Tori Johnston’s Guide to Traditional Holiday Decor Color Palettes

By
Lacey Howard
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Tori Johnston’s holiday decorated living room // Photography by Becca Beers

Meet Tori Johnston

Tori spent 17 years in Birmingham flipping houses. “I would live in it while fixing it up, then sell it,” she says. When her husband’s job moved them to Montgomery, she continued her hobby that eventually became a career in interior design.

When it comes to style, Tori claims that she is a tried-and-true traditionalist. “My style has a timeless look,” she says. “I love traditional décor, and I always will.” Her clients share her point of view. “I tell my clients, ‘I don’t do modern or beach houses. I’m not that versatile,’” she says with a laugh.

Her best decorating advice? “Stay true to your own style, and fill you home with things you love.”

Deck It All

Tori Johnston’s holiday décor has always embraced her home’s palette of soft blues, greens, and golds. But this year, she purchased some red satin ribbon for gift wrapping and decided to mix it in—just to see. Suddenly, she was stepping out of her traditional scheme by adding the classic Christmas standard. “There’s no red in my house, but when I tried it, it looked so good!” she says. “I put it up in the dining room and loved it, so I immediately ordered more.”

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Layers of holiday touches turn Tori’s year-round dining décor into a Christmas celebration. A boxwood wreath hung on the mirror, a miniature tree on the bay window’s table, and fresh cedar on the chandelier—all decked with red ribbons—bring festive cheer.

“In the bay window I always have a small live tree with Chinoiserie ornaments,” Tori says. The room’s furnishings are a mix of antiques: Sheepbone chairs purchased at Cottage Collection in Montgomery and recovered; a pair of rattan-seat armchairs from an online auction; mirror and sideboard from Scotts Antique Market in Atlanta.

Tie One On

What started on the dining room chandelier soon moved to the small tree in that room where Tori hangs her chinoiserie ornament collection and then to other places throughout the house. “It sets off all the greenery,” the designer says of the fresh garlands, wreaths, and cuttings she uses on mantels, chairs, windows, and light fixtures, as well as in arrangements on tables and counters.

Blue ribbons tied to wreaths and fixtures amplify Tori’s collection of blue-and-white china. ABOVE: The den’s fireplace is draped in a lush magnolia garland. “I added orange slices, pinecones, ribbons, and bells,” Tori says.

Fresh & Faux

While Tori turns to a talented craftsman at Montgomery’s Curb Market for lush garlands and a local market for wreaths, a tree, and more, she creates the swags and arrangements herself. “I love to decorate with cuttings and berries from the yard,” she says. Tori asks permission to snip on the properties of family and friends to get the right mix of varieties. You just have to ask!” she assures. One neighbor has what Tori describes as “some sort of holly bush alive with red berries more than you could ever clip in your life.” The addition of those berries in Tori’s arrangements carries the ribbon’s scarlet thread through every room.

“Colonial Williamsburg always inspires me.
Their holiday décor can do no wrong! Fresh greenery, garland, fruit, and simple ornaments are my go-tos for holiday decorating.”

– Tori Johnston

Set the Mood

In the designer’s home, every space employs a gorgeous mix of soft color, cozy textures, classic patterns, and beautiful antiques. “I call it ‘approachable elegance,’” she says. “There are some formal elements, but it’s comfortable and layered and collected. You can see that a family lives here.” That family includes a husband, two teen sons, and two dogs. And, Tori says, “we live in every inch. The boys hunt and fish and plop on the furniture. I joke that every seat cushion has a good side and a bad side.”

Soft blues and greens set the tone for Tori’s traditional home, and her tree décor echoes the pastel palette. Rather than reinvent her holiday scheme, she added touches of red in small but mighty ways—a bowl of cranberries here, rosy poinsettias there, and wrapping paper patterns that mingle red with the softer hues.
The den’s chest was the first piece of furniture Tori purchased at 22 years old. “I thought I had arrived! I still love it,” she says. “The skull mount is from my husband’s first elk during a hunting trip to New Mexico. I’m a girly girl but I live with all boys. If it makes them happy, it makes me happy.”

Collect Memories

But there’s no bad side to Tori’s décor choices. “My personal design philosophy is to stick to timeless pieces and incorporate antiques,” she says. “I don’t chase trends. Instead, I fill my home with things I love.” That same mindset applies to her holiday decorating, which Tori tweaks at times. “I don’t like using red in my daily home décor, but now I love it at Christmas.”

(Left) Bespoke Tradition: For the foyer, Tori uses fresh fruit and boxwood to decorate a topiary form her dad made back in 1987. (Right) Christmas Fairyland: To decorate the living room’s 10-foot Fraser fir, Tori starts with around 2,500 lights. “Then I add all different sizes of balls and use LED candles and silk bows,” she says. “It’s simple but over the top at the same time.”

Tori’s Holiday Tips

  • Start thinking in the fall about where you’ll forage for greenery—and ask friends and neighbors well in advance. If you don’t have a magnolia, I promise you have a friend with one. You just have to scope it out and ask. 
  • If you know you want to use fresh garland, place your order now!
  • Do what you can early: get dishes out, set tables, wrap gifts (or empty boxes), dry orange slices.
  • I buy paper and ribbon throughout the year. I love Dogwood Hill paper and I like for my gifts to coordinate with the house rather than be wrapped in ‘Christmas paper.’
  • The holidays is the time you move furniture around and don’t stress about it. It’s okay to have something in a different place from where it lives all year long.
  • Give yourself plenty of time: 5 to 7 days to decorate your whole house.
  • When in doubt, keep it simple.   

Resources:

Front Door Magnolia Garland: Vinson Market
Dining Room Walls: Bird & Thistle Wallpaper by Brunschwig & Fils Dining Room Sheepbone Chairs: Cottage Collection in Montgomery
Dining Room Mirror and Sideboard: Scotts Antique Market in Atlanta
Sunroom Tree Ornaments and Filler: Rosemont Gardens in Montgomery
Living Room’s 10-foot Frasier Fir Tree: Vinson Market
Den’s Fireplace Magnolia Garland: Montgomery’s Curb Market

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