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adding luster to our daily activities. Designer Carrie McCallembraces that idea when she dresses up her 100-year-oldGeorgian Colonial-style home each December. “I’m a bigChristmas person,” she says. “We have a huge holiday partyevery year. I make sure every room is decorated.”

McCall is founder of CKM Design in Summit, a full-ser-vice construction and interior design company. She’s also thehost of Design Talk with Carrie McCall on the YouTube chan-nel of the same name. Year-round the style in her homestrikes a balance between traditional elements that speak to itshistory and to more modern components that add 21st centu-ry energy. “I’m an eclectic designer,” she says. “I love to mixclassic beauties of yesterday with sleek modern pieces of today.”

AMPING UP McCall uses her home’s everyday décor as a jumping offpoint to create a Christmas design scheme that works withthe space. It’s a matter of embellishing her home without

WRITER MARIROSE KRALL PHOTOGRAPHER PETER RYMWID DESIGNER CARRIE MCCALL

Designer Carrie McCall’s century-old Colonial-stylehome lights up a winter evening adorned withfour large wreaths on the second floor. A garlandabove the entry and another one surrounding thefront door signal a warm welcome.

The holidays give us a chanceto enhance our everyday lives,

FestiveFlourishesSeasonal accents layer a Summithome in holiday spirit

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The black and white palette inthe foyer provides a dramaticbackdrop for the red, green andsilver Christmas décor. A row ofstockings makes its way up thestair rail, hanging atop a garlandof illuminated greenery.

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upending the status quo. “I don’t disturb the house. Iblend what’s there every day and then layer in theholiday,” she says. “I never dismantle a room. It’s livedin like it is every day; everyone feels comfortable.”

In keeping with McCall’s “fusion-of-old-and-new”philosophy, her home’s striking entrance hall is a bitunorthodox for a traditional residence. It featuresblack walls, floors and banister offset by pure whitewainscoting and trim. McCall adds a playful touch tothis refined space with a row of Christmas stockingsset on a garland of greenery and ribbon along thestair rail. Abstract print throw pillows on the benchbeneath the stairs retain their usual spot, but they’rereversed to their solid gray side as a neutral backdropto bright red snowflake pillows placed in front.

In the living room, red pillows make another appear-

ance, this time contrasting cheerfully with the existingnavy blue pillows on the chairs and sofa and coordinat-ing with poinsettias brought in for the season. Theroom also features gold wallpaper and window treat-ments and a variety of silver accents: the coffee tablebase, side tables, and the base and trim of a credenza.

McCall trims a tree in the adjacent sun porch, visi-ble from the living room, accordingly. “It’s silver andgold together. It’s very sophisticated looking.”

SCALING BACK Seasonal décor is a bit more restrained in the diningroom and kitchen, the spaces where holiday bustle isoften at its peak. In the dining room, red pillowsprovide an accent color yet again. Faux fur throws insnowy white are draped over the chairs at each end

Above: Red accents, suchas throw pillows andpoinsettias, bring holidayspirit to the living room.The green poinsettialeaves as well as thesquare boxwood wreathover the fireplaceintegrate nicely with theplant that lives in thisroom year-round.

Right: The Christmas treeis framed by black Frenchdoors — original to thehouse — between thesunroom and the livingroom. Silver reindeerfigures on the coffeetable coordinate withsilver accents in the roomas well as with the silvertree ornaments.

In the kitchen, theChristmas décor is kept toa minimum to facilitateparty food prep. Theroom is not totally bereftof holiday cheer, though,as evidenced by theplaque and stylizedChristmas trees on theisland as well as a vase ofholly and simple bows onthe hurricane candles inthe window. Doors onthe cabinets next to thewindow have beenremoved so guests canhelp themselves todinnerware.

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of the table and tied with red bows. Red and greenribbon wraps white candles at the center of the table.

The cool, gray and white kitchen shows subtle holi-day cheer with holly berries in a vase near the win-dow and stylized silver Christmas trees on the largecenter island. “We entertain off the island all thetime,” McCall says. A large, richly hued cutting boardmade from wenge wood sits atop the island and drawsthe eye into the predominantly neutral space. Thoughit was originally meant for slicing food, McCall feelsthe board is too beautiful to mar. “I polished it, andnow it’s a centerpiece for our holiday party.”

McCall augments her Christmas décor annually,creating fond memories along the way. “I add newpieces every year,” she says. “It really takes a longtime to decorate. You have to let it evolve.” Twentyyears into her holiday decorating, she says, “every-thing has meaning.”

SOURCES Overall: interior design, Carrie McCall of CKMHome Design in Summit; Christmas décor, Amazing Decora-tions in Wall Township. Exterior: landscaper, Jerry A. SinagraLandscaping and Nursery in Gillette; chair on porch, Restora-tion Hardware. Foyer: throw pillows, HomeGoods; wall cov-ering, Rivets from Phillip Jeffries Ltd. in Fairfield (T). LivingRoom: sofa, Ralph Lauren; coffee table, Lexington HomeBrands (T); geometric area rug, Stark in New York City; lamp,Arteriors in Carrollton, Texas; window treatments, Duralee;ceiling fan on sun porch, Hunter Fan Co.; grass-cloth wall cov-ering, Philip Jeffries; mirror over fireplace, HomeGoods.Kitchen: cabinetry, Wood-Mode Inc.; drawer pulls/knobs, TopKnobs in Belle Meade; pendant lights, Circa Lighting Inc. inSavannah, Georgia; sink, Kohler Co.; faucet, Rohl LLC; range,Thermador; wine refrigerator, Bosch; wall color, Early Morn-ing Mist by Benjamin Moore; trim color, Super White by Ben-jamin Moore. Dining Room: table, Dennis Miller Associatesin New York City; chairs, Viyet.com; sideboard, Baker; table-ware, Lenox. T=To the trade.

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Chairs at each end of thedining room table arecovered in a wintry whitefaux fur and tied withred bows. The room isready for a Yuletide feastwith gold-accenteddinnerware. The centerof the table is festoonedwith candles wrapped inribbon, greenery and redChristmas balls.