Jennifer Scales’ sprawling geodesic home on Newburgh Road already makes quite the first impression. But last Christmas, she upped the ante.
Her son and partner were in the large dome and remarked that a larger tree could work well in that room. “That night, I created the concept and put a rush on my order. I didn’t tell the boys until the deck was filled with giant boxes,” she says. Those boxes contained the parts for a 19-foot-9-inch tree secured by industrial lockable casters. “I move it to the balcony ledge, rotate, decorate, and repeat until 16 feet. Then, I direct Adam, who is on the upper loft with a ladder,” she says.
The tree is just the start. Scales, an interior designer who owns Y Factor Studio, stocks her home with 8-inch-tall golden deer, lighted birch trees, geode-topped napkin holders, and nontraditional colors. “I love pink,” she exclaims. “I realize pink is not for most people, but a dome home isn’t for everyone, either. … I simply like things that are different. If it makes me smile, I want that.”
In her household, Nov. 1 is Family Tree Trimming Day. Scales takes down her equally impressive Halloween decorations (complete with a life-size Frankenstein’s monster and his bride), and then she, partner Adam Dimmett, and her children, Dean and Estella Stewart, start setting up for Christmas. “Adam is in charge of all of the heavy lifting. When it’s time to put it all together, that’s all me,” she says. “When starting any design, I think, ‘How do I want to feel in this space?’ That single question starts the vision.”
She lightens the workload by baking cookies and playing Mariah Carey Christmas tunes. “My kids are now old enough to know the cookies and cheer mean it’s a day to work,” she says. “Do not let decorating for the season be a burden. If it brings you joy, do it! Love every twinkling light, mistletoe, ornament, ribbon, and every flake of glitter.”
Marla and Doug Rennie
Known for the Tuscan-style wine room at Just Rennie’s, their Downtown deli and catering business, Marla and Doug Rennie carry that elegant theme into their home holiday decor.
Their red-brick ranch in the Midtown neighborhood typically is adorned with warm earth tones, but it gets a jolt of color around Christmas. A tall, skinny tree is decked with glittery poinsettias, large ornaments, and a spiky, mixed-materials topper. Red pillows sport an adjustable belt buckle counting down the days until Christmas. Antique Santa figurines stand tall atop tables, and rich reds and greens dot the fireplace mantel. “It’s elegant, warm, and cozy,” Marla says.
The couple began working with interior designer Cinda Vote in 2005. A room-by-room remodel of their home gradually grew to include holiday decorating. “She said, ‘I do Christmas stuff, too.’ ‘Great — here!’” Marla laughs. “She has a fantastic vision.”
Vote describes the Rennie home’s holiday theme as “classic Christmas charm with playful twists.” She invokes the latter through lime greens and crisp, candy-cane reds, giving the home “a feel of joyful over formal,” she says. “It’s timeless elegance with a fun holiday spirit.”
Marla says she enjoys those reds and lime greens as well as the Old World pieces. But due to allergies, she has to say no to any live greenery. Instead, she uses candles to produce winter-inspired scents such as peppermint and cinnamon.
Many of the decorations were purchased at now-closed local shops Kitchen Affairs and Jennifer’s Hallmark. Red plates featuring snowflakes mix with Santa-themed appetizer plates, mugs bearing cardinals, and custom linens that match the drapes. All stand ready to welcome guests as the Rennies host family and friends. “If I like something, I’ll spend the money, but I keep it forever,” Marla says. “I hate taking it down because it takes so much time to put up. We are on the go so much that we don’t get to sit and enjoy it.”
Susie Noveroske
The Rennies also see Vote’s work when attending holiday parties at the Newburgh home owned by Susie Noveroske. Each December, the light-filled residence stuns with rich reds, gold, and silver. “Luxe Christmas decorating brings an elegant glow to the season through lush greenery, velvet ribbons, glass ornaments, and touches of red, gold, and silver,” Vote says. With large ornaments and a coordinated color palette, “It’s elegant and thoughtfully layered,” she says.
The arched ceilings and French doors of the home Noveroske and her late husband, Richard, built in 1978 are a perfect canvas for holiday decor. Greenery and candles top the stone fireplace brought from California, while wreaths hang from the French doors and stockings for Noveroske and her white-and-tan Havanese, Angel, from the mantel. The latter stocking is filled with treats and small dog toys that Angel knows to expect on Christmas morning. “Cinda adds mistletoe for my party and wreaths on the French doors. Little fusses like that,” Noveroske says.
In contrast, the dining room table is dressed with small silver trees, reindeer, and glitter-kissed garland. Similarly, the gold-and-silver flocked tree in Noveroske’s bedroom is void of much color but looks bright, shiny, and snow-kissed. “It blends with the decor of that room,” Noveroske says.
Each holiday setup at the Noveroske house takes Vote 8-10 hours and involves hauling multiple trees and several tubs of decorations out of storage. Because the duo has worked together for more than two decades, they have the theme down pat. “There’s no direction needed,” Noveroske says. “I let her go and do it.”
“Susie’s personality and the things she loves spark my creativity,” Vote says. “She inspires the little touches that make each tree feel personal and meaningful. … I bring those personal touches together to create a holiday look that feels beautiful, welcoming, and uniquely hers.”
Noveroske and Vote split a pizza during setup, which has become one of their favorite parts of the holiday decorating process. “We share stories and memories,” Vote says. “It’s more than decorating, it’s sharing the joy of the season with her.”
