Each December, Chris Lacovara and Sam Green deliver a magical holiday experience for their now nine-year-old twins, visiting family members and party guests (past attendees have included Martha Stewart) at their home. For several years, they’ve turned to designer Christina Roughan, of her eponymous Weston firm, to decorate their space in a way that Green calls “over-the-top wonderful.”
“Our kids call her Ms. Claus,” he adds of Roughan. “We love her kind spirit, her aesthetic, her can-do attitude, and her sense of humor.”
The feeling is mutual, and Roughan has treasured these clients for the past eight-plus years through designing multiple homes and now, creating a Christmas wonderland. The designer starts collecting items in August and September before getting to work crafting decorations. “My office is in a barn, and we’ve had a lot of fun there, glue-gun in hand,” she says. “The décor is very curated and very intentional, down to the candles and candlesticks.”
Lacovara and Green wanted the mood to express cheer right from the entry, which offers a view into the living and dining rooms. Roughan created a traditional American aesthetic by pairing red elements like red berries and velvet bows with the room’s blue hues and the homeowners’ chinoiserie vase collection. “Our vibe here was classic Christmas—reds, blues, and greens,” she adds.
Most items are handcrafted by Roughan and her team, including custom-made wreaths and arrangements. “For the dining room, I was inspired by the Cotswolds, with lots of cinnamon sticks and oranges,” she says. “We custom-made all of the wreaths, adorning them with ribbons, gold acorns and dried orange slices.”
For the foyer, blue window treatments in a Rogers & Goffigon fabric inspired the Americana palette, including the red berry adornments on the Charles Edwards Gateau light fixture.
Throughout this estate, Roughan Interiors handcrafted and placed wreaths, swags and floral arrangements at every turn for maximum holiday magic.
In the dining room, Roughan thought of every detail, down to the custom tablecloth.
A simple green palette was inspired by the Madeline Stuart dining chairs, which wear Holland & Sherry’s Rambouillet green velvet. The Hector Finch chandelier is bedecked with greenery and dried orange slices.
The powder room evokes a moody vintage vibe with its 1940s John Saladino light fixture, Collier Webb sconce in antique brass and 1940s Gio Ponti desk and chair.
In the living room, a blue and silver palette complements the rooms existing hues.
Custom wreaths adorn the windows and the mirror above the fireplace.
Dmitriy & Co. sofas face off across a Roman Thomas coffee table covered with sparkling trees and amaryllis.
For the floral arrangements, Roughan clipped and dried alliums, and then spray-painted them with gold and silver glitter. “They are so beautiful in an arrangement,” she says. “They look natural, but they sparkle and remind me of the Sputnik sunburst lights.”
In each space, the designer strove to accent what was already in the room. “Ralph Lauren does it best,” adds Roughan. “I worked there for so long and picked up many tricks of the trade to make a room very special.”
For the living room—which is traditional with modern elements—Roughan opted for a blue and silver palette that would play off the space’s textiles, relaxed mahogany and light-colored furniture. The Auchincloss Lighting articulating glass chandelier gets a dose of holiday magic in the form of white pine sprays dipped in silver. On the windows, custom Holland & Sherry teal wool draperies served as inspiration for handcrafted wreaths made from white amaryllis, silver pinecones and blue feathers.
And at the center of it all, a towering white Christmas tree. “We put up a total of five trees—including two in the kids’ rooms,” offers Green. “Our favorite is the formal living room tree because it’s big and so evokes the spirit of Christmas in the most beautiful way. And for this reason, it’s also the room where most people seem to gravitate.”
In contrast to the icy palette, a moody powder room was the perfect opportunity for Roughan to create a Night Before Christmas vibe. (Lacovara and Green read the story to their children every Christmas Eve.) Black silk wallpaper by de Gournay and a Gio Ponti vintage desk are infused with a warm holiday glow of classic tapers and gold wreaths.
“This home is so traditional but there are also modern elements to it. I wanted to extend that to the décor,” Roughan explains. “I wanted them to open their house and have everyone who comes in feel so welcome, but there is also an air of sophistication. It really represents them. They are so kind, and they have great style.”