Lexington, KY For Joe Richardson, the Christmas holiday has a particularly emotional history. His father, whom he describes as his hero, passed away in Richardson's house on Christmas Day many years ago. Though Richardson moved to a new home soon after that, the memory of his father continues to influence his proclivity to make his home as festive and beautiful as possible for the holidays.
To Richardson, creating beauty in every room of a home comes easily. A designer with architecture and interior design company Hubbuch & Co. for over 25 years, Richardson has worked up a solid clientele base in Chevy Chase and south Lexington both. Using decorations, ornaments, ribbon and candles that have been handmade, purchased or acquired from friends or family members over the course of the last half century, Richardson effectively transforms the entire ground floor of his own Hartland home into a winter wonderland each year, with little assistance from anyone else. Highlights this year include three differently adorned trees (one is colorful and playful; the next, elegant with gold ribbons and white twinkling lights); a number of creative handmade family projects that have held up fabulously over the years; and a mixture of traditional decoratifs with rustic found objects and natural items. For example, on the opposite page, live rosemary bushes are pruned to resemble small Christmas trees, and placed in an antique grain bucket.
That final product is also a result of 40-plus hours of work (not counting the hours it takes trying to convince his grown children to help lug the boxes out of storage). Taking our deadine ito consideration, Richardson was kind enough to complete this work a solid week before Thanksgiving (even though he said his neighbors must think he's off his rocker). The boxes and boxes of decorations Richardson has collected over the years (his eye is always open for possibilities, at any time of year) originate from, well, you name it: the Keeneland Shop, Decoratifs in Chevy Chase, Cormans, antique shops, fabric shops, great aunts and uncles, old barns - to name a few. Though the decorations are eclectic, spanning at least five decades and twice as many origins, the finished product is elegant, spirited and cohesive. Enjoy his hard work, and take some ideas for yourself.