Eclectic Christmas Home Decor | Welcome Home

When Leigh Standley, the creative force behind stationery company Curly Girl Design (curlygirldesign.com), and her husband, Rob DiBernardo, bought their Belmont condo at the end of 2009, it had just been renovated by real-estate agents planning to flip it quickly. Standley knew that the space–almost 2,000 square feet on the top two floors of a 1910 Victorian–had great potential, but the aesthetic was all wrong. “It was ugly,” Standley says. It also featured many poorly planned spaces, awkward details–and not nearly enough storage. So Standley and her husband set about making it their own. Changing the dark and dated kitchen, which had been renovated cheaply, was paramount. It all had to go. But in the interest of environmental responsibility, Standley didn’t want to send brand-new materials to a landfill–so she found a home for each appliance, countertop, and fixture. Then she and her husband used ecofriendly and reclaimed materials to create a clean, bright, timeless kitchen with plenty of white and warm wood. They also created a small in-office kitchen, which, Standley says, “has become the hub of our home.”

Next they tackled the bathrooms, removing what Standley calls the “dark, shiny, overly fancy fixtures” and replacing them with white subway tile, wainscoting, and custom vanities crafted from vintage dressers and cabinets. They also built shelving and locker-bin cubbies into the upstairs bathroom to utilize awkward space left by the developers. The existing living room lacked warmth, so Standley and her husband installed a gas fireplace (surrounded by hand-painted tiles) as well as floor-to-ceiling built-ins. There’s a flat-screen television above the fireplace, but Standley didn’t want that to be the room’s focal point: “I designed pocket doors to cover the TV when it’s not in use. So the fireplace becomes the proper focus for the room.” The bedrooms didn’t require extensive work, but Standley and her husband added storage wherever they could (drawers under the eaves in the attic and a linen closet built into a nook) and repainted every room, combining warm tones and fresh whites.

Then it was time to decorate. “We joke and call our style ‘ethnic farmhouse modern,’ but there’s really nothing modern about it,” Standley notes. “Our home has a clean layout and a lot of white, but the edges are soft and have a livable feel.” She employs patterns judiciously, loves pops of color, and incorporates treasures from their travels. Her favorite is a French baker’s table found on a trip to California; there are also throws from Marrakech, a green velvet armchair from a New Orleans thrift store, tiles from Mexico, and artwork by some of her artist friends (plus a few of her own pieces). All that is mixed with easier-to-source items. “I feel as though we’ve done the high/low thing well,” Standley says, pointing to a window seat created from two IKEA pieces and a chandelier from Overstock.com. Standley’s most recent project was the conversion of a guest room into a nursery, in anticipation of twins, who arrived at the end of last year. “The nursery is full of DIY decor,” she says. She rehabbed a dresser from Craigslist with fresh paint and new knobs, turning it into a changing table. The cobbled IKEA window seat is in there, too, finished with cushions Standley made with her mom. “We also made crib skirts and storage baskets and artwork for the walls,” she adds.

Because the guest room had to be moved to accommodate the nursery, Standley rearranged her home art studio into a dual-purpose space. “Now the daybed stays pulled out as a king-size bed all the time; paper storage doubles as a side table; my studio inspiration serves as art; and the closet has to do double duty,” she explains. “I made it work by installing spice racks on the inside of the closet door to hold art supplies and getting really organized.” Space may be tighter, but the more this couple does to their house, the more they love it: “Building this together with my husband–who, it turns out, has quite a knack for these things–has been the greatest part. We might be crazy, but a little crazy might also be the secret to our happy marriage.” And to their very welcoming home.

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Holiday Decor Tips

• Leigh Standley’s house is at its coziest during the holidays, when decorations make it especially merry and bright without overwhelming the space. Here are her tips for homey holiday decorating.
• Have something festive in every room (but not on every surface).
• Use natural materials as much as possible. “I love real garland,” Standley says. “Though it can be pricey, it accomplishes a lot and can make the house smell wonderful. If you get the right kind, it dries nicely, and you can leave it up through January.”
• Mix vintage decorations with more updated holiday pieces: “I think having all of one or the other looks as though you haven’t spent much time with it. I never want my house to look as though I bought all the decorations at one store and had it assembled in my home.”
• Use a few treasures from your youth or things that remind you of holidays when you were little: “I have my grandma’s 12-inch plastic light-up Santa, which on its own is kitschy, but mixed in, is just part of my history.”
• Take your time, collect, and invest in things you love: “Chances are if you love something, it will be enjoyable for you to get it out and put it up every year.”
• Splurge on an extra little tree or garland with lights for your bedroom: “It might seem silly, but it can make life feel extra-magical to fall asleep to, or wake up to, twinkling lights and holiday cheer. I like that it’s not for anyone else to see.”