COMFORT AND JOY

This Newport Beach homeowner transforms her coastal chic home for the holiday season with greenery, glitz and glam.

This Newport Beach homeowner transforms her coastal chic home with greenery, glitz and glam for the holiday season.

This coastal cottage has a lot in common with the Christmas season:

Homeowner and style guru Claudia Reese, better known as Fabiana on her Instagram @ciaofabiana, designed the home to evoke feelings of warmth and serenity. So during the holidays Claudia doesn’t run from her cozy blue-and-white seaside aesthetic. Instead, she embraces it.

FESTIVE REFRESH

The year-round furniture—wooden tables and patterned chairs, among other pieces—is transformed with a few key and conscious design choices. Red-and-white décor pillows and throws adorn the modern-style chairs, while the shelves trade summer décor for winter splendors.

“Of course, I’ll put away décor—like a picture of a garden—that doesn’t make sense with the theme,” Claudia says. “But it’s also nice to leave some year-round décor out, especially items like my woven basics, which add a natural, earthy texture to the home.”

Balance is key, and that rule applies to the color palette as well. While Claudia maintains a blue- and-white palette, she also introduces greens, creams and just a dash of red to suggest the cheerful occasion. In keeping with the uniqueness of the home, Claudia uses a sprinkling of turquoise giftwrap and pink flowers too.

ENTERTAINING ESSENTIALS

While paying attention to the overall ambience of her home, Claudia also considers her smaller décor pieces—family heirlooms, flea-market finds, vintage treasures—to strike the right balance between modernity and tradition.

In particular, Claudia uses her keen eye to create beautiful tablescapes, which encourage friends and family to have a seat at the table and stay awhile. By layering golden placemats with gingham napkins and vintage china plates, for example, Claudia produces an elevated look that is both elegant and peaceful.

The kitchen table, though intentionally more down to earth in its design, shares many of the same qualities. Claudia opted for a layered look again, using braided placemats as a base and simple white plates to frame the vintage grapevine-patterned plates on top. In the center of the table, she sprinkled faux snow and added fresh branches of evergreen to enhance the tablescape with a calming scent.

“The look was inspired by Christmas trees and snow-covered lawns,” says Claudia. “It feels outdoorsy, like you’re eating in a winter wonderland. And it’s such a great place to spend time together.”

EVERGREEN DELIGHT. As in much of her home, Claudia decorated the kitchen table with family in mind. She sought to create a calm and serene setting, using faux snow and greenery, for her family to gather and feast on Christmas treats: hot cocoa, cinnamon rolls and sugar cookies.

|TOP| CHEERY CURB APPEAL. Mirroring the exterior in her interiors, Claudia used simple but effective décor touches to create a coastal Christmas aesthetic. She hung garlands and black and white ribbons on the fence, and used lanterns rather than lights to create an old-fashioned look. She also potted pink poinsettia flowers and hung a “Buon Natale” banner above the door, celebrating her Italian roots. |LEFT| TRADITIONAL TREASURE. Claudia describes her Christmas tree aesthetic as “old timey and traditional.” She decorated it with little houses and birds, in addition to gold and silver ornaments for a glamorous touch. The muted gold ribbon adds horizontal interest, and the old-fashioned angel atop the tree reminds Claudia of the angel that topped her childhood Christmas tree each year. |OPPOSITE| CREATIVITY CORNER. This shed—which peeks out from the backyard—serves as Claudia’s workspace, where she stores gardening tools and decorations not in use. She added the beveled-glass doors and a Roman warrior to create a Victorian vibe, and placed simple greenery and lanterns outside for the holiday season.

FESTIVE FRAMING. The architecture in the family room—the shiplap above the mantel, the white-painted brick fireplace and the hardwood floors— reflects the essence of this Southern Californian cottage. Claudia placed greenery, colorful ornaments and gold décor atop the mantel, perfectly framing the heirloom portrait from her husband’s great-grandmother.

LAYERS OF JOY. This antique Welsh dresser—that according to family legend, came from the Henry Ford estate—displays a host of year-round essentials and festive pieces. Claudia used the blue-and-white china platters as a backdrop for her Christmas décor: bottlebrush trees, miniature Santa Clauses and just a hint of red berries.

PRECIOUS & PRESERVED. The dining room is filled with a treasure trove of antique finds. The mirror comes from a consignment shop, while the plates beside it were spotted at an estate sale. The vintage yellow lamp, paired with a custom, modern lampshade, has been passed down through the family. Evergreen branches and miniature angel statues add the perfect touch of holiday cheer.