Heart and Home for the Holidays

  |  December 24, 2014
Our 1939 Colonial is "decked" as we celebrate the Holidays with friends, old and new.

Our 1939 Colonial is “decked” as we celebrate the Holidays with friends, old and new.

With the inclusion of our Greek Revival home in Heart and Home: Rooms That Tell Stories, my thoughts increasingly drift toward visual images of heart and home. In Rizzoli’s Heart and Home, design author Linda O’Keeffe identifies home as a place “where we hang our hat and park our heart.” The holiday season that runs from Thanksgiving to Twelfth Night is a collecting place for memories, a celebration of the new as well as the old. It conjures heartfelt images of friends, family and hearth which define a home.

The Hudson Valley is a region composed of age-old traditions. Concerts, handmade artisanal fairs and gatherings of every sort dot the holiday landscape. For my friends Tom and Linda Hopfenspirger the holiday season is a time when their home Lang Syne is the epitome of the phrase “Home for the Holidays.” For James Aguiar and Mark Haldeman, their “Ringtop Ranch” is a glistening retreat from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. For Taylor and Elizabeth Thompson, the elegance of the Holidays fills their home with magnolia boughs and the ringing of champagne flutes. For Gary and me the halls are decked as a celebration of holidays past, present and future.

Tom and Linda Hopfinspirger's home is a welcoming family Holiday gathering place.

Tom and Linda Hopfinspirger’s home is a welcoming family Holiday gathering place.

Decoratively speaking, Lang Syne is a feast for the eyes. Linda and Tom Hopfenspirger’s usage of wide plank floors, exposed beams and native bluestone throughout their home celebrates the resources of the region. The tasteful pairing of comfortable sofas and chairs with 18th- and early 19th-century antiques conveys a sense of comfort rather than austerity. Holiday celebrations are accented by timeless decorations, twinkling lights and a roaring fire in the gathering room’s oversized fireplace. Linda, a floral design aficiondo, artistically decorates each room with fresh greens, dried flowers and fruits. Similar to the 1940s film Christmas in Connecticut, the Hopfenspirger home conveys an enviable sense of warmth and family.

James Aguiar and Mark Hadleman's "Ringtop Ranch" sparkles throughout the holiday season.

James Aguiar and Mark Hadleman’s “Ringtop Ranch” sparkles throughout the holiday season.

James Aguiar and Mark Haldeman’s mid-century “Ringtop Ranch” channels the holidays of Bob Hope, Bing Crosby with a touch of Eva Gabor glamour. The towering living room with its walls of windows sparkles like champagne. Dominated by a retro metallic tree, the living room is transformed into a holiday diamond. Ironically the two hundred handmade vintage Berlin angels adorning the tree were found at the local Goodwill Thrift Shop. Mark, US Regional Manager for Paul Smith, and James, National Fashion Director for Modern Luxury, ever the perennial hosts, annually open their weekend home in celebration of the season. Among the many holiday offerings are James’s bacon-wrapped dates and Mark’s grandmother’s ginger cookies.

Taylor and Elizabeth Thompson's Calvert Vaux home echoes the Holidays of the Gilded Age.

Taylor and Elizabeth Thompson’s Calvert Vaux home echoes the Holidays of the Gilded Age.

Taylor and Elizabeth Thompson’s 19th-century manse, designed by Central Park architect Calvert Vaux, embraces holiday guests with a graciousness reminiscent of the gilded age. Through intimate dinners, cocktail gatherings and holiday brunches, the Thompsons’ home is filled with the laughter of holiday cheer. Elizabeth’s flair for entertaining, eye for design and culinary expertise make their holiday home a dwelling where cherished memories are made.

Having lived in our early 20th-century colonial for only three months, Holiday 2014 is a season when our home’s heart has yet to be defined. Despite ongoing renovations, the lack of a properly functioning kitchen, and unpacked boxes, the completed areas of our home are decked as a sign of a welcome to friends. Holiday celebrations have characterized our relationship from its earliest days. Throughout our years in DC, Manhattan, Kingston, our holiday decorations serves as a remembrance of our travels, loved ones who have departed and friendships that have filled our hearts. I guess opening our doors in welcome to those who are a part of our lives is a legacy that defines our concept of home. Linda is correct: A home is where you hang your hat and park your heart, particularly during the holiday season.

About Haynes Llewellyn

Haynes Llewellyn, an interior designer, preservationist and accomplished party planner, relocated to the Hudson Valley city of Kingston from Manhattan’s Central Park West neighborhood in 2007. During Haynes’s almost nine years in the Hudson Valley, he has been featured in numerous television, radio, magazine and newspaper interviews. Haynes’s first Kingston restoration project was of a Historic 1840’s Greek Revival home, featured in the recently released Rizzoli Interior Design book Heart and Home: Rooms that Tell Stories by Linda Okeeffe. Haynes has served on a number of boards of directors, event committees and commissions since arriving in the Hudson Valley. Haynes, along with his two Scottish Terrier Rescues and partner Gary Swenson, is currently in the process of renovating his second Kingston home, a 1939 Colonial.

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