Post on 03-Apr-2018
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ChristmasBETTER HOMES & GARDENS DECEMBER 2003 187
The Art of
FOR THIS CREATIVE NEW ENGLAND FAMILY, HOME ISNT
A CASTLEITS A CANVAS. SEE HOW THEY PAINT A
PICTURE OF WARMTH AND PERSONALITY.During Christmases past, a real garland anchored the needlepoint stockings that Kate Dickerson designed and stitched.
Because the year-round mantel seemed bare without it, Kate painted a permanent garland in its place.
AMERICAN
HOMECOMINGS
BY KRISTINE KENNEDY PHOTOGRAPHS BY SAM GRAY PRODUCED BY ESTELLE BOND GURALNICK
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Kates parents hooked her on collecting Christmas
plates in high school; she now displays them in a
cabinet she had built for the breakfast nook (right).
Jack Dickerson enhanced the breezeway entry
(above left) with a painted board that says Binvengudo,
which means welcome in old French Provenal. TheDickersons house (below) dates to 1707. Laurel
roping adorns the picket fence and porch columns;
real pineapples serve as gatepost finials.
t the home of
Jack and Kate Dickerson, the holidays bring
out a festive, artistic flair that comes naturally
to this talented family of five.
There are a lot of creative juices going on
in our house, and everybodys got an idea
about what they like, says Jack, referring to
daughter Madeleine, 15, son Drake, 13, as well
as Jacks 31-year-old son from a previousmarriage, Giles, a graphic artist who comes
home for Christmas each year. Everyone plays
an instrument, draws, and paints.
As the familys decorating ringleader, Kate
ensures that their 300-year-old home in the
seacoast town of Hingham, Massachusetts,
receives special attention during the
holidays. Every year by December 6St.
Nicholas Daythe exterior of the historic
Georgian-style home is swagged with laurel
and windows are filled with candlelight.
Inside, all the colors, patterns, and paintedscenes are enhanced by simple, natural
decorations. Sprigs of evergreen, usually
snipped from the yard, are tucked into most
every room. A collection of topiaries provides
lots of graphic shapes. Unadorned ropes of
A
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Set up in the living room, the Christmas tree is covered with
the blown glass and painted wood ornaments that Kate hascollected since childhood. The walls, upholstered in
coral-color silk, display a self-portrait that Madeleine made
when she was in second grade. Above the living rooms
second fireplace (far right) hangs a Greek lithograph the
Dickersons picked up during one of their frequent trips
to France. It is simply adorned with a laurel garland.
The chintz-covered sofa is one of a pair.
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OUR WHIMSICAL HOME
192 BETTER HOMES & GARDENS DECEMBER 2003
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bay laurel leaves accent light fixtures and artwork, and the bay leaf
motif references the Provenal style the Dickersons have so often observed
during their trips to France.
This house is easy to decorate for Christmas, says Kate, an
interior designer and decorative painter who has lavished hercreative energies on the house since she and Jacka graphic artist
and communications strategistmoved in 18 years ago. Despite the
houses architectural charms, the Dickersons were appalled at the tacky
wallpaper that covered the dining room walls. Two days after they
moved in, Kate started tearing the paper downand to her great
surprise found a 100-year-old mural underneath. The artistically inclined
couple took the discovery as a positive sign. After restoring the mural,
Kate and Jack went on to add cheerful color and their own painted flour-
ishes to almost every other wall, cupboard, and door in the house.
Kate remembered hearing that a red-and-green home looks good
all year, but especially at Christmas. Taking that advice to heart, she
and Jack painted the living room woodwork white but upholsteredthe walls in coral-color silk. The upholstery, drapes, and rugs share a
REFLECTS OUR FREE-SPIRITEDNATURE AND OUR PASSION
FOR DECORATIVE PAINTING.KATE DICKERSO
The Dickersons started their
kitchen design with blue-and-
white backsplash tiles (left)
purchased during their
honeymoon in Portugal. Kate
hand-painted all the cabinet
and drawer fronts. She wantedthe renovated kitchen to have
strong colors and motifs that
would remind them of the
French countryside. Installed
above the dining rooms
original paneling (right) is a
new greenhouse window full of
holiday topiaries and miniature
evergreen trees. On the upper
wall at left hangs one of Jacks
paintingsa Valentines Day
gift to Kate. Kate gave the
actual basement door (below)
the illusion of an exterior door
opening onto a path.
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raspberry-and-green color scheme. The dining rooms wainscoting and wood-
work is a very grayed-down green, while the master bedroom paneling is a tealish
blue-green. The breakfast room and kitchen woodwork, however, sport a vibrant
red. Red is a food color, says Kate. We cook a lot.This familys independent spirit and highly personal decorating style is indicative
of the architectural quirkiness of their old house. Doors are 1-inch thick, windows
contain antique glass, and the ceilings are made of horsehair plaster. While the
Dickersons have overlaid the architectural structure with their own colors, designs,
and traditions, theyve done so in a way that respects the past. Its been there for
so long, its much greater than we are, says Kate of the house. It feels like were
part of this wonderful continuum.
The fireplace wall in the master
bedroom is painted an ocean
blue-green, and the remaining
walls are covered in a trompeloeil wallpaper of shirred lace
and roses. The framed Biblical
proverb extolling the virtues of
a good wife was a playful
Christmas gift from Jack
to Kate.
MORE ABOUT DECORATING FOR THE SEASON,www.bhg.com/ornaments
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