When deciding how to decorate her house for Christmas, Victoria Carney said she tries to “take into consideration what the house wants.”
“I live in an old Victorian,” Victoria said. “I try to take that into account.”
Her East Main Street Victorian-style home was built in the 1870s. She and her husband, Patrick, bought it in 2020 — site unseen.
“The home was in rough shape when we got it,” Victoria said. “The bones were good, but it had rotted siding, the porch needed to be redone, the paint was peeling — it looked like a haunted house.”
The first year, Victoria and Patrick focused on exterior renovations. They repainted the house, rebuilt the porch, put on a new roof and gutters, and built new storm windows. The second year, they replaced the furnace and air conditioning, and electrical.
Their next big project will be a kitchen remodel.
“We’re going to do wall-to-wall cabinetry with soapstone for the counters,” Victoria said. “There’s a push for wood to come back in the kitchen. I think we’ll probably do a mix of wood finishes, and paint here and there.”
Victoria has a degree in interior design from the University of Arkansas, a field she’s had a passion for since a young girl growing up in Arkansas.
“As a little girl, I was constantly moving furniture — much to the chagrin of my mother,” she said. “I’ve always loved creating beautiful spaces.”
While creating beautiful spaces during the holidays, she throws in a little magic.
“I think old houses tend to come alive during the holidays,” Victoria said. “Ultimately, the goal is to create magic.”
Keeping with a Victorian Christmas theme — to match the era of her home — she uses mainly natural materials. Victoria decks her home with wreaths, swags and a live Frazier fir, which she prefers over a pine tree. Pines, she said, drop lots of needles.
A lot of her décor is handmade.
“I remember stringing popcorn garland when I was a child,” Victoria said.
She’s recreating those memories with her son, Lukas, 12.
“We make some ornaments,” she said. They will dry orange slices and string them on the tree or use them in the garland above the fireplace.
For fire safety purposes, she will use faux garland as the base on her mantle with real garland layered on top. She likes to incorporate magnolia tree leaves and holly into the garland.
“My husband’s grandmother had a huge magnolia tree, and every year we cut magnolia to make swags for the fireplace,” she said. “I love magnolia at Christmas.”
Victoria also likes to decorate with live greenery because you can compost it at the end of the season. Even the centerpiece on her kitchen table is compostable — and edible.
Using pomanders (oranges pierced with cloves) and grapefruit, she built a beautiful tiered centerpiece with magnolia, evergreens, holly and juniper as filler.
“During the Victorian Era, oranges were a luxury and (were available) at Christmas time,” she said. “(The centerpiece) smells amazing. I love doing them.”
Between the centerpiece and Victoria’s beautiful stoneware place settings, she is ready to host her annual Christmas party for her close friends during which they wear gowns and tuxedos and partake in a cocktail competition.
“Everyone brings their A-game and we vote on our favorite cocktails,” she said.
The hors d’oeuvres are made by Patrick, who Victoria said is a talented cook. She said he learned to cook from his mother, Donna Hecker, who was executive chef for Gov. Paul E. Patton, and now is with the Holly Hill restaurant group.
Not all of the décor in Victoria’s home is natural. There are also several items that she has had for many years that hold sentimental value.
“I think I lean heavily into nostalgia and things that make me think of my childhood with my parents and grandparents,” she said.
Many of those things are ornaments that were passed down to her that decorate her Christmas tree.
“When I think back to my childhood and Christmas, there are specific ornaments I love seeing year after year, and I want my son to have similar sentiments.”
Also decorating a cabinet in her home is Lukas’ nutcracker collection, which was started for him by Victoria’s mother.
“She gets him one every year,” she said. “It’s a cute tradition. He has one that is a carpenter with a hammer.”
Creating memories is what’s most important to Victoria over the holidays.
“I’m just trying to create as much magic as possible.”
