Local Decorators Deck The Halls

With Inspiration For House Tour

By Nancy K. Crevier

Among the decorators preparing homes for this weekend’s 25th Annual Newtown Holiday Festival — featuring the popular Historic Homes Tour — is a new Newtown designer, decorating for a new Newtown family, at 38 Main Street.

Kirsten Ursem moved to the area in 2009, too late to jump into the fray of decorating for the annual tour of homes. She started her business, iDESIGN in January, combining antique and modern styles to provide interior and exterior solutions for residential and commercial establishments. She was pleased to receive the assistance of the Holiday Festival organizers this fall, however, in matching her with the homeowners, Jen and Mike Sheehan, who themselves moved onto Main Street just this fall.

“I am looking forward to showing people what can be made and created by working with a theme and a color scheme,” said Ms Ursem, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. Nature is her greatest source inspiration, said Ms Ursem, and that will be theme for this holiday house.

 Using glass, and the simple colors of white and silver, with splashes of red, she is developing a décor that is not “overly decorated. Nature offers an endless spectrum of color, textures, and shapes,” Ms Ursem said. “I like to inspire people by using materials that is all around us. For my decoration, I took most of the materials out of the forest. I created two, three-foot wide stars out of branches and covered them with moss. I finished the stars with a dark red paint.

“These stars will connect the four windows on the front facade of the house,” she continued. “Dried Japanese maple tree leaves have been used to create textured 10-inch round balls, again finished with a paint, white this time.”

Combined with moss balls in different sizes, they become decorative pieces for the front stairs or in front of the fireplace. To lengthen the chandelier over the oblong dining room table, Ms Ursem has added young beech branches and enhanced them with glass ornaments.

Trees in the entry hall and outside on the patio will glisten with silver and glass ornaments, in keeping with the simple  and natural theme.

Working with the new Newtowners at 38 Main Street to develop a design has been a  pleasure, said Ms Ursem,

“It is very satisfactory to be able to create beautiful things with inexpensive materials found in nature,” said Ms Ursem. “I like to show people how to use them to create a beautiful environment. Less is more, and I hope it will inspire those who come through the home.”

House tour co-chairs Cynthia DaSilva and Denise Tramposch will join Mandy Monaco and Heidi Brisson of Women In Newtown, and Layne Lescault, holiday festival chairperson, at the historic Caleb Baldwin House, 32 Main Street, to advise homeowners Lina and Gordon Williams.

“It’s a house that is so rich in history,” said Ms DaSilva. “It is one of those focal point houses on Main Street.”

The women have decided, as did Ms Ursem, to go with a natural theme for the home.

“We don’t want to overwhelm the very pretty details of the house,” said Ms DaSilva. Using fresh greens such as hemlock and juniper, to complement the predominantly blue them of the home, and utilizing the Williams’ own personal decorations, the group will provide “an underwhelming, rather than an overwhelming look,” said Ms DaSilva.

Small, live trees, lightly decorated with a bit of sparkle will highlight strategic areas inside and near the back door. The more extensive decorating will be found in the living room, where the Williamses’ own large Christmas tree will be the focal point. “We want all to feel comfortable in a creative setting,” said Ms DaSilva.

Paul and Tracey McManus and Doug and Kristen McDonald, in the two-family house at 7 Main Street, owned by the McDonalds, have been busy creating a holiday look in their homes with the assistance of Heidi Brisson of In The Details.

“My decorating background consists of 15-plus years of helping family and friends reflect their personalities through their home décor,” said Ms Brisson. “This is my third year decorating a home on the house tour. I enjoy being welcomed and trusted to decorate these homes while learning the history of the properties. I love to meet the owners, and share a part of the holiday season with them,” she said.

Ms McManus is using a red, white and green theme in the kitchen, with the living room decked out in a natural look, utilizing lots of berries and greens. Visitors to her home will spot a “Partridge in the Pear Tree” fir situated between the kitchen and sitting area, and an all white tree and a snowflake theme in the side porch room.

The McDonalds have also opted for a traditional look, and Mr McDonald’s Santa Claus collection will be highlighted in a dining room nook. The living room will be aglow in a wash of small red, white and blue lights on the Americana theme Christmas tree, and sparkling white lights will gleam from beneath a thick blanket of evergreens draped across the mantel.

Dawn Handwerker, owner of Truly Yours, Inc, in Bethel, is using the skills she has picked up from buying and merchandising for her store to decorate the home of George and Shane Miller at 50 Main Street.

“This will be my fourth year decorating homes on Main Street for the holiday house tour,” said Ms Handwerker. “Each homeowner has offered a unique experience that I have really enjoyed.”

Like Ms Brisson, she is also incorporating the homeowners’ own decorations into the décor, enhancing them with accessories from her store. “People can expect a warm, traditional holiday feel when they tour this home,” said Ms Handwerker. “We will be true to the character and style of the home, as well as the holiday traditions of the Millers’,” she said.

The opportunity to help decorate homes that are pieces of Newtown’s history is a wonderful experience, Ms Handwerker said. “It is an honor to be part of this annual holiday event,” she added.

(See a preview of the full Holiday Festival on the next page.)