The 39th annual Holiday Look In Home Tour celebrates the season with exceptional décor.
text Teena Apeles photo Evans Vestal Ward
It's that time of year when people decorate their homes to reflect the spirit of the holiday season. Lights are strung, wreaths adorn front doors, candles flicker in windows, and poinsettias and Christmas trees become household must-haves. Perhaps this year you want to add a new touch to your holiday wonderland, or you simply want to see how others dress up their homes for the month. Since 1967, the Women's Committee of The Pasadena Symphony has been getting holiday enthusiasts in the mood early with the help of talented florists and willing homeowners. Its Holiday Look In Home Tour and Boutique attracts 3,000 to 4,000 people each year and is a feast for the eyes, the ears and even the nose.
This year's 39th annual Holiday Look In Home Tour on Dec. 2 and 3 presents the artistry of several notable area floral designers: Jacob Maarse Florists, Mary Falkingham Floral Designs, Tommy Farmer Florist Inc. and Patterson's Topiaries, Pots and Teas. Their canvases are some of Pasadena's most stunning residences. Visitors will experience their work in a contemporary Japanese-style home (recently named a historic landmark), an Italian Mediterranean villa, a traditional Colonial and an Italianate Craftsman. And there is no limit to the florists' creativity, from their choice and use of items to the size and complexity of their decorations. The results are often breathtaking.
"Whatever their vision is, is what they do," says Nicole Sokolow, chairperson of the tour. "That's what's so nice about it. They don't do the traditional Christmas or the traditional holiday floral decorations; their arrangements can be used all year 'round."
Of course, there will be exquisitely decorated Christmas trees with pretty ribbons, colorful family ornaments and cheerful lights, but the holiday scenery does not begin or end with the tree. A wide variety of flowers and other surprising embellishments bedeck areas of the home, with fireplaces, staircases, hallways and practically every ledge and tabletop displaying the florists' offerings. Intricate arrangements of varying colors and layers — incorporating flowers, vibrantly colored fruits (even pineapples), pine cones, jutting branches and other greenery — add a warm, festive feeling to each room, while other simply elegant pieces, such as miniature trees or a vase bursting with white tulips, serve to liven up an area with a cheery glow. Even the most modest trimmings, like berries hanging from the corners of family portraits, enhance the holiday ambiance.
Home entryways and backyards are also given festive touches. Appealing foliage and lovely fabrics are carefully strung above and around doorways or columns. Sometimes fresh flowers are placed in trees — tons of "enormous, gigantic, beautiful pink peonies" were scattered through Sokolow's trees one year — or outdoor tables become imaginative sculptures resembling luscious mini-forests. It's a challenging and exciting feat for the florists to accomplish, and many of their loyal fans return year after year to see the amazing designs they dream up.
"It's a unique tour experience," notes Sokolow. "You get to see the homes, but you also get to see the beautiful design and decorations, and it changes what the home looks like and the whole atmosphere."
The Holiday Look In Home Tour is a treat for almost all the senses. The scents of different flora and fruit fill the air, as well as the sound of music. It is, after all, an event to benefit The Pasadena Symphony. As people tour the homes and boutique, they will be treated to music from the Pasadena Conservatory of Music, Arroyo Singers and Verdugo Hills Sweet Adelines.
The accompanying Winter Wonderland of Treasures boutique, located at the Pasadena Senior Center, will also offer an assortment of items for purchase — to decorate the home or to give as gifts to a loved one — from more than 30 vendors. Celebrate the joy of the holidays early with the Holiday Look In Home Tour and Boutique, and witness how Pasadena's most renowned florists turn some of the area's most beautiful homes into even more festive living spaces.