AMERICAN HOMECOMINGS

Christmas
FOR THIS CREATIVE NEW ENGLAND FAMILY, HOME ISNT A CASTLEITS A CANVAS. SEE HOW THEY PAINT A PICTURE OF WARMTH AND PERSONALITY.
During Christmases past, a real garland anchored the needlepoint stockings that Kate Dickerson designed and stitched. Because the year-round mantel seemed bare without it, Kate painted a permanent garland in its place.
BY KRISTINE KENNEDY PHOTOGRAPHS BY SAM GRAY PRODUCED BY ESTELLE BOND GURALNICK BETTER HOMES & GARDENS DECEMBER 2003

The Art of

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t the home of Jack and Kate Dickerson, the holidays bring out a festive, artistic air that comes naturally to this talented family of ve. There are a lot of creative juices going on in our house, and everybodys got an idea about what they like, says Jack, referring to daughter Madeleine, 15, son Drake, 13, as well as Jacks 31-year-old son from a previous marriage, Giles, a graphic artist who comes home for Christmas each year. Everyone plays an instrument, draws, and paints. As the familys decorating ringleader, Kate ensures that their 300-year-old home in the seacoast town of Hingham, Massachusetts, receives special attention during the holidays. Every year by December 6St. Nicholas Daythe exterior of the historic Georgian-style home is swagged with laurel and windows are filled with candlelight. Inside, all the colors, patterns, and painted scenes are enhanced by simple, natural decorations. Sprigs of evergreen, usually snipped from the yard, are tucked into most every room. A collection of topiaries provides lots of graphic shapes. Unadorned ropes of

Kates parents hooked her on collecting Christmas plates in high school; she now displays them in a cabinet she had built for the breakfast nook (right). Jack Dickerson enhanced the breezeway entry (above left) with a painted board that says Binvengudo, which means welcome in old French Provenal. The Dickersons house (below) dates to 1707. Laurel roping adorns the picket fence and porch columns; real pineapples serve as gatepost finials.

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Set up in the living room, the Christmas tree is covered with the blown glass and painted wood ornaments that Kate has collected since childhood. The walls, upholstered in coral-color silk, display a self-portrait that Madeleine made when she was in second grade. Above the living rooms second fireplace (far right) hangs a Greek lithograph the Dickersons picked up during one of their frequent trips to France. It is simply adorned with a laurel garland. The chintz-covered sofa is one of a pair.

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OUR WHIMSICAL HOME

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The Dickersons started their kitchen design with blue-andwhite backsplash tiles (left) purchased during their honeymoon in Portugal. Kate hand-painted all the cabinet and drawer fronts. She wanted the renovated kitchen to have strong colors and motifs that would remind them of the French countryside. Installed above the dining rooms original paneling (right) is a new greenhouse window full of holiday topiaries and miniature evergreen trees. On the upper wall at left hangs one of Jacks paintingsa Valentines Day gift to Kate. Kate gave the actual basement door (below) the illusion of an exterior door opening onto a path.

bay laurel leaves accent light xtures and artwork, and the bay leaf motif references the Provenal style the Dickersons have so often observed during their trips to France. This house is easy to decorate for Christmas, says Kate, an interior designer and decorative painter who has lavished her creative energies on the house since she and Jacka graphic artist and communications strategistmoved in 18 years ago. Despite the houses architectural charms, the Dickersons were appalled at the tacky wallpaper that covered the dining room walls. Two days after they moved in, Kate started tearing the paper downand to her great surprise found a 100-year-old mural underneath. The artistically inclined couple took the discovery as a positive sign. After restoring the mural, Kate and Jack went on to add cheerful color and their own painted ourishes to almost every other wall, cupboard, and door in the house. Kate remembered hearing that a red-and-green home looks good all year, but especially at Christmas. Taking that advice to heart, she and Jack painted the living room woodwork white but upholstered the walls in coral-color silk. The upholstery, drapes, and rugs share a

REFLECTS OUR FREE-SPIRITED NATURE AND OUR PASSION FOR DECORATIVE PAINTING.
BETTER HOMES & GARDENS DECEMBER 2003

KATE DICKERSON

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The fireplace wall in the master bedroom is painted an ocean blue-green, and the remaining walls are covered in a trompe loeil wallpaper of shirred lace and roses. The framed Biblical proverb extolling the virtues of a good wife was a playful Christmas gift from Jack to Kate.

raspberry-and-green color scheme. The dining rooms wainscoting and woodwork is a very grayed-down green, while the master bedroom paneling is a tealish blue-green. The breakfast room and kitchen woodwork, however, sport a vibrant red. Red is a food color, says Kate. We cook a lot. This familys independent spirit and highly personal decorating style is indicative of the architectural quirkiness of their old house. Doors are 1-inch thick, windows contain antique glass, and the ceilings are made of horsehair plaster. While the Dickersons have overlaid the architectural structure with their own colors, designs, and traditions, theyve done so in a way that respects the past. Its been there for so long, its much greater than we are, says Kate of the house. It feels like were part of this wonderful continuum.
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