Even though Halloween is barely over and Thanksgiving isn’t here yet, I brought in a decorator to help put the Utah house in the Christmas spirit. Whoa… my bad. When I said “a decorator,” I meant “THE decorator.” Lana Christensen designed the everyday interior of our Utah house from top-to-bottom, and she has a gift for interior design that is warm, comfortable, balanced, and that always feels “complete.” I’ve been in some homes where I’m sure the decorating budget was considerable, but no matter how much stuff their designer placed on shelves, walls, counters, and windows, it still seemed like there were places in the house that weren’t “done.” That’s not how Lana rolls. All sections of her interiors flow, complement, interact, and highlight each other – and not a single spot looks like it was left out of the process. Her work is her best marketing: nearly every time someone visits our Utah house, they want her number.

Lana had picked out Christmas decorations for the Utah house a couple years ago, and decorated it so wonderfully that I didn’t want her to put it back in boxes until March. Last week, she came over and spent SIX HOURS taking things out of those boxes and putting them back in their perfect places. The house looks now looks as if a couple of Santa’s more “FAB-U-LOUS!!!” elves raided the best-designed rooms at Santa’s mansion and tastefully placed their loot throughout the house. I’ve already prepared myself to try and stop Keri from stuffing most of the decorations in her carry-on bag during our next trip down there. I promised her that if she really likes Lana’s work, I’ll fly Lana up to Seattle to work her Christmas magic there, as well.

I’ve got some “old” (*cough* *cough*) friends from the East Coast who are coming to Utah in December to go skiing, so I’m glad they’ll get to see the house’s halls completely decked.

Thank you, Lana!