When Lisa Hilderbrand first walked into the New Canaan house she was going to decorate for last year’s Homes for the Holidays House Tour, she knew immediately how she wanted it to look. “It sounds silly,” she said. “But the house spoke to me. I had a vision in my mind right away.”
That vision—traditional but festive, full of old-fashioned holiday spirit and conviviality—was ideally suited to the 2004 estate, which was designed by Westport architect Michael Greenberg. Although built just six years ago, the interiors have a rustic country-house feel thanks to Greenberg’s prodigious use of reclaimed wood and exquisite millwork throughout. “We didn’t want something that was too stage set,” said Hilderbrand. “We wanted it to seem as if the house was decorated for a fabulous holiday house party.”
For the Silvermine-based decorator and co-owner of Welhil Interiors that meant tables laden with food, mantels and banisters draped with greens and elaborately decorated fir trees in several of the main rooms and the 19th-century barn turned guesthouse. Fires crackled in the hearths, chickens roasted in the ovens and strains of classical music provided an elegant backdrop. “It was really cozy,” recalled Hilderbrand. “You walked in and wanted to curl up by the fire.”
It also meant showcasing the home’s sophisticated Barry Dixon décor, a mélange of custom and antique furniture, linens and silks and velvets, hand-forged bronzes and brass, and the simple but perfect accent pieces—art and antiques and memorabilia—that the homeowners have collected throughout their twenty-year marriage. She is American, an Emmy Award-winning producer and Presidential history buff; her husband is English and a music-industry veteran. They have traveled the world and count among their friends, rock stars, royalty and U.S. Presidents. They sensed in Hilderbrand a kindred spirit. “Lisa’s level of taste is extraordinary,” said the wife. “She came into our world and immediately connected. I tend to focus on every detail. I knew right away to step back and let her do the job.” Instead, she directed her energies toward creating beautiful little gift packages of infused vodkas and jars of candies, which she decorated with ribbons she’d bought years ago in India.
There were beautiful little gift packages of infused vodkas
and jars of candies and nuts
To achieve the desired effect, Hilderbrand used copious amounts of fresh greens—white pine and hemlock, cedar and eucalyptus—studded with pepper and juniper berries, and orchids and lilies and pine cones, large and small. Lush arrangements spilled out of giant silver urns and old English transferware, even a rare porcelain pitcher used to commemorate George Washington’s centennial, which has pride of place in the entry hall on a Biedermeier pedestal. “We wanted the décor to seem like an extension of the house,” she said.
In the living room, she crafted a huge wreath above the living room fireplace, and twined it with deer antlers, pine cones, seed pods and pheasant feathers. “It was really such a focal point,” she said. “It drew you in.” Here, too, were whimsical touches—giant pine cone topiaries on the bar, a 19th-century hot water urn filled with greens and a pair of silver-tipped horns set on an antique silver tray.
As for those magnificent fir trees: The one in the living room was done in silver, gold and bronze, covered with glitter and nuts and “a zillion tiny white lights,” said Hilderbrand. The tree in the entry hall sported a White House theme with the official White House ornaments from the past fifteen years. In the study, a British-themed tree was festooned with plaid decorative balls, a Union Jack, a gold crown tree topper and two glass Elton John ornaments, complete with oversize glasses. The rock star, a close family friend, was instrumental in helping the husband propose marriage. At the base of the tree, near a pile of beautifully wrapped gifts, were three guitars—a red one signed by BB King, another signed by all the Bee Gees and a third, the brown Gibson, a gift from country rocker Steve Earle. And in the guesthouse, the 12-foot tree reflected the wintry landscape with its sparkly motif. “I just love decorating for Christmas,” Hilderbrand said. “It’s my favorite thing to do.”