In many homes, the fireplace and mantel serve as a focal point for holiday decor. With that in mind, we extended an invitation to four creative Kentuckians to offer their mantel-decorating skills as a source of inspiration for you this holiday season. Miss America 2000 Heather French Henry, up-and-coming decorator and real estate developer Emily Riddle, University of Kentucky first lady Dr. Mary Lynne Capilouto, and famed garden designer Jon Carloftis accepted graciously, and the results of their efforts were striking.
Heather French Henry
Stepping into The Rosemary Clooney House in Augusta brings to mind the 1954 classic movie White Christmas. Among the displays in the museum house are costumes and props from the film in which she starred. One of Kentucky native Rosemary Clooney’s biggest fans, Heather French Henry, masterfully designed a mantel themed around her favorite movie.
“I thought it was extremely important to bring in some of the most famous iconic dresses, being the ‘sisters dresses,’ which are blue, and [Clooney’s] red dress that is at the end of the movie,” said Henry of her colorful, whimsical mantel. “I wanted to make sure that, while encompassing the colors, we also brought in that vintage feel while still making it bright.”
Though some of the decorations look vintage, all were purchased at Hobby Lobby. Henry, who grew up in Augusta, joked that initially she left out the red, and it looked like a mantel inspired by the movie Frozen. Adding the red and subtle hints of green pulled in colors from the dress display cases on either side of the mantel. The result is a festive mantel decor that blends well with the museum’s collection.
At her home in Louisville, Henry said she uses classic designs and displays her husband, Steve’s, antique train collection, as well as some pieces from Waterford Crystal, her Miss America sponsor.
She advised people to think about “color, space and form” when approaching decorating their mantel. Sometimes, she said, symmetry works; at other times, asymmetry is better. Also, she recommended not displaying Christmas decorations as they appear in the store.
“I could not find a Christmas garland that I really liked,” Henry said. “You can’t always find something pre-made, so you have to be willing to make a few of these pieces yourself. The garland on the mantel [was made from] circular centerpiece wreaths. I literally clipped them apart, and we made the garland to go on there.”
Emily Riddle
The mantel at the Amsden building in Versailles is an antique lover’s dream. Emily Riddle and her husband, Alex, own the building on Main Street, along with the Miss Molly Vintage boutique, which is inside Feather Your Nest Antiques in Lexington. Since purchasing the Amsden, the couple has been busy converting the historical space into a multi-use business that eventually will include the Amsden Coffee Club, Amsden Tavern and a shop called Gathered Mercantile.
Riddle advised starting the holiday mantel decor with a large focal point; she opted for Robert Amick’s iconic portrait of Man o’ War. “I chose the horse picture first and planned everything around that, as far as the colors and overall theme,” she said. “My husband’s whole family is in the horse industry, but I’m clueless. I like decorating with them because they’re so Kentucky, and I love the colors of that one in particular because it’s very retro looking.”
After that, she decided on the greenery. “Sometimes, I’ll do a layered wreath on top of the focal point, if it’s a mirror or something, but usually it’s some garland swagged on the mantel somehow,” Riddle said. “I like all kinds of garland, and this one was a faux flocked greenery.”
She often includes a second garland to create a layered effect. In this case, it was a thick strand of knit pompons. Brass hunting horns tied in to the equestrian theme.
Riddle suggested adding extra textures and creating height. “I use candles a lot on my mantels,” she said. “Vintage candlesticks are one of my go-to’s. I used different colored candles to bring out the colors of the horse painting, or you can just do white candlesticks or something neutral.”
If you have family heirlooms to display on your mantel, Riddle advised using a cloche or adding all of the pieces to a keepsake wreath, which ensures that “they’re all together, and it’s ready to go every season.”
Dr. Mary Lynne Capilouto
Paying homage to the University of Kentucky was on the mind of Dr. Mary Lynne Capilouto when decorating the classic mantel at Maxwell Place on the school’s Lexington campus. Also at the forefront was honoring the faiths and traditions of all of the school’s students.
“December is really a time for [husband] Eli and I to reflect on the fact that we want this university home to really be a place for everyone that’s tied to the university,” Capilouto said. “We want it to be a welcoming, hospitable, gracious place for everyone.”
The Capiloutos often have their home full of students, faculty and school guests, and though December contains primarily Jewish and Christian holidays, she said that “throughout the year, there’s all kinds of other faiths and people here, and we want everyone to feel comfortable at this home.”
Raised Southern Baptist and married to a Jewish husband, Capilouto fills Maxwell Place with pieces that celebrate both faiths and traditions. Her mantel contains a collection of ornaments she’s had “forever,” as well as fresh greenery and candles. She noted that the couple’s menorahs look lovely when lit in the windows of Maxwell Place.
“In December, of course, the big holiday is Christmas and then also the Festival of Lights, which is Hanukkah … We celebrate it to commemorate how important it is for religious freedom and for people not to be persecuted for their beliefs.”
The Capiloutos also honor Kwanzaa. “The candles represent seven principles of the African people,” Capilouto said. “We do acknowledge that there are many people living on this Earth and in this city, and we want to acknowledge that during this season and when they come in this house.”
John Carloftis
Livingston native Jon Carloftis owns Lexington’s historic Botherum House with his longtime business and life partner, Dale Fisher. The stunning neoclassical architecture of the house lends itself well to a striking mantel decoration by Carloftis.
Though the setting is fabulous, the Botherum mantel is all about ease and natural beauty. The collection of supplies and assembly took about 20 minutes, with Carloftis and Fisher collaborating to place mostly fresh elements on the mantel without using a single adhesive device.
Carloftis advised starting with color first and building from there. He used white lilies as the base of his mantel. His favorite colors of the season are, as he put it, “white, white, white.”
“It’s Christmas, but it’s not traditional Christmas colors,” he said.
All of the flowers—most purchased from Kroger and Stems in Lexington—were placed on the floor alongside freshly cut Southern magnolia, skip laurel and Norway spruce from his backyard, still covered in raindrops. They were then decoratively arranged on the mantel.
Carloftis recommended treating the greenery with Wilt-Pruf spray from the hardware store or garden center and simply refreshing the flowers as necessary throughout the holiday season. “I use lilies as the main flower because they give fragrance, they’re readily available, and they last for a long time,” he said. “We usually start decorating mid-November, and this is exactly what we do—it’s just easy. Always start with symmetry as your base, and then layer up. Then just tuck in little ornaments.”
He said his mantel style is a reflection of his garden decorating style. Stick to a color—he loves golds and browns and whites—and go with that theme. Carloftis added that he might do another room in a more traditional red theme for Christmas, and then have a blue and silver room.
Our Mantel Designers:
The Holidays: Kentucky Style
We asked our mantel designers—Heather French Henry, Emily Riddle, Dr. Mary Lynne Capilouto and Jon Carloftis—about the tastes and sounds of the holidays in their households. If you need fresh inspiration this year, check out their favorites.
At Henry’s Louisville home, you’ll see and hear a lot of White Christmas, the iconic film starring Kentucky native Rosemary Clooney. Henry said that it’s the “epitome of our Christmas soundtrack.”
“I grew up watching White Christmas, and it has become a tradition in our family as well,” said the northern Kentucky native, who was Miss America 2000. “I think it’s important to maintain the legacy of classic movies.
“Our girls have now grown up with it, so when they walk in the mall and they hear Rosemary, or they hear one of the songs from White Christmas, they know it immediately.”
On Henry’s Christmas dinner table, ham is a non-negotiable item.
“My mother makes the best ham for Christmas,” she said. “We do turkey for Thanksgiving, ham at Christmas. And my oldest daughter, Harper, has become quite the foodie in the family. We annually do a Christmas Eve dinner for my family at our house, so she’s in charge this year for the first time. But it will include my mother’s ham.”
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Emily Riddle revealed that sausage balls are a favorite in her house at Christmas and admitted that picking music is tough.
“I really love Christmas music—especially the classics,” she said. “I would have to say the entire Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers Christmas album [Once Upon a Christmas] or Elvis’ Christmas Album.”
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University of Kentucky students walking past Maxwell Place might hear Dr. Mary Lynne Capilouto listening to James Taylor, along with her husband, UK president Dr. Eli Capilouto.
“Eli and I love all of the Christmas music,” she said. “James Taylor, Pink Martini … just pretty music. Growing up, I would go out and sing Christmas carols with people from my church, and that all has very special meaning to me.
“In terms of the songs associated with Hanukkah, whenever his family would light the menorah, the song is called ‘Rock of Ages.’ It’s different than the Christian version. The words are about how, with the help of God, the Jews were able to conquer the Syrian army, recapture their place of worship, and were able to worship God there. It’s a pretty song. And we listened to ‘Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel’ with our daughter.”
Capilouto, who was raised Southern Baptist, said she had to learn many of the different things to cook for Jewish holidays, much of which she learned from her mother-in-law.
“Eli’s mother was a wonderful cook,” she noted. “We have an old Sephardic cookbook that has traditional foods for Hanukkah—things like leek patties, lots of fried foods. And the food from Eli’s family is very Mediterranean inspired. They don’t have a lot of typical borscht like European Jews.”
She said that there are many potato latkes, and quipped that it’s a lot of potato peeling.
A favorite tradition from her side of the family is her grandmother’s egg custard pie. “No one could make it like hers,” Capilouto said. “So I just love the memory of it.”
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If you walk into the Botherum close to Christmastime, you’ll likely listen to “Blue Christmas” and a lot of other Elvis Presley with Jon Carloftis and his partner, Dale Fisher. There is also a good chance they’ll feed you “country ham and pepper jelly on a very small beaten biscuit” in the cozy, inviting kitchen of the downtown Lexington estate, Carloftis said.