas at Christmastime, and they were mesmerized by my decor,” says Christopher, who loves the more-the-merrier style of the South.
And, while his personal style is elegant and luxurious, he encourages you to find your own style and run with it — whether that’s fun and whimsical or traditional. Either way, once you find it, embrace it!
Tip #2: Keep the Integrity of the Christmas Tree
While Christopher believes in festooning a tree with ornaments, he also wants to maintain its shape and integrity. “It should look like a tree, even if it’s filled with ornaments,” he says.
Tip #3: Use Faux Greenery and the Right Lights
Faux greenery had a bad reputation in decades past, but Christopher swears by it, especially since many of his clients plan to keep his decor up for over a month. Luckily, he notes that manufacturers have gotten better at creating incredibly realistic garlands, and he has companies that specialize in custom sizes, which he swears by.
He recommends investing in a high-quality garland or tree that you’ll have for years, and make sure to light it yourself. “LED lighting is often too bright and not warm and glowy enough,” says Christopher. “You want to stay around 2700K, and the lighting should be the same across all of your greenery.”
Tip #4: Prep the Ornaments
If your ornaments came with strings on them, just cut those off, says Christopher. Instead, use something more substantial that will be easier to manipulate on the tree. “Get a hook or a green pipe cleaner and attach those directly to the branch.”
He explains that this gives the tree a cleaner look, the ornament hangs nicely, and you can control the exact placement of the ornament while ensuring it stays in place.
Tip #5: Prioritize Your Ornaments
The average person has ornaments they’ve collected over the years. If you may have more than you can reasonably use, he advises separating ornaments by priority.
First, you have the sentimental ornaments. Then, you buy ornaments, such as large Christmas balls, that complement your color scheme. Lastly, you have filler ornaments. Arrange them in order of color scheme, with sentimental ornaments placed front and center, and filler ornaments added last to conceal any noticeable gaps.
But don’t stop too early when you’re filling up the tree! “When you think you have enough, get more,” says Christopher.
Tip #6: Place Your Ornaments with Care
There’s an art to ornament placement, and Christopher explains that it can make or break the look and line of your tree. “If you have any ornaments that are dangly, onion-shaped, or icicle-like, make sure they’re straight, not resting on another branch,” says Christopher. “Make sure each ornament is separate and doesn’t touch another ornament to hang crooked.”
Tip #7: Don’t Rush the Take-Down Process
Christopher explains that how you take down the ornaments is just as important as how you put them up. Separate them all into boxes and label each one according to its category, such as sentimental, filler, etc. If you keep them organized, it’ll make your life easier 12 months from now.
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Heather Bien
A Virginia native and professional writer of over 10 years, Heather is passionate about home decor, cooking and entertaining, travel, ballet, and coffee. You can find more of Heather's work in Southern Living, Martha Stewart, The Knot, Apartment Therapy, and Virginia Living.