Date:  November 18, 2008  |   Story: Allison Cook  |  

After four years of working together, homeowners Elise and Raye Mitchell and interior designer Christopher Todd Hall are quite a cohesive team. “The Mitchell family is one of the busiest families I have ever met,” he says. “My goal for their overall home was a place of comfort, practicality and organization.” When it came time for Christmas, the Mitchells again enlisted Christopher for the holiday design. “I worked on every aspect from the placement of the Christmas village and trees to the ornaments and accessories. For their outdoor spaces, I recommended Daniel Keeley of DK Design in Fayetteville. He and I had worked together on a previous Christmas installation, and I knew he could make the outdoor spaces really come alive.”

The structure of the home affords a Tuscan flair, and Elise wanted the furnishings and decorations to continue this feel with an updated, modern twist. “I used deep colors throughout the home, and I used modern and minimal prints,” Christopher says. For the holiday design, Christopher and Daniel continued the home’s color scheme and feel, focusing on lots of fresh greenery and arrangements to provide great texture and shape without distracting patterns or colors. “We incorporated natural influences,” Daniel says. “Lots of branches, berries and greenery.” Christopher continues, “The downstairs of the home keeps with the Old-World design, while the upstairs, including the kids’ rooms, is a bit more hip, youthful and fun.”

The family’s large Christmas tree greets visitors in the living room, and thanks to the home’s open floor plan, its glow can be seen from several of the living spaces. Christopher wrapped the staircase with greenery and created groupings of oversized ornaments, botanicals, feathers and ribbon as focal points. “Christopher and I worked together to help bring natural elements inside,” Daniel says. Following the staircase upward, guests find the Mitchells’ Christmas village collection, uniquely placed opposite the banister for optimum viewing. Blending together the family’s special items with beautiful greenery and elegant accents created the ideal holiday atmosphere for the Mitchells, inside and out.