Some of us dream of spending Christmas in Europe, browsing for handmade ornaments at Christmas markets in Paris or window-shopping at Harrods in London while munching roasted chestnuts from street vendors. But for Virginia-based interior decorator Valerie Darden, nothing beats being home for the holidays.
For Darden, her husband, Jonathan, and sons Brexton, 5, and Cole, 9 — the namesakes of her Brexton Cole Interiors business — home is a five-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot house in suburban Stafford. It showcases Darden’s love for great European cities, both in its overall décor and the touches she adds during the holiday season.
“I have always had a passion for classic European cities and older historic homes,” says Darden. “When we first moved into this house, which was a new build when we bought it, I set about creating that Old-World character right away. … I did this with added moldings, historical paint colors, and classic wallpapers. I also love to mix antique furnishings with newer, edgier pieces.”
To enhance the house’s builder-grade bones and create architectural interest, Darden applied custom-designed wall moldings in key spaces, including the living and family room and primary bedroom, both of which are painted in the timeless palettes of sage green and French blue.
When selecting paint colors, Darden chose to saturate rooms from top to toe — including all the moldings and trim — to elicit the feel of a gracious high-ceiling room straight out of Downton Abbey. In addition to incorporating ceiling beams in the dining room, Darden added a salvaged antique fireplace mantel painted glossy black.
“It isn’t a functioning fireplace, but it adds so much personality to the space,” she says. “Plus, it gives me a place to store some of my art books!”
Darden also used the fireplace mantel for hanging and displaying art, including a large, black-and-white abstract painting surrounded by a collection of smaller antique pieces. During the holiday season, Darden dresses the up mantel with a simple magnolia garland — classic and elegant.
“When you first enter the house, the dining room is open to the foyer area on the left,” she says. “It’s the first room you see, so for the holidays, I always like to decorate the mantel with beautiful greenery.”
Inside the dining room is a pedestal-based dining table, antique and fluted, paired unexpectedly with chic modern chairs and topped off with a fitting centerpiece of an immense bowl of moss balls and vintage glass ornaments. Nearby, a dried holiday wreath hangs atop a large, ornate gilt mirror.
“Like my décor, I like to mix modern ornaments with traditional ones, but I also like the overall vibe to be organic, textural, and natural,” she adds.
Case in point: the wreath hanging on the front door.
Spaces also achieve personality by way of wallpaper, such as the silver-and-cream botanical wall covering gracing the home’s front foyer and the black-and-white marbled paper in the powder room.
The position of the foyer makes it feel part of the dining room, so the wallpaper, along with an antique Hitchcock chair and Chippendale buffet table, is key in setting it apart. Over the holidays, Darden accents the foyer with an armful of fresh holly in an overscale rustic vase, another unexpected element in the tailored home.
“My home’s main decorating palette is greens, whites, and blacks, and for Christmas, I like to go with the same color scheme while layering in gold and touches of red,” she says.
In the living room, a pair of moss-green, velvet-upholstered sofas face one another across a contemporary Lucite table. Applied moldings painted in soft green sage grace the fireplace wall.
“Because my home is so open-concept, the living room is also spatially connected to the front of the house, so I continue the touches of black in ball ornaments on the Christmas tree mixed in with gold ones,” she says.
The black ornaments are fastened to the tree by tasteful touches of green velvet ribbon. An unfussy pine garland with silvered berries adds festive sparkle to the living room’s mantel. The mix of metals in the room — an antique mirror and contemporary chandelier are finished in gold tones — simultaneously exudes curated work and Old-World style.
For added greenery, Darden loves layering in organic flora from outdoors, be it fresh-cut magnolia leaves, holly berries, pine needles, or boxwood greenery.
Upstairs, the primary bedroom flashes with stylish Parisian blue walls and applied picture frame moldings inspired by the Palace of Versailles — hence, the full-length gilt mirror and sparkling crystal chandelier.
“For the holidays, I keep magnolia leaves fresh in a bedside vase, and I add a small tree here adorned with light-blue ribbons to match the feel and palette of the room,” she says.
Once the house is decorated, the family enjoys the sort of seasonal traditions shared by so many, including the season’s annual roundup of holiday movies.
“Our favorites include A Christmas Story, Scrooged, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” she says. “Of course, the boys always leave out milk and cookies for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.”
Feature image by Robert Radifera for Stylish Productions
This story originally ran in our December issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to our monthly magazine.
