THE GATHERING PLACE

The living room of our 2020 Project House packs in lots of modern farmhouse style and function.

As a mom, Amanda is practiced in the art of mess management. Most importantly though, she doesn’t want her guests to feel like they’re in a museum. She keeps the breakables up high, out of reach of excited children zooming around the house during the holidays. She secures the particularly delicate ornaments to tree branches with floral wrapping wire. “The glass ornaments hang close to the tree line, which I like,” she says. “If you brush up against them, they don’t fall off.” She wants family and friends to be able to relax in her home, to appreciate the décor but not worry about their kids breaking something in the merry chaos of Christmas.

FROM THE HEART

So what does Amanda recommend readers do for a simple yet sophisticated holiday home? “Use Christmas décor that means something to you. It doesn’t have to be trendy or in style,” she says. “What you like is what you should display. And you shouldn’t feel pressured to change that.”

(right) The pops of red and green wrapping paper add a festive playfulness to the elegance of Amanda’s living room. A true child of the ’90s, she remembers watching The Martha Stewart Show. “Her holiday specials were my favorite,” she says. She dreamed of having her own show someday.