When Vail interior designer Courtney St. John set out to decorate a three-bedroom Vail Racquet Club townhome for the holidays, she drew inspiration from the timeless Old-World style she’d created for the interior five years earlier. “The Denver owners wanted a sanctuary with a modernized, quintessential Vail Bavarian feel,” she says.

    

She gathered collectibles, antiques and found objects including old skis and snowshoes that evoked Vail’s active lifestyle and brought the outdoors in with items pulled from nature, such as feathers, branches and berries. A red, green and plaid color scheme carried throughout the home lends seamless harmony. Candles of all shapes and sizes nourish the coziness-especially welcome this uncertain year, when we’re spending more time at home.

    

Mimicking the townhome’s Nordic wooden table and chairs, a handcrafted German Christmas pyramid provides a playful centerpiece and drives the table setting. “They have young children, so it’s fun for them to light the candles and watch the carousel spin,” St. John says. Small wooden cut-out trees, various sizes of cut-crystal glasses, an antique white runner with red stitching and plaid chargers beneath dinner plates that match napkins lend homespun elegance.

                                

In the kitchen, St. John likewise relies on wooden elements, including pine garlands threaded with white twinkle lights, antique wooden snowshoes and a three- dimensional wooden snowflake on the window shade. Plaid bows echo the table setting, along with a bowl of red apples embraced by greenery. The dry bar becomes an inviting seasonal serving area with a red floral arrangement enlivened by feathers, a silver tray laden with china and a glass bowl of red ornaments.



Above the stone fireplace, antique antler mounts cloaked in pine boughs and ribbons bolster design cohesiveness. The red floral arrangement on the mantel creates a focal point while white candles nestled in aspen log holders spark drama.

    

Below, a weathered antique olive bucket holding aspen, berry and pine branches and wooden skis adorned with a plaid bow supports the dining and kitchen motif. Plaid and checked red, green and white hand-wrapped gifts add fairy-tale charm.

    

The tree conjures visions of sugarplums with its retro painted glass ornaments. “Some of the balls are antiques, but a lot are handblown and collected over the years,” St. John says. “Each has its own story, whether found in an antique store, a garage sale, while traveling or received as a gift. Each offers an opportunity for sharing and reflecting on family traditions and memories.”