How Top Houston Designers Are Decking the Halls This Holiday Season

Who better to query for holiday decor inspiration than some of our favorite Houston designers?

Randy Powers

Tree or no.

Always a tree, but a different feel each vear.

Holiday tradition.

Christmas Eve with my dearest friends, usually a lunch. Christmas day with the familv.

Holiday cocktail.

A dry sherry.

Holiday playlist.

Always “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by Vince Guaraldi with a mix of the classics.

Home project you’re hoping to accomplish.

Adding more amps to my breaker box, as I always overload my tree with lights and have a brownout.

Best takeaway for a holiday breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

A souffle from Elizabeth Swift.

Holiday wearables.

A velvet smoking jacket. I had made in London years ago. It’s a tradition.

Three gifts you hope to receive.

A blue box, an orange box, a red box.

Gifts you are giving.

Art, vintage Elsa Peretti, the deed to a house in Vermont.

Host gift.

Jo Malone pine and eucalyptus candles.

Flowers and greenery.

Cut amaryllis.

On your front door.

A wreath of simple greens.

Extra gift under the tree for drop-bys.

J Randall Powers baseball caps.

Holiday room scent.

I rotate from Jo Malone pine and eucalyptus to Rigaud Cyprès.

Catherine Brooks Giuffre

Tree or no.

The best smell is a real Christmas tree, but after years of hanging lights wearing dish gloves because I am so allergic, I treated myself to a Balsam Hill faux Fraser fir pre-lit tree with a rush basket tree skirt — best present I have ever bought myself.

Holiday tradition.

Taking my daughter to the Houston Ballet Nutcracker. It’s beyond festive and watching the ballet through her eyes is magical.

Holiday playlist.

Michael Bublé Christmas, The Nutcracker Ballet, Kaskade Christmas for a hipper twist, and Nat King Cole (alwavs).

Best places to pick up hors d’oeuvres.

Moeller’s Bakery for crange rolls and cheese straws. Junior League for tea sandwiches.

Gifts you are giving.

We are going to try and give the kids an experience as a gift, instead of something tangible, whether it’s a vacation or an adventure we can all experience together.

Host gift.

Bulbs, amaryllis or paperwhite. Thoughtful gift with zero calories.

Holiday room scent.

I burn a Diptyque Feu de Bois candle near the gas-log fireplace to make the room smell like real wood is burning.

Courtnay Tartt Elias

Tree or no.

You betcha. . . It’s a real white-flocked one, decked with rainbow ribbons and Marye-Kelley decoupage ornaments of my Christmas cards throughout the years.

Holiday tradition.

Cooking Texas jalapeño cornbread pudding. It’s a recipe from my Brennan’s days.

Holiday cocktail.

Kir Royale, bien sûr!

Holiday playlist.

Mariah Carey holiday radio.

Best place to pick up hors d’oeuvres.

Montrose Cheese & Wine.

Where to pick up takeaway for a holiday breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Tres Market, especially the enchilada casserole and green salsa for Christmas night when friends and family pop by.

Gifts you hope to receive.

Handwritten cards from my three boys. An environmental dog portrait of my ruby cavalier, Laffe, by photographer Julie Soefer. A piece of art from Josh Pazda Hiram Butler Gallery.

Host gift.

Personalized embroidered travel tags from tagsforbags.com. You’ve got to be organized for this to happen.

Flowers and greenery.

Bowls of pomegranates and persimmons and piles of oranges studded with cloves.

On your front door.

A simple, real boxwood wreath with a rainbow ribbon.

Extra gift under the tree for drop-bys.

Bags of Bering’s Hazelnut Supreme coffee wrapped in mylar bags and tied with chocolate spoons.

Elizabeth Young

Holiday tradition.

Long evenings spent fireside with my college-age daughters. I wish I could freeze these nights in time.

Holiday cocktail.

A margarita is festive year-round.

Holiday playlist.

Aimee Mann, “One More Drifter in the Snow;” Phoebe Bridgers, “So Much Wine;” and Willy Nelson, “Pretty Paper.”

Gifts you hope to receive.

Woven cotton and ceramic mirror by Karen Gayle Tinney. A cool travel backgammon board from Wolfum so I can continue my winning streak against my husband. Marni Market knit bag made in collaboration with communities of Colombian artisans.

Host gift.

Yiayia and Friends Greek olive oil. The packaging is the best, but the olive oil is delicious, too.

Flowers and greenery.

Lots of Christmas greenery and branches, red amaryllis and red tulips.

On your front door.

A pair of oversized magnolia wreaths.

Holiday room scent.

Cire Trudon Altair Candle

Julie Dodson

Tree or no.

Tree! Sometimes I just leave it up year-round.

Holiday playlist.

I’m more of a Christmas movie watcher. I’m glued to the Hallmark Channel around the holidays.

Best place to pick up hors d’oeuvres.

Tres Market cheese balls and snickerdoodles are always a fan favorite. You must have something savory and something sweet.

Gifts you hope to receive.

The best gift for me is downtime with family and not having anything on my calendar. I’ll also never say no to jewelry.

Host gift.

Holiday Classic candles from Nest.

Flowers and greenery.

Pine garland draped all over.

On your front door.

A pine wreath and garland on the balconies with big red bows.

Sari Imber

Holiday cocktail.

The Brown Derby, which I first tasted at The Polo Bar in New York on a crisp autumn night. It instantly takes me back to mahogany paneling, candlelight, worn leather, and tartan and plaid. All the coziness of the holiday season. Add one and a half ounces bourbon, one ounce freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, and one half ounce honey syrup into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a coupe. Add a grapefruit twist as a garnish.

Holiday playlist.

All the classics — Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, Nat King Cole.

Home project you’re hoping to accomplish.

With guests joining us throughout the holiday season, it’s time for a guest room refresh. I recently had a collection of my dad’s watercolors framed. He’s an architect and an artist, so I’ve been scheming up a new paint color for the room that will complement a gallery wall of his art hung above an antique desk.

Best place to pick up hors d’oeuvres.

Montrose Cheese & Wine, and they make a stellar charcuterie board.

Gifts you hope to receive.

Lake pajamas, The New Antiquarians book by Michael Diaz-Griffith. . .  Oh, and a springer spaniel puppy.

On your front door.

My husband and I recently bought a 1930s bungalow in Montrose, and l’m looking forward to decorating it in a classic way. I recently discovered Tru-Tone glass Christmas lights, which are LED but mimic the look of old-school incandescent with vintage colors and a warm glow.

Holiday room scent.

Nothing beats a simmering pot on the stove with a few cinnamon sticks, slices of apple and orange, whole cloves, and a handful of cranberries (because they’re pretty). The house smells divine.

Susanna Moldawer

Tree or no.

We absolutely always have a tree — a real one, and the fatter and taller, the better. I have beautiful hand-blown ornaments that we’ve found on trips, mixed with ornaments that my kids made when they were little.

Holiday tradition.

Church on Christmas Eve, and then opening gifts together. We always share champagne and a family tradition of Parmesan Christmas trees that my family makes.

Holiday cocktail.

My grandfather always made a milk punch on Christmas morning, and we still make it. It’s definitely old school.

Holiday play list.

The week after Thanksgiving, I start the Christmas music. . . in my car and at home. Favorites are the classics: Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, especially “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” “White Christmas,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Sometimes, I put old Christmas movies on the TV in the background: White Christmas, Holiday Inn, Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, Meet Me In St. Louis.

Best hors d’oeuvres to pick up.

Elizabeth Swift’s cheese souffle.

On your front door.

Christmas garland with fresh wreaths decorated with pine cones and red ribbon.

Greenery and flowers.

Small faux Christmas trees that I put on my dining table on a 1940s mirrored tray, mixed with white peonies in small vases scattered down the table with votive candles.