Holiday Homes Tour

Laura Thomson designed vignette for the

Holiday Homes Tour in Boxford, MA

Around the same time that I was planning my New England Finery decorated space for the Boston Antiques & Design Show, I was asked if I would like to participate in the Boxford Holiday Homes Tour. I thought about it for awhile, but with a magazine to produce, a show to prepare for and a new full-time job (I will share more about that in a later post), I just didn’t think I could pull it off without cutting corners somewhere. I am just one person (my favorite new line : ) and so far have not learned how to clone myself in order to be in two places at once! But I knew someone who could really rock this type of event.

Flower arrangements in vintage red goblets

Designer: Laura Thomson

My friend, Laura Thomson, who I have watched do amazing work year after year at our garden club Art in Bloom shows, and whose home is to-die-for gorgeous (get a glimpse of it in this holiday post), was willing to step up and be one of the featured designers. And she did an amazing job!




She had an entire porch (and a large bit of front yard) to decorate. The porch itself had gorgeous stained floors and rustic looking white-washed walls. To see what Laura did to transform this veranda to an autumn cider-pressing party, visit her new blog Designing44 to read about it in her own words. And be sure to follow her – she is super talented and I can’t wait to see what she posts in the future!




Want to see more from the tour? Here are some photos that I took while enjoying this “holiday stroll” on a warm, early November day.



I never tire of a classic black urn with fall flowers, grasses, peppers and gourds. So colorful and welcoming!



This dining room was striking with fresh green walls, cobalt blue glassware and pumpkin spice damask chairs.





The designer of this space, Arlene Jaffe or AJ as she likes to be called, came right up to me and introduced herself, “Do I know you from somewhere?” Well my memory is not as good as it used to be, but after a few minutes of “were you here, were you there” we figured out we sat together at a luncheon that featured a panel of designers from the Old York Decorator Showhouse back in 2009.

I loved seeing AJ’s work in person. She has an elegant sense of style paired with a super-bubbly personality. Note to my designer friends: when showing off your work at a designer showhouse, don’t be shy! Introduce yourself to visitors and get their feedback like AJ does. You will never know what you have in common unless you start a conversation!




AJ not only decorated this home for the holiday tour, she also decorated the home for every day living. This sitting room was quite inviting. Love the artwork over the fireplace, ottoman focal point and textured floor covering.




Another friend of mine was on the tour – Liz White from Mason & Madison. She set up shop in one of the homes and had on display numerous gift items including delectables and adorables ...








One of the designers on the tour, Linda Holt, wrote a great blog post on being a part of the event. Reading it, I discovered she studied with a color consultant/designer who I follow on twitter, Maria Killam. It is a small world!


If you’d like to take in a holiday tour for yourself (I suggest you grab some girlfriends, your mom, or a design enthusiast to join you) there are a couple coming up that I know of:

Concord Museum Holiday House Tour
December 3rd

Holly Days in Sandwich:
Holiday Homes Tour on Dec. 11th


Maybe I will see you at one of them?


P.S. Click here to view more photos from Laura’s space and see some other homes on the tour that I posted about in my decorating column for Lynnfield Patch.