Whiffs of Fraser fir and cinnamon, sounds of jingle bells and clinking glasses, and the warm illumination of glistening lights and the shimmer of cherished ornaments — a home filled with holiday cheer encourages the gathering of loved ones and the making of core memories. An expert in the department of decking the halls for the holidays, O’Hara Interiors’ CEO and Creative Director Kate O’Hara dishes on the approach behind bringing seasonal flair to the home of her mother and O’Hara Interiors founder, Martha O’Hara.
Photography provided by O’Hara Interiors
In this 100-year-old home, painstakingly renovated by the team at O’Hara Interiors in partnership with Murphy & Co. Design and John Kraemer & Sons, details are abundant including impeccable millwork, ceiling details and classic finish selections — the perfect groundwork for curating a well-designed winter wonderland. “Our family is spread across the country, so it’s a special time when we gather over the holidays,” says Kate. “The goal of our decor this year was to create a lush, holiday environment that left us with space to gather and move around the house. We wanted it to feel unfussy, with the sensory experiences that we all associate with this time of year. The result is pretty fabulous — there are many can’t-miss moments and lots of space to enjoy them all.”
Hosting guests over light bites and libations is certainly a highlight for the O’Hara family, and while it’s fun to jazz up your space for company to enjoy, there is one standard that the design firm suggests: For every item you add to a space, take one item away. This can include anything from pillows to tabletop accessories to art, and occasionally, even furniture. “This makes the things you add stand out, and it helps avoid the visual overload that can come with the holidays,” says Kate.
To bring in a freshness to your decor, O’Hara Interiors incorporates live garland to bring the outdoors in and serve as an elevated statement piece throughout the home. “It can be a little messy, but there is nothing quite like the sensory experience that live flora creates,” explains Kate. “I tend to be an all or nothing sort of person, so when I incorporate holiday greenery, I like to go big. Of course, I balance that out by going light on other items.” For this project in particular, the live greens complement the setting beautifully, leaning into the home’s historic charm.
When selecting seasonal greenery for your home, start out by identifying where you’re going to feature it. “Greenery tends to work best in places with lower traffic. We took a risk with the staircase here, which was sure to shed,” says Kate. “I personally love placing wreaths throughout the interior windows of a home. They create a beautiful atmosphere both inside and out.” Other tips? Keep the greens out of the way on the exteriors of windows — they tend to shed far less this way. And spraying your live greens with water can extend its life and minimize shedding.
As for that nine-foot pine decked head to toe in ornaments? Kate asserts that it’s okay to skip the visit to the Christmas tree farm when your space is limited, or the kids are too young to notice or too old to care. “You can decorate with greenery in other creative ways!”
Finally, the mantle of the fireplace is one space that remains a favorite for the O’Hara team. “Fireplaces, like the holidays themselves, evoke an immediate sense of cozy nostalgia,” explains Kate. “In our family home, it would be an injustice to ignore the mantles this time of year. We treat each fireplace as an opportunity to enhance the room’s energy.” On the primary bedroom’s mantle, the team kept the approach cerebral with simple stockings; while in the living room, the mantle features live garland and touches of tasteful citrus fruits ,conveying a classic Christmas theme in line with the family traditions. And that’s the true meaning of the holidays — celebrating the traditions that are most meaningful to you and creating space to make merry with the people you hold most dear.
