Woodland Wonderland

STORY MERRILYN PATTERSON
PHOTOGRAPHY JASON HARTOG

It’s Christmas at the Bellamy house. Josh Bellamy of Bellamy Homes opened his home to the Lakeside HOPE House Christmas JOY Home Tour in Guelph. When tour co-chair Jenny Hilborn, Owner and Principal Designer of Centre Staged Designs, saw the home, she instantly chose to decorate it herself. The home was a huge hit on last year’s tour.

The woodland setting and aesthetics of the Bellamy’s family home complemented Jenny’s own decorating style. “You use what you have and highlight it and let the raw textures shine through.”

In designing his open-plan family home, Josh repurposed reclaimed wooden beams to create accent pieces, adding warmth and texture to the contemporary space. A rustic wood fireplace, tables and sliding barn doors bring the woodland story happening outside, inside.

Woodland Wonderland was the obvious choice for Jenny’s holiday decorating theme.

Jenny used the home’s raw, natural elements to let the natural setting speak for itself. Jenny says the most elegant way to decorate the space was “with woods, greenery, candles and soft neutral fabrics.” In the open-concept great room she tailored neutral colours to original pieces.

In the master bedroom she selected white accents, white linens and a white tree to create a whimsical vignette set in a carved wooden mirror. White and rose-coloured ornaments complement the bedding. In the master en suite, Jenna Bellamy’s favourite room, a simple vase of magnolias was placed on the vanity – the green and brown tones representative of the whole theme.

Wispy, natural pine garlands were hung in windows with spare ornaments to frame the snowy wonderland outside. The ornaments, which include tarnished metals, were hand-picked to echo existing accents, adding a time-worn element to the design.

The dining table is decorated with greenery, garlands and magnolia in rattan vases, lanterns and finished with a sprig of cedar added to each plate. White-washed birch chargers and fur-topped benches complete the cosy, rustic look.

The tree in the great room is a showstopper. Jenny and her team spent hours decorating it to perfection. All of the elements used in decorating the home are represented on the tree.