We overcorrected,” Elizabeth Adams, owner of and designer behind ExVoto stores, says of her and husband Patrick’s move from a large family home to a small condo after their children were out of the nest. During the first holiday season when the young adults came home for an extended stay, the couple realized just how tight their quarters were. Soon after, they and their two dogs found a better fit in a 100-year-old Hollywood Spanish-style home. “It feels like the perfect size when it’s just the two of us, but it also has plenty of space for overnight guests,” she says.
For the family’s first Christmas in their right-sized house, Elizabeth echoed the home’s historic character with her holiday décor. “I didn’t want a strict red-and-green palette,” she says. “I don’t superimpose Christmas in my home. I don’t rearrange everything or undo and upend.” As Elizabeth explains, she prefers to layer on the merry. “I take what I love—my all-the-time furniture, art, pillows, and throws—and ‘holiday-ify’ it.”
Last season, she used vintage and new mercury glass ornaments, dried citrus slices, and magnolia garlands and wreaths. “I bought rolls of velvet ribbon in the colors found in the rugs and art in my house,” she says. This year, however, Elizabeth’s home will look completely different for the holidays. “I never do Christmas the same way twice,” she says.
The Meaning of ExVoto
Elizabeth Adams created ExVoto in 2009 as a form of creative therapy after she and her husband’s youngest daughter passed away from a brain tumor. The Italian word means “a testament of gratitude.” ExVoto specializes in timeless jewelry to encourage conversation and gratitude, as well as to inspire a creative spirit. A portion of each ExVoto sale goes to The Cure Starts Now Foundation for pediatric brain cancer research.
Warm Welcome
On the front porch, the 100-year-old home’s history meets Elizabeth’s modern and traditional mix. “My aunt loved antiques, and she always displayed an antique sled at Christmas,” she says. “I couldn’t let my cousins put it on Facebook Marketplace. That sled holds a lot of my childhood memories!” A mid-century modern design touchstone, the Bertoia Diamond Lounge Chairs serve as contemporary treasures next to the home’s original cast-iron mailbox.
Floral Creations
Florals throughout the home were created by Elizabeth and her friend, Mary Blake Williams. Elizabeth ordered 100 red roses shipped from Greenrose farm in Ecuador to create arrangements in her house for the Independent Presbyterian Church Holiday House Tour.
Global Mix
“There’s a small painting of apples on the countertop that my father [modern artist Phil Coley] did in the 1960s,” Elizabeth says. “The blue glass vases in the window are water bottles I brought home from a trip to Italy last summer. The stack of blue glass dishes called ‘Slumped Glass,’ is by an artist out of North Carolina. We visited his studio on our first anniversary,” She adds that the bowls are a virtual European tour: Turkish, Spanish, and Moroccan. “The fruit pie on the cake stand is a candle by an Italian maker from John Derian in SoHo,” says Elizabeth. Colorful candy and Christmas crackers amp up the playful vibe, while red blossoms echo the living room’s décor.
Blue Christmas
“The Ladies’ Lounge has a different color palette than the rest of the house,” Elizabeth says. “While the other rooms are hot with orange and red, this one is cooler. But I created some continuity throughout the house with the holiday touches.” She used some of the same elements— velvet ribbon on a Silvertip Fir skirted with a Kantha blanket (Indian quilt) topped with the same gift wrap patterns but in different colorways. “This tree has white lights, white and clear glass ornaments, metal sacred heart ornaments, and dried lemon and lime rounds instead of the oranges I used in the living room,” says Elizabeth. “Large glass orbs on the tree are filled with straw and air plants.”
“My sense of decorating is not about the trends or what’s cool. Its what’s comfortable, personal, and meaningful—and what my kids love.”
—Designer and Homeowner Elizabeth Adams
Pretty in Pink & Orange
“When she’s home from school, my daughter stays in this guest room, so I made it feminine and youthful,” Elizabeth says. “The mask is something she made in elementary school. It inspired the room’s décor.” Elizabeth crafted candy-covered trees out of papier-mâché cones. “And we put a tiny Silvertip tree with fun felted ornaments from Nepal in the window.” A magnolia crown over the headboard completes the holiday décor.
“I’m okay with something that is imperfect and has patina and scratches. Those things authenticate an antique and make it more interesting—it’s a story not an imperfection.”
—Elizabeth Adams
The Slice on Dried Citrus
Elizabeth’s formula for this holiday: dried orange and lemon slices + velvet ribbon + magnolia leaves. The result is pure Christmas magic. Here’s how to dry your citrus rounds:
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Use convection settings if available.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or use an ovenproof wire rack nestled in a baking sheet.
- Thinly slice the citrus. Tip: A mandoline guarantees uniform slices.
- Add slices to the tray or rack with at least 1⁄2 inch of space between each, and bake. Be sure to remove the tray at the two-hour mark and flip each round over, as well as rotate the tray for the best results.
- Lemons & Limes: 2-3 hours
- Blood, Cara Cara, Navel Oranges: 3-4 hours
- Grapefruit: 5+ hours
5. Once cool, use a large needle with twine or sturdy thread to create a loop for hanging each round. They can be used as ornaments, gift toppers, additions to garlands, wreaths, and more!
Resources
Elizabeth Adams, ExVoto Vintage Three Locations: Mountain Brook, Alabama; Montgomery, Alabama; and Rosemary Beach, Florida
Silvertip Firs: Leaf & Petal
Magnolia wreath and garlands: Shoppe
Rugs and pillows throughout and laundry room lampshade: Paige Albright Orientals
Kitchen chandelier: Village Firefly
Wrapping paper: St. Frank
Paint Colors: Interior wall color and trim: Sherwin-Williams Dover White // Laundry room cabinets: Farrow and Ball 19 Lichen
