Photography by Gillian Jackson
Most people love to add decorative touches to their home at Christmas, but then there are those who just can’t stop at one room. For my clients, Val Geldart and Dave Dalton, no room remains untouched by holiday decor. Even the bathrooms and laundry room get a festive touch. “My mother is a Christmas nut,” says Geldar, so perhaps it’s genetic.
East coast spirit
A storybook upbringing in the Maritimes instilled a love for family, community and Christmas — an important holiday where everyone can slow down and spend time together. Geldart remembers big family dinners, Santa parades, the Christmas concert at church, and driving around to admire the Christmas lights. She says friends and family would drop by unannounced (a perfectly acceptable part of life in Atlantic Canada!) and reconnect. It was an important time to celebrate and be thankful.
It happened one Christmas…
Geldart’s mom grew up in the countryside where the Christmas tree was decorated with homemade ornaments and strings of popcorn and cranberries. With her own family, she began a tradition of putting an ornament in her stocking every Christmas. This began a lifetime of collecting.
O Tannenbaum
From Newfoundland to Yellowknife, Geldart collects Christmas ornaments and decor on her travels whenever the opportunity arises. This spring she picked up a snowman during a trip to Iceland. Over the years, the family has had to add trees to accommodate all the ornaments, creating themes for each one.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
Every year the family makes sure to pick up one real tree that they decorate in red and green with colourful lights, because that’s what her sons liked when they were little. Geldart confesses the rest of the trees are for her!
“I like to be able to see a tree no matter what room I spend time in. I am now up to four full-size trees and three small ones (one in the hall and one for each of the boys’ rooms). I like to have Christmas all around me!”
So, with a veritable storehouse of trees, where does it all go at the end of the season? One of the most important features in their newly built home is the storage room. It takes a lot of space to store all those trees, not to mention full sets of dishes and towels — all Christmas- themed, of course!
No room is left untouched, which also means every room gets a little bit more love added to it, even the laundry room and bathrooms. So, if it’s about being a Christmas nut, I say we should all be so lucky to spread love and cheer throughout the home at Christmas, and always.
Designer, spokesperson, author and television personality, Jane Lockhart is one of Canada’s best-known experts in the world of design and colour. janelockhart.com