“Couple shares passion for Christmas décor” |
| Couple shares passion for Christmas décor Posted: 03 Dec 2010 08:26 AM PST Story by Jan Peterson - Photos by Mark SchiEfelbein - for the News-Leader • December 3, 2010 Linda and Bob Schrader have lifelong ties to the land they built their house on 30 years ago near Republic. "My great-grandfather was a Republic settler and my father was born here," Linda says. The property in the rolling hills between Republic and Billings had been in and out of her family's possession for decades. When she and Bob decided to custom build a home, the spot was ideal. The home was designed with ample space for entertaining -- three living areas, two dining areas and a kitchen outfitted with two ovens and a large range. "I love to cook and entertain," Linda says. Linda has decorated the home with keepsakes and antiques from her family. The Schraders have a number of clocks from their respective sides of the family that chime throughout the day. "You get used to them when you're here, but visitors look around when they hear all those clocks," Linda says. Linda also has a large collection of German crystal dishes, which she picked up at auctions and flea markets. Other collections include roosters, swans and egg cups from the '40s. She says she loves to go to flea markets and auctions because "you never know what you're going to find," Linda says. But what may be her greatest collection comes out only once a year, at Christmas. Festive trees decorated according to a variety of themes spring up throughout the house. An animated Santa greets visitors in the foyer and an animated music box in the hallway plays from a selection of 50 Christmas tunes. In the sunroom is a tree that creates its own snow shower, festively dusting the all-white snowflake and owl ornaments with snow. A small tree in Bob's office is festooned with John Deere ornaments. And in the master bedroom, a tree decked out with feathers and more owls creates a holiday atmosphere that retains a certain masculinity. Each room reveals fresh Christmas surprises. Linda says decorating the house this year took only two and a half days -- with help from her sister. "It's not bad at all. I keep things marked in boxes, so it's easy to find," she says. Linda and Bob decided to share their passion for holiday décor with the public by opening their home for the Republic Historical Society Christmas Home Tour. Linda uses the tour as a chance to combine her passions: her deep family history with the city, her enthusiasm for decorating for the holidays, and the joy she derives from entertaining. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Content Keyword RSS To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment