The Kappa Kappa Gamma Holiday Homes Tour features architecturally significant homes bedecked in seasonal splendor by Kansas City’s most gifted floral designers, all in support of worthy causes. The tour is also a great opportunity to pick up tips on making your own holiday home merry and bright.
About the Tour
Since 1951, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Holiday Homes Tour has transported us to a winter wonderland. This year, from December 4 through 5, Kansas City’s top floral designers will show us how to put a little holiday spirit in every room.
Just as Merry as It Can Be. . .
“Young, fun, and family” was the theme in Jim and Kate Dwyer’s home, says floral designer Katharine Taylor of the new Bramble & Stem. She used unexpected pops of color—pink and blue—rather than traditional red and green. The gilded mantel and the Christmas tree that seems to glow from within are the work of Saladino Designs.
“Fresh is best,” says Taylor, who used winterberry, magnolia leaves, tropical pink protea, bells of Ireland, and curly willow, along with fresh pine in the reindeer-pulling-a-sleigh arrangement on the kitchen island. Live rosemary trees provide a fresh scent on the table, while faux greenery in the chandelier assures that no needles fall in your food.
All Aglow
A Kappa Homes Tour veteran, homeowner John Schuppan trusted his go-to designer Dan Meiners at Studio Dan Meiners to give his house a holiday glow-up. Meiners displayed Schuppan’s collection of Santas at varying heights, cleverly using gift-wrapped boxes as pedestals. “Keep your mind open to adding a new twist to your traditional décor, so it feels fresh and inviting,” Meiners suggests.
While one level is decked out in traditional red and green, another has a beachy vibe with garlands—like long strands of seaweed—that float down a staircase, around a mantel, and puddle on the floor. Meiners used giant pinecones, grapevine balls, glittery ornaments that mimic sea urchins, and sea-blue hued orbs.
A Partridge in a Citrus Tree
For the home of AJ Jakoi and Hillary Bownik, “I definitely recommend coordinating holiday decor with what you love about your home and its style,” says Heather Coones of Botanica Flower Studio. Working with the Schumacher Citrus Garden pattern already in the dining room, “We went with lots of textures with greens and blues, adding dried citrus and fresh oranges. The home has a garden feel, so we included a lot of florals and natural decor with a winter and holiday vibe but not overtly Christmas.”
On the buffet, Coones filled a low basket with winter florals—amaryllis, ranunculus, paper whites, viburnum berries, date palms, and fresh citrus. The Christmas tree was designed by Bownik’s mom, who used glass ornaments and elements in blue, green, orange, and yellow, along with citrus and berries.
Go Tell It on the Mountain
The modern mountain cabin feel of Jason and Lisa Pottenger’s home led designer Sarah Sahli of Bergamot & Ivy to work with natural materials gathered by her foragers. “It’s amazing what you can find,” she says of what she terms “highway flowers.” Fresh cedar garlands wrap around lodge poles, while winterberry, native dogwood, and horsetail add interesting accents. An airy yet vivid kitchen arrangement of spidery red nerines makes a statement.
For table settings, Sahli used green cockscomb, thistle, and hedge balls gathered in October, coated with Mop & Glo, and left to air dry. “This treatment preserves them for longer,” she says.