A single red ornament dangles from an antler of a graphic deer-head sculpture—a subtle holiday greeting in the entry of the historic Southport home of Sara Olinger, her husband and their four children. When the family made the move from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to Fairfield County, they brought to their new home a decidedly Scandinavian aesthetic, which is even more apparent at the holidays. Olinger’s understated Christmas decorations are not only a nod to the season, but also an opportunity to honor her roots. “My goal for Christmas is to make the house feel like when I was little—like Christmas in Scandinavia,” she notes. “The winters there are very dark and cold, so candles and throws to cozy up in are important.”
Originally from Sweden and Denmark, Olinger (who works in the fashion industry as does her husband) grew up going to flea markets and vintage stores with her parents, searching for unexpected treasures and being exposed to mid- century modern items and furniture. “My mom, my sister and I also spent quite a bit of time at IKEA, and we considered it a fun afternoon,” she says. “I know in the U.S. that sounds insane, but Swedish IKEA isn’t as crowded, and we go there for inspiration and to have a fika or lunch.”
After a move to NYC, Olinger found herself seeking out reminders of home. “I was always on the look-out for great design with simple lines,” she says. “And I’d bring back a lot of smaller pieces and textiles from my trips back home twice a year. We moved to Southport in 2018, and it wasn’t long after that the pandemic shut everything down. I got homesick, so I started searching for Danish china in thrift stores and online. As my collection grew, I realized I had nowhere to store it, so I focused on making the dining room into a very Danish-style room. I painted the walls Decorator White and all the original woodwork and paneling Coventry Gray. I found a china cabinet on Facebook Marketplace and made it look like a built-in, painted it and filled it with my new blue and white china collection. With the light gray washed white oak floors that we had installed during the renovation, the dining room feels very Scandinavian, and I love it. The style works very well with the architecture of the house.”
At her home, holiday decorating starts around Thanksgiving when the oldest kids get home from boarding school. “My daughter likes to help, and sometimes the boys too,” she says. “But we save the tree for when they get home for Christmas break, so it’s fresh and fragrant for Christmas. Ideally decorations come down around mid-January, but if I’m particularly affected by seasonal moods—residue from living in darkness in Sweden during long winters—I leave a few of them up a little longer.”
A bench from IKEA and a wall of graphic deer heads from Etsy provide a cozy welcome in the entry.
The living room fireplace mantel is lined with a collection of bottles containing sand from beaches visited since 2003, while the bell garland was crafted from bells from Crate & Barrel and the antler sconces are from Roll & Hill.
Ink drawings by Dagmara Lauk line the living room walls. IKEA sofa and chairs surround an RH coffee table, and the seagrass ottomans are from the Beehive.
Wintry accents in the kitchen include a cozy throw from H&M, vintage Royal Copenhagen eggcup, tea cup and sugar bowl from Brimfield Flea Market, plus a metal tree and moose in the window from Eleish Van Breems Home.
Olinger continues the family tradition of having homemade glögg simmering on the stove and served in colorful cups.
The dining table is set with brass candlesticks found at Brimfield Flea Market, Bergs Potter plant pots from Terrain and glass votive holders from Kosta Boda.
Place settings include a mix of Royal Copenhagen patterns, and the napkins are from Williams Sonoma.
Red glass ornaments and bead garland are from Jamali Floral & Garden.
Gnomes designed by Ruth Vetter are paired with abstract birch Christmas trees.
In the family room, monogrammed stockings and Crate & Barrel teak lanterns anchor the fireplace, while red star garland from Sweden is paired with faux cedar garland from Jamali Floral & Garden on the mantel.
Homemade paper trees are complemented by ceramic tea-light holders from West Elm.
A Quadrille wallpaper lines a daughter’s bedroom. The chair is from Anthropologie Home and the oversized ornaments are from West Elm.
The rope swag light is from World Market and the bedding is from H&M.
The home is filled with clean-lined natural accents and unscented candles. “I prefer unscented white Swedish Kanalljus—with channels for the candle wax—that I either bring back from Sweden or buy at the Scandinavian Butik in Norwalk,” she explains. “I like scent to come from the real Christmas tree and the glögg that’s simmering on the stove.” Warm white lights provide a soft glow, while the tree is filled with red glass balls of the same shade and size, plus a few wood or brown paper ornaments, and some red wood-bead garland. “We had a realistic fake tree for a couple of years—because four kids and a dog—but the kids finally asked to go back to real trees.”
Some of her favorite decorations include gnomes by Ruth Vetter and vintage Bing & Grøndahl candleholders. “I don’t spend a lot of money on holiday décor,” Olinger says. “I have the things I like, and I might add a few meaningful things every year, like another little gnome found on a trip to Sweden or a white painted Dala horse from IKEA or some new glögg cups.”
stove and served in colorful cups. Photography by Ellen McDermott
Traditional Scandinavian Christmas differs from a typical American Christmas mainly because it’s all about Christmas Eve. “That’s when everything happens, including Santa showing up with the gifts. Everything after that is about resting and eating leftovers.” And the season wouldn’t be complete without glögg. “Well, glögg is a very important part of Swedish Christmas. Glögg is warm mulled wine to be enjoyed in a mug with friends, family or by oneself while curled up on the couch with a blanket,” she explains. “My mom used to have a pot on the stove every night throughout the holiday season, just gently heating and ready to drink at a moment’s notice. Here in the U.S., if I want a good one, I make it myself. You can make it more or less strong by adding whiskey, vodka, port wine or even cognac. Ingredients are typically: cardamom seeds, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, dried bitter orange peel, all of which are steeped in cognac, brandy or whiskey for a couple of days before straining and mixing with some inexpensive red wine and some sugar. Heat and serve with blanched almonds and raisins! I have a how-to on my IG account, @ButMakeItScandi.”
Family holiday traditions include taking just the oldest two kids out for a really nice “grown-up” dinner during their Thanksgiving break. “They call it the ‘OG-dinner’ because it’s the original crew before the youngest two came along,” Olinger explains. “In a few years, we will start including the youngest, but for now, it’s nice to give special attention to the two that we see less of. Someday, I would like for us all to spend Christmas in Sweden when everything is decorated and everyone is rosy-cheeked from drinking a little too much glögg.”