Bonus Episode: Suzanne Kasler's Holiday House Tour 2025 - How to Decorate

Loading summary

Transcript133 lines

[00:01]
A
Hi, listeners. It's me, Caroline. Surprise. We are bringing you a special bonus episode today because if you are not subscribed to our YouTube channel, you may not have seen it, but we shared a gorgeous holiday house tour on our YouTube series with none other than Suzanne Kessler. You may know that Suzanne is a huge holiday fan. She loves Christmas. She loves decorating for the holidays. She's done tons of holiday products with us for Ballard, and she has many of those things in her house and uses them each year. It was a great conversation between Karen and Suzanne. They talk about Suzanne's strategy for decorating, the types of things she likes, how she mixes it up every year, and even some of her own holiday traditions. And it's just a really fun chat. And you get to see Suzanne's beautiful home. Of course, if you aren't already subscribed to our YouTube channel, please go do that. But other than that, just enjoy this sweet conversation and we'll see you in the new year.
[01:05]
B
Suzanne, thanks for having me over. Merry Christmas.
[01:08]
C
It is our favorite time of year.
[01:09]
B
Oh, it's your favorite time of year?
[01:10]
C
For sure. It is my favorite.
[01:11]
B
I will say I've known you since about 2010, which is 14 or so years, and I. I bet I can say that in every single meeting we've ever been in, you've told me how much you love Christmas.
[01:22]
C
It is. It is interesting how much I have always loved Christmas. Yeah. And the best thing is when I became a partner with Ballard, you embraced my love of Christmas.
[01:33]
B
Well, we like Christmas, too, but I don't know if anybody loves it as much as you do. I mean, this is stunning.
[01:38]
C
Well, thank you. It's been exciting to have everybody here today and really showcase all of my collections. And as a designer, I always collect things. But what's interesting is that all year round, if I see things that are Christmas, I buy them. You do. And then it's been a lot of my inspiration for some of my collections with. With our company together. But I just have realized that I do maybe love Christmas and embrace it more than a lot of people.
[02:07]
B
More than most.
[02:08]
C
Yes.
[02:08]
B
So you're talking about you. You're collecting years and years and years of collecting.
[02:12]
C
Right, Right.
[02:13]
B
How do you keep it from looking like a yard sale in your house? Because I feel like mine kind of goes yard sale sometimes. Because it definitely doesn't look like a yard sale.
[02:21]
C
Well, what I really have always done in design, and I do it with my Christmas, I have found that when I do see something I love, when I'M out and find a Christmas ornament. First of all, I buy at least a dozen of the same ornament or something similar piece. When I did the ornaments, like I. I buy at least a dozen or more of one thing. And when I, for instance, found the Czechoslovakian crystal trees, I found them at Scott's Antique Market. This woman had bought all these antique vintage trees from a Czechoslovakian factory. So I remember buying them. And they're very sparkly and crystally, the trees. And I bought like at least eight of them and I brought them back and everybody thought they were so over the top. But then everyone wanted them. And we did end up making those for Ballard. But what I have found is that if you can put your collections together like I do in my design, my concept, and like I will put all of those pieces in one area. And usually I mix them with natural greenery. I love the natural mixed in with Christmas, even with when I have different kind of collections. And it really works because then they really have an impact and they don't look so cluttery.
[03:45]
B
Looks more intentional.
[03:45]
C
Yeah, it does look. And it kind of ends up being a feature. And so you'll see throughout my rooms in the house, obviously in my living room, I have my tree with all of my collections of the most beautiful muted Ballard ornaments. And what happened is I had seen this group of ornaments and I bought this little box and I brought it to Ballard and we made this entire collection and I added colors to it. But in this room I put my Czechoslovakian trees with these muted ornaments. And it's really chic and it kind of really works with all the natural greenery. And then we go into the entry and I have my nutcracker collection.
[04:24]
B
Yes.
[04:24]
C
And my mother gave me a nutcracker every year. And pretty soon you have like a lot of nutcrackers. And for a while, Keith Arnold in my office, he helped me. We put them together. It's almost like sculpture. And they're so effective together in one grouping. But I found if you spread em out throughout the house, they kind of lose the impact or the specialness of that collection.
[04:49]
B
That's when you start the yard sale effect.
[04:51]
C
Yes. Okay.
[04:52]
B
Okay, good to know because I was asking you earlier, cause I have a nutcracker collection and you were saying group em together. And even if like you don't have room on one surface, put em all in the same room. So you've got several in one spot and several over here in another spot. So great tip. I'm gonna definitely do that.
[05:07]
C
And every when I get out our Christmas things, I do end up coming into the living room with one collection. Cause it's kind of, you know, kind of works with this room. But what I have seen is things do unfold, you know, different times, you're in the mood for something different. So I have a lot of collections and I don't use everything every year. I'll kind of focus on maybe getting out some things certain times of the year. Like this year we have. I have two grandsons which I'm really excited about. A two and two year old and a four week old baby boy. And my daughter is coming over so we got out the train and for years I had the train when she was little. But this year we got out our Christmas train. So I think what's great about Christmas traditions, you can kind of have collections that might alternate how they're used and how kind of you focus on them. So that's kind of what I try to do with Christmas.
[06:07]
B
So there's no pressure to kind of use it all every year or you know, oh, this is sentimental. If I don't put it out then you know, I'm failing my mother or something. You can kind of like let things rest and maybe it makes them more special the next time you pull em out.
[06:19]
C
I do think that is important to do because if you are a collector you sometimes have more things than you can put out. But I will say I managed to put out quite a bit because I do three Christmas trees. I love having the Christmas tree in the living room that's a little bit probably more refined. I love having the tree in the family room that's got more collections of ornaments and things that you've collected that are probably a lot of the memories like sentimental people give you things, you know, the kids things that you kind of incorporate in. And then we put a tree upstairs in our. Upstairs when we get up to the landing and in that tree I put my entire collection of teddy bears around the bottom. And my mom again gave me a teddy bear every year for years. I did make a teddy bear for Ballard and it was so cute. One year finally the boy company which makes the most beautiful teddy bears, they said they went in hibernation so we.
[07:22]
B
Couldn'T get any more bears from the boy bears.
[07:25]
C
We really, we did it for years. But I have this collection and it's great because my Owen, my grandson comes over and he makes a dive for the tree and he starts taking out all the teddy. We just surrounded it with teddy Bears. And we didn't put any ornaments on that tree except for one year we made the wooden ornaments with just red bows. And they're not really, you know, glass. And we just put those on the tree. So I just love that you can have different experiences with your trees. But the big thing I always wanted to do is use real greenery, real wreaths. And one of the things that changes up, the biggest change is your what color ribbon you're using that year.
[08:05]
B
Do you change that every year?
[08:06]
C
I really do love the classic red, but I do remember, you know, different years we've used silver and white and creams and then green plaid and the red plaid. So I do love red at Christmas. I will say that it's the one time I. You'll see me today in red. I don't wear red except the holidays. And then I have this whole. I have all these things I have that I only bring out the month of December, which I think is the thing we have to keep in mind when we're getting ready to decorate. Because it can be overwhelming. And I know even this year, everybody's so busy. When it got down to the time of decorating, what you have to think about, and I kind of talked about it today, is take three or four days and just get everything done. And it's a pretty intense three or four days. Like we were missing a wreath, we had to go back and get the wreath, we were missing garland, we had to go get more garland, we had to go get all the boxes from downstairs. And then you have to put em back. But then what you think about is you have the entire month of Sparkle, all your memories, and then you can start like, I'm having the office Christmas party tonight.
[09:23]
B
You got a lot on your plate.
[09:24]
C
I know, but you want people to come and enjoy it once you get it done, right? So if you have a deadline and like we're having friends, we're having dinner with friends this weekend. And I thought, well, I'm gonna have everyone come back just for dessert, not for a whole nother dinner. But I think there's ways to really. And then certainly the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day traditions of the family, then you have the house, you can enjoy it all month.
[09:49]
B
So you spend three or four days. When do you do it? Do you do it right after Thanksgiving?
[09:53]
C
Literally, you have to do it like December 1st. You have to like put that on.
[09:57]
B
Your schedule the second Thanksgiving's over.
[09:59]
C
Get your plan well, because if you're gonna do all this work, you wanna take the Whole month to enjoy it. And one thing that I try to remind people. Cause everyone always seems. It seems like it's a lot. But think how when you come home, like when we got all done this last couple days, when I came home last night from our fun dinner, it just was so beautiful. You know, you really can then really enjoy what Christmas is. And having just. I think these traditions and all the things that you. What. You know, what collections are, are memories of you. Either your mom or your family or you've been out traveling. One time we went to Salzburg, and. Which is all about Christmas. You buy ornamen. I think those memories are just what make having all of this worth getting everything done.
[10:53]
B
I agree. I think it just. It reminds you of the season the second you see it. And then suddenly you feel a little more lighthearted.
[11:00]
C
Yes.
[11:01]
B
Yes. So you were talking about liveries, live greenery. Do you only have live trees?
[11:07]
C
I do one live tree in the family room. And the other trees, I really do not live. And they make beautiful trees today. And the thing is, people wanna leave trees up for a long time for the month. It makes it great if you have the trees lit. And it's amazing the quality today that we can do with the trees that are already. That you buy, that are not real. It also, you don't have to worry about them shedding or being any kind of danger. But I do love having the real tree mixed in. And I always do real wreaths and garland.
[11:47]
B
Now I see this one's flocked.
[11:49]
C
Yes.
[11:50]
B
You like a flocked tree?
[11:51]
C
Only once in a while. Okay. And we did that. This was a tree we designed.
[11:55]
B
This is a ballad tree.
[11:57]
C
And what I loved about it, it's hardly flocked at all. It's just so minimal. I just love that.
[12:03]
B
Yeah. Well, I feel like it goes with your room so perfectly.
[12:06]
C
And it's kind of with all the ornaments we did. So I just love that you can have all these different concepts at Christmas.
[12:13]
B
So when I think of you and your interiors, I generally think neutrals. And I want to look around this room. It's very neutral. So I would assume you would only have sort of neutral and pastel Christmas. But clearly you've told us you love red. Do we need to be matching our interiors to our holiday decor? How does it work?
[12:33]
C
I love traditional red and green Christmas. It's the one time it's strong, it's kind of vibrant, and it really works so great to use the red and green. But over the years, I remember we did a whole collection all Cream, silver, gold. And I think that different years, design trends do influence Christmas. You know, some year that you might want just a rustic Christmas, you could do a tree with absolutely just the tree and maybe some lights. You know, there's. I think that what I love about Christmas design and decor, you can do as much or as little. Like, if you even put a tree up with just the lights on it, it is beautiful, and it can be that natural look. But I remember one year with Ballard, when we were designing our Christmas things, we did the natural branch. We hung over the table.
[13:26]
B
Oh, yeah. Almost in place of a chandelier kind of situation.
[13:29]
C
Yes. And then we hung all the ribbons, and everything was done in silver, and we did all that. I do love the silver metallic. You'll see a lot of silver, and I'm using, like, silver pieces, but we did all the mercury glass with it. Beautiful. And so I think that, you know, I do love that as well. So there are different years. I've done different things. And I do think, again, you can take different looks in different rooms of your house. But traditionally, I have come back recently to loving red, and I. You know, red right now is a fashion color. The burgundy and red that we're both wearing. And so you do get kind of influenced a lot by what's happening, I think, in our. In our design world.
[14:09]
B
Yeah.
[14:10]
C
I want.
[14:10]
B
You're hungry?
[14:10]
C
Yeah. Yeah.
[14:11]
B
Okay. I have a personal question, so. And it involves kind of color coordinating with your home. When you think about your front door and your wreath, your house is white. So I feel like anything would go with that. My house is olive green with sort.
[14:25]
C
Of spa blue shutters.
[14:27]
B
Do I need to have, like, ribbon that goes with that, or do you think I can just go red?
[14:32]
C
You know, probably for your house, I would do our black watch plaid ribbon. Oh, that's so cute. Which. It's that beautiful black watch plaid. It's the green and navy. And I had seen the wreath with that on it. And we have that beautiful ribbon we made, and I love that with that kind of coloring. So I do think that you do have to kind of go with kind of the look. And, you know, our house is that classic white with a black door. So the red and green is certainly, I think, kind of really what shows up here.
[15:03]
B
It's a statement.
[15:04]
C
Yeah.
[15:04]
B
Does it need to flow into the home? You know what I'm saying? Like, when I open the door, if I have a red ribbon here, does what's inside need to sort of.
[15:13]
C
I have usually continued that story. So for you. If you did the black watch plaid ribbon, it would be beautiful to do that on your stairs with all your garland and you know, your nutcrackers. Yes, you could put your nutcrackers out. And we did the throws that matched. We did for years. We did the red plaid and the black watch plaid thr. And you'll see in the house I've saved them and I put them out only at Christmas. And it's interesting how you'll come into a room like I put the pillows and my throws out only at Christmas and then I put em away and I just bring em out for the month of Christmas. It's interesting how that works just at the holidays.
[15:51]
B
I have the red plaid apron.
[15:54]
C
I do too.
[15:55]
B
And I always bring it out at the holidays and it just makes you feel so happy when you're cooking.
[15:58]
C
We have those too.
[15:59]
B
So you're pulling all this stuff out for the holidays and it's a lot of stuff. Do you have to put things away or do you try to integrate it all with the accessories you already have in your house?
[16:09]
C
One of the things I think that's again overwhelming for people about Christmas is you really have to move things out of the way to make room for Christmas. So here you have your house all settled, but the Christmas tree that you want to show in the window, you have to move the table, the end table that has the lamp on it. We literally have to move out of the room. And all the things on your mantel, if you want to put your Christmas things on, you have to take them down. And I think at first that seems a little bit daunting a lot because not only do you have to get out all your Christmas things, you have to then first edit your room to get ready for Christmas. But as I mentioned, the best thing about it is it's an entire month that you get to have your room have a whole different feel. And so then sometimes when I get ready to put the things back that I've taken out, it makes me relook at them and makes me think about how I'm going to put them back differently. So it kind of is a way that your house kind of has great energy that you're always involved in what's happening in the house. Because as you know, I think houses kind of absorb energy about how you kind of collect and move things around and you have your favorite piece and that happens. If you even buy a new piece for a room, the whole room starts having a different energy. So I know that I had to take all the pillows off in the family room to put my plaid pillows on. And at first I'm like, not sure I want to do it. And then you kind of have to get into that whole kind of concept. It's time for a whole look for Christmas.
[17:44]
B
So when you put it all back out, you kind of rethink it, and you don't necessarily put it in the same spot.
[17:48]
C
That happens a lot of times. Or sometimes you're ready for an edit and maybe you don't put it back at all, so you just keep it. I always think that you can have collections and they can rotate. They can kind of be stored. They can kind of come back at different times.
[18:06]
B
I feel like it's like when you change your closet out for the season and you bring out your winter stuff, you're like, oh, I forgot I even had that. I love that so much, I forgot it was there. So it's kind of the same thing where you're bringing out something you haven't seen in a minute, and it gets.
[18:18]
C
You all excited again, and that's how Christmas is.
[18:21]
B
So you mentioned tonight you were hosting your. Your holiday party for your office year.
[18:25]
C
Yes. And it really has ended up being kind of the favorite night of the year.
[18:32]
B
For you or for them, really?
[18:34]
C
I think for all of us. First of all, they all help me. I have a fabulous design team, and they really help me get the house ready, and it makes it worth it. They all love how much I embrace Christmas, and they're always inspired by how many things I have. And every year, we never use all of it because I have boxes of different collections. So we kind of all decide what are we going to focus on this year? But what happens is we have a catered dinner, and this year we're going to do a little differently. We're going to actually set up both. We have, like, 28 people coming. They all come with their partners, spouses, husbands. And we're gonna set up both tables for the first time this year, we're gonna set up the dining room table. We always just let everybody sit where they wanted. And we noticed all the young people would sit at the kitchen table, which is a big kitchen table, and all of us would go into the family room and just sit there. But this year, we're gonna do set up both tables and find a place for everybody to sit. And we're kind of excited. December is such a great closure time of the year. We' such a busy for everybody. It's been a busy. It's Been a lot this year, as you know. It's been an amazing kind of a lot going on. So it's kind of that time to really stop and celebrate. And then I. I give the Christmas gifts.
[20:01]
B
So do you have any tips for hosting? Because I will stress myself out. I will make myself crazy when I'm having people over. How do you not go crazy?
[20:09]
C
I think there is that overwhelming time when you're getting everything ready. And so what I try to do, and I kind of did that, even just getting the house ready this time, we kind of get everything out and it almost looks so. Like, so much. And then we kind of go back to each room and edit and edit each room, take things away and then maybe add a few more things or move some things or then put things in boxes and take it back to storage. But I do think when you're thinking about hosting, think of when everybody comes and you have the Christmas music on, the fires going in the fireplace and how much fun it is and how special having people in your home. But it's a lot for people. And so what I'm gonna do, like I said, this weekend, we're gonna have dinner with friends at Blue Ridge Grill, and then we're gonna come back and have dessert.
[21:01]
B
I feel like that's brilliant.
[21:02]
C
So I'm kind of like thinking of how do we do get everybody to enjoy Christmas without it being overwhelming and all so much. And so for Christmas Eve, one thing I did start seeing is traditions change as your family unfolds. And this year with two new. We have two. The two year old and the new baby. My daughter and her husband will come, and we have the kids, actually six grandchildren total. There are other families in Indianapolis. We go visit them. But one of the things that happens I found with traditions, we love having a tradition. But this year, the tradition is gonna change. We will go to their house for Christmas morning instead of everyone coming here. So we're gonna start a new tradition of coming over Christmas Eve to your house, to our house, and then Christmas morning, because Christmas morning with the kids.
[21:53]
B
Well, you have to follow Santa.
[21:54]
C
And I think you do have to follow Santa. But what I've seen is it's interesting how traditions will change each year. I mean, we always have our office Christmas party. Always try to have friends come over at one point. But with the family, it does change depending on what's happening with all the kids.
[22:13]
B
That's right. They meet people they love. They go to other houses. You have to not be jealous. All right, I'll just Get my moment with you.
[22:21]
C
Yeah, that is true. It is. And I kind of tell people, like I see things kind of unfold differently, but we can still have our Christmas tradition. But sometimes it can't be the same that it was every year.
[22:33]
B
Do you serve a signature cocktail when you have people over?
[22:37]
C
You know, really, I just. We just serve champagne and wine. I don't really.
[22:41]
B
No red wine.
[22:42]
C
No red. I don't serve. I only serve red wine if you're sitting at dinner. Because if you have red wine in your house, it'll be spilled. I'll be there. So I do. I do have red wine. But if you're sitting down at the table, you can have red wine. That's what I do.
[22:59]
B
It's a good rule.
[22:59]
C
Yeah.
[23:00]
B
Yeah. I would be your chief offender. We wouldn't be friends anymore.
[23:04]
C
I know.
[23:05]
B
And then what do you do for like, what's your big holiday meal? What do you do for your Christmas?
[23:09]
C
We really do love still the turkey and you do turkey at Christmas? I really do love it. You know, it's only. You only do. I really only do it twice a year. And like we cooked for Thanksgiving and we really cook and I don't cook often because of my travel and just kind of, you know, we're not. We're kind of doing like a lot of things and. But I do love the traditional turkey and the spinach and strawberry salad and just kind of a. Kind of a classic. I kind of. We kind of do it again for Christmas. We kind of. It's just so. Because it's just not done. We don't do it any other time of the year. So that's kind of what we're gonna try to do again.
[23:47]
B
Another turkey.
[23:48]
C
Yeah.
[23:48]
B
I love it. I love that you have like new babies coming into your traditions. Then you can.
[23:52]
C
It's so fun. And as I said, we have the train and we're gonna have lots of toys out, but it is gonna be a whole different fun change in our Christmas traditions.
[24:02]
B
Do you have to do anything around the house to baby proof? Are you worried that they'll break your beautiful crystal trees?
[24:12]
C
Well, I will say that it's so. The cutest thing is Owen, our two year. The two year old, he's like 26 months. His favorite thing is to run around the house in a circle. And he runs to the living room which has everything in it that is not baby proof, Very fragile, white. But we follow him and he picks up all of my crystal pieces. He is so attracted to everything Beautiful. And one thing in the family room, we have had to edit the table. We take every accessory off the table and move it up higher. But it is funny that we do that in the family room. But the other rooms, we kind of let them experience with a lot of monitoring some superficies. But it's so interesting how everyone's so attracted to all the beauty. Yes.
[25:03]
B
Well, maybe he's gonna be a collector.
[25:04]
C
Well, I just think that it's fun. And we'll say every table, you know, like, it's like. And they're. And I have a lot of. Interestingly, as a designer, a lot of low tables. They're all like perfect height for everyone.
[25:15]
B
Yeah.
[25:16]
C
But it is. It's fun. And then we have our game table that we will move into the room and start a puzzle.
[25:21]
B
I love a puzzle. Around the holidays.
[25:23]
C
Yeah.
[25:23]
B
We have such a great tradition.
[25:25]
C
I know. Right here I have my Dior puzzle ready to go on the game table.
[25:28]
B
Well, because the family can obs it on Christmas Day.
[25:31]
C
And we did that at Thanksgiving, too. And I think that having just places for people to hang out and all be together but have things happening is really part of it, besides watch football. And then the fire of going. Even though. Yeah.
[25:45]
B
We're in Atlanta and it's not that cold.
[25:47]
C
We're having a fire anyway.
[25:49]
B
That's right. You gotta suffer through it.
[25:51]
C
Yes.
[25:51]
B
Yeah. Take off your sweater. Right. Well, I love all these holiday traditions.
[25:55]
C
Well, I think that I was thinking back about it and when we were talking about how you start traditions and so much of it. I remember my collecting was going to my grandmother's. And she would always take me to the antique shops or the little antique country. She lived in the country. She was always collecting china and crystal. And I was. Cause I was thinking, how does. How did I always start collecting? But what I probably also have this memory of is. And what I love most about Christmas is you have this beautiful box. And when you get it out and you have all these beautiful things in the box that are interesting or sparkly or bring back memories. So I just encourage everyone to keep focusing on. Take that. Three days. Three or four days. Really get your Christmas all done. And just how much joy it will bring you for the entire month.
[26:57]
B
It's like a gift to yourself.
[26:59]
C
It is. And it is my favorite time of year. And one of the things I have loved the most. I will say about Ballard. Over the years, we have made the most special things for Christmas. And people come back and talk to me about it. I mean, I think that people Love the idea of us sharing things that we have found that are special to us, that can be kind of their family, their memories for them.
[27:25]
B
So you clearly like to scour the world shopping and collecting. But is there anything that's sort of diy? Do you do anything like that?
[27:32]
C
Well, I've always loved to do miniature boxes. And I did a Christmas miniature room, which we are going to show you on our film years ago. And what you do for miniature rooms, you go to the miniature shows all over the country and you buy the most exquisite little pieces. So I literally did an interior design of a room. And the way I did my rooms, instead of doing a dollhouse, I did it more architectural. I did a Plexiglas box. And only the back wall would be the design of the room. For my Christmas room, I painted it dark green with all white molding. But the great thing about it is I would go to the miniature shows and buy every piece individually and create this interiors. And it is so beautiful. And at Christmas we get it out. The tree lights up, the sconces light. And it has a little train, which I haven't figured out how to get that running around the tree. But I think that those kind of things. When I started doing my miniature rooms, all my friends started going to the miniature shows with me to do their own miniature collections. But I do it so that you can actually have it as an art piece rather than it really can be more sophisticated. And really you can then peer into.
[28:54]
B
The room so the kids aren't allowed.
[28:56]
C
To play with it. Well, it is. Does have a protection over it, the plexi box, because just so that you keep everything kind of as you designed it. But another thing that I love about living in Atlanta is the gift show here is so fabulous downtown. And we would go with the team in Atlanta from Ballard and walk the Christmas floors. And one year we were doing that and I found the most exquisite little miniature trees made in Germany with little handmade ornaments. And I mentioned to you all, I bought 15. I ordered 15 trees. And they were kind of expensive because they're all handmade.
[29:39]
B
And every ornament's handmade.
[29:40]
C
And every ornament is handmade. And they are so beautiful. I have them grouped together. I kept at least eight of them for me. I did give a few as gifts. But one thing is they don't make them anymore. And so that's what I said. If you see something, you should buy a whole collection because you don't always know if it's going to be there when you go back. And another thing that I do love is this tradition with my friends and Kate, my vice president of product, who, you know, well, every year she has given me a sterling silver ornament, and because I don't have room for another tree, I have put them all in my silver bowl.
[30:22]
B
Beautiful.
[30:22]
C
And they are so beautiful. We tie a red ribbon around them, and you can kind of take each piece out and look at them. So there's so many traditions and things. You can actually have your family, like, whether it's my mom buying me the nutcrackers or the bears or your friends buying you the silver ornaments or you buying something for your children or your friends that each year you get out. It's that memory that I love about the holidays.
[30:48]
B
I think that's the whole spirit of the season.
[30:50]
C
Right? Yeah.
[30:50]
B
Sharing the joy.
[30:51]
C
Right.
[30:52]
B
Well, thank you for having me here today. It's been so fun.
[30:56]
A
That was our chat with Suzanne Kasler. She is. Is such a, you know, inspiring designer, and we always love getting to chat with her. So go follow her on social media, check out her house tour on our YouTube channel, and subscribe to our YouTube channel. We would really love to see you there because we know you enjoy decorating conversations, and that's exactly what we're doing over there. So happy holidays from all of us at the how to Decorate podcast from Ballard Designs. We love you, and we're so grateful that you tune in to the show. All right. Happy holidays.

Summary6 min read

Podcast Summary: How to Decorate – Bonus Episode: Suzanne Kasler's Holiday House Tour 2025

Host: Ballard Designs (Caroline, Karen)
Guest: Suzanne Kasler
Date: December 22, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

This bonus episode brings listeners behind the scenes of Suzanne Kasler’s famously festive home, as featured in Ballard Designs’ YouTube holiday house tour. Suzanne, a self-confessed Christmas enthusiast and Ballard Designs partner, shares her philosophy on holiday decorating, collecting traditions, and creating beautiful, evolving holiday spaces. The discussion covers practical strategies, aesthetic insights, and meaningful traditions—perfect for inspiring both seasoned holiday decorators and those just starting their collections.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Suzanne’s Passion for Christmas & Collecting [01:04–03:44]

Lifelong Christmas Enthusiast: Suzanne reveals, “I have always loved Christmas. And the best thing is when I became a partner with Ballard, you embraced my love of Christmas.” [01:22, Suzanne]
Year-Round Collector: She collects ornaments and decor year-round, buying multiples to maximize impact.
Ballard Collaborations: Inspirations from her finds often influence Ballard’s holiday products.

How to Display Collections Beautifully [02:08–05:07]

Avoiding the "Yard Sale" Look: Suzanne groups similar items together—“If you can put your collections together...they have an impact and don’t look so cluttery.” [02:45, Suzanne]
Intentional Grouping: Mixing collections with real greenery helps create intentional, chic displays.
Nutcracker Tip: “If you spread them out through the house, they kind of lose the impact or the specialness of that collection.” [04:24, Suzanne]
Practical Tip: Rotate collections—don’t feel pressured to use everything every year.

Multiple Trees & Themed Experiences [06:19–08:05]

The Three-Tree System: Each tree in Suzanne’s house has a distinctive theme:
- Living Room: Refined, muted ornaments.
- Family Room: Memory-rich, sentimental ornaments.
- Upstairs Landing: Teddy bear collection surrounds the base.
Adaptable Traditions: Some years, certain collections come out, like the family train for grandchildren.
Ribbon as a Game-Changer: “The biggest change is your...what color ribbon you’re using that year.” [08:05, Suzanne]

Strategies for Decorating Efficiently [08:06–09:49]

Timeframe: Takes “three or four days” to fully decorate. It’s “intense,” but rewarding. [09:23–09:49]
Setting a Deadline: Start right after Thanksgiving/December 1st for maximum enjoyment.

Live vs Faux Greenery [11:00–12:12]

Mix & Match: One real tree (family room); the rest are high-quality faux. All wreaths and garlands are real if possible.
Flocked Trees: Prefers minimally flocked, blending with room’s vibe.

Color Schemes: Matching or Contrasting [12:12–15:51]

Red & Green Loyalty: “I love traditional red and green Christmas. It's the one time it's strong, vibrant.” [12:33, Suzanne]
Influence of Design Trends: Varied approaches each year—neutrals, metallics, or rustic themes.
Exterior Ribbons: Suzanne suggests matching the home’s color story but loves a bold contrast as well. “For your (olive green) house, I would do our black watch plaid ribbon...” [14:31, Suzanne]
Seasonal Accessories: Special pillows, throws, aprons come out only for December.

Making Space for Christmas [15:59–18:18]

Editing the Home: Suzanne moves furniture and accessories to make room, creating a temporary, magical transformation.
Fresh Perspective: Post-Christmas re-styling brings new energy: “Sometimes when I get ready to put the things back...it makes me rethink them.” [17:48, Suzanne]
Like Rotating a Wardrobe: Rediscovering forgotten treasures adds excitement.

Entertaining & Hosting Wisdom [18:21–22:59]

Annual Office Party: Highlights include dinner, thoughtfully set tables, and team camaraderie.
Hosting Tips:
- Tackle prep in stages—get “everything out, then edit, edit, edit.”
- Focus on the post-work reward: Christmas music, fires, friends around.
- Consider simplified gatherings, e.g., dessert after dining out.
Tradition Flexibility: Family traditions adapt as families grow and change (“the tradition is gonna change...we will go to their house for Christmas morning instead of everyone coming here” [21:52, Suzanne]).
Signature Drinks Rule: Champagne and white wine only—“If you have red wine in your house, it’ll be spilled. I do have red wine, but if you’re sitting down at the table...” [22:41, Suzanne]

Family Memories & Baby-Proofing [23:48–25:50]

New Generations: “It's so fun...It is gonna be a whole different fun change in our Christmas traditions.” [23:51, Suzanne]
Baby-Proofing: Family room tables cleared, but the beauty of the decor captivates even toddlers.

Traditions: Past, Present, and DIY [25:55–30:48]

Roots of Collecting: Inspired by her grandmother’s love for antiques and family outings.
Miniature Rooms: Suzanne creates intricate Christmas miniature rooms displayed under Plexiglas—both a personal hobby and a conversation piece.
Unique Finds: Advocates for buying treasured ornaments in multiples, since “they don’t make them anymore.” [29:38, Suzanne]
Memorable Gifting: Friends add to her collection yearly with sterling silver ornaments displayed in a silver bowl—“It's that memory that I love about the holidays.” [30:48, Suzanne]

The Meaning of the Season [30:48–31:00]

Spirit of Sharing: “That’s the whole spirit of the season...sharing the joy.” [30:50, Karen & Suzanne]
Encouragement: Invest the time—“Three days, three or four days, really get your Christmas all done, and just how much joy it will bring you for the entire month.” [26:57, Suzanne]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“If you can put your collections together...they have an impact and don’t look so cluttery.” — Suzanne [02:45]
“There's no pressure to use it all every year...maybe it makes them more special the next time you pull them out.” — Karen [06:06]
“The biggest change is...what color ribbon you’re using that year.” — Suzanne [08:05]
“For your house, I would do our black watch plaid ribbon...I love that with that kind of coloring.” — Suzanne [14:31]
“You have to move things out of the way to make room for Christmas.” — Suzanne [16:08]
“Tradition is gonna change. We will go to their house for Christmas morning instead of everyone coming here.” — Suzanne [21:52]
“If you have red wine in your house, it'll be spilled...I only serve red wine if you're sitting at dinner.” — Suzanne [22:41]
“What I love most about Christmas is you have this beautiful box...interesting or sparkly or bring back memories.” — Suzanne [25:55]
“It's that memory that I love about the holidays.” — Suzanne [30:48]

Timestamps for Important Segments

[01:04] Suzanne’s Christmas obsession & collecting ethos
[02:21] How to avoid the "yard sale" look in holiday decor
[03:44] The story behind her ornament collections
[06:19] Rotating holiday collections & making traditions flexible
[08:06] Getting real about the time investment (three to four days!)
[11:00] Choosing between real and faux trees/greenery
[12:33] On color traditions vs. decorating trends
[14:31] Tailoring color schemes to your home's exterior
[16:08] Making space: editing your home for the holidays
[18:21] Hosting holiday gatherings & handling overwhelm
[21:52] Flexible family traditions as families grow
[23:48] Adapting for young children & baby-proofing
[25:55] The roots of Suzanne’s collecting and her DIY miniatures
[29:38] Secret to special ornaments: buy in multiples!
[30:50] Closing thoughts on the spirit of the season

Tone & Style

The conversation is warm, enthusiastic, and practical—reflecting Suzanne’s deep love of tradition, collecting, and hospitality. There is an inviting, encouraging tone, with lots of actionable suggestions and stories that make even elaborate holiday decor feel accessible and personal.

This episode offers inspiration and practical wisdom for making holiday decorating meaningful and manageable, while celebrating both tradition and flexibility. Suzanne’s philosophy: focus on impact, memory, and joy—because “it is my favorite time of year.” [26:58, Suzanne]

Loading summary

Transcript133 lines

[00:01]
A
Hi, listeners. It's me, Caroline. Surprise. We are bringing you a special bonus episode today because if you are not subscribed to our YouTube channel, you may not have seen it, but we shared a gorgeous holiday house tour on our YouTube series with none other than Suzanne Kessler. You may know that Suzanne is a huge holiday fan. She loves Christmas. She loves decorating for the holidays. She's done tons of holiday products with us for Ballard, and she has many of those things in her house and uses them each year. It was a great conversation between Karen and Suzanne. They talk about Suzanne's strategy for decorating, the types of things she likes, how she mixes it up every year, and even some of her own holiday traditions. And it's just a really fun chat. And you get to see Suzanne's beautiful home. Of course, if you aren't already subscribed to our YouTube channel, please go do that. But other than that, just enjoy this sweet conversation and we'll see you in the new year.
[01:05]
B
Suzanne, thanks for having me over. Merry Christmas.
[01:08]
C
It is our favorite time of year.
[01:09]
B
Oh, it's your favorite time of year?
[01:10]
C
For sure. It is my favorite.
[01:11]
B
I will say I've known you since about 2010, which is 14 or so years, and I. I bet I can say that in every single meeting we've ever been in, you've told me how much you love Christmas.
[01:22]
C
It is. It is interesting how much I have always loved Christmas. Yeah. And the best thing is when I became a partner with Ballard, you embraced my love of Christmas.
[01:33]
B
Well, we like Christmas, too, but I don't know if anybody loves it as much as you do. I mean, this is stunning.
[01:38]
C
Well, thank you. It's been exciting to have everybody here today and really showcase all of my collections. And as a designer, I always collect things. But what's interesting is that all year round, if I see things that are Christmas, I buy them. You do. And then it's been a lot of my inspiration for some of my collections with. With our company together. But I just have realized that I do maybe love Christmas and embrace it more than a lot of people.
[02:07]
B
More than most.
[02:08]
C
Yes.
[02:08]
B
So you're talking about you. You're collecting years and years and years of collecting.
[02:12]
C
Right, Right.
[02:13]
B
How do you keep it from looking like a yard sale in your house? Because I feel like mine kind of goes yard sale sometimes. Because it definitely doesn't look like a yard sale.
[02:21]
C
Well, what I really have always done in design, and I do it with my Christmas, I have found that when I do see something I love, when I'M out and find a Christmas ornament. First of all, I buy at least a dozen of the same ornament or something similar piece. When I did the ornaments, like I. I buy at least a dozen or more of one thing. And when I, for instance, found the Czechoslovakian crystal trees, I found them at Scott's Antique Market. This woman had bought all these antique vintage trees from a Czechoslovakian factory. So I remember buying them. And they're very sparkly and crystally, the trees. And I bought like at least eight of them and I brought them back and everybody thought they were so over the top. But then everyone wanted them. And we did end up making those for Ballard. But what I have found is that if you can put your collections together like I do in my design, my concept, and like I will put all of those pieces in one area. And usually I mix them with natural greenery. I love the natural mixed in with Christmas, even with when I have different kind of collections. And it really works because then they really have an impact and they don't look so cluttery.
[03:45]
B
Looks more intentional.
[03:45]
C
Yeah, it does look. And it kind of ends up being a feature. And so you'll see throughout my rooms in the house, obviously in my living room, I have my tree with all of my collections of the most beautiful muted Ballard ornaments. And what happened is I had seen this group of ornaments and I bought this little box and I brought it to Ballard and we made this entire collection and I added colors to it. But in this room I put my Czechoslovakian trees with these muted ornaments. And it's really chic and it kind of really works with all the natural greenery. And then we go into the entry and I have my nutcracker collection.
[04:24]
B
Yes.
[04:24]
C
And my mother gave me a nutcracker every year. And pretty soon you have like a lot of nutcrackers. And for a while, Keith Arnold in my office, he helped me. We put them together. It's almost like sculpture. And they're so effective together in one grouping. But I found if you spread em out throughout the house, they kind of lose the impact or the specialness of that collection.
[04:49]
B
That's when you start the yard sale effect.
[04:51]
C
Yes. Okay.
[04:52]
B
Okay, good to know because I was asking you earlier, cause I have a nutcracker collection and you were saying group em together. And even if like you don't have room on one surface, put em all in the same room. So you've got several in one spot and several over here in another spot. So great tip. I'm gonna definitely do that.
[05:07]
C
And every when I get out our Christmas things, I do end up coming into the living room with one collection. Cause it's kind of, you know, kind of works with this room. But what I have seen is things do unfold, you know, different times, you're in the mood for something different. So I have a lot of collections and I don't use everything every year. I'll kind of focus on maybe getting out some things certain times of the year. Like this year we have. I have two grandsons which I'm really excited about. A two and two year old and a four week old baby boy. And my daughter is coming over so we got out the train and for years I had the train when she was little. But this year we got out our Christmas train. So I think what's great about Christmas traditions, you can kind of have collections that might alternate how they're used and how kind of you focus on them. So that's kind of what I try to do with Christmas.
[06:07]
B
So there's no pressure to kind of use it all every year or you know, oh, this is sentimental. If I don't put it out then you know, I'm failing my mother or something. You can kind of like let things rest and maybe it makes them more special the next time you pull em out.
[06:19]
C
I do think that is important to do because if you are a collector you sometimes have more things than you can put out. But I will say I managed to put out quite a bit because I do three Christmas trees. I love having the Christmas tree in the living room that's a little bit probably more refined. I love having the tree in the family room that's got more collections of ornaments and things that you've collected that are probably a lot of the memories like sentimental people give you things, you know, the kids things that you kind of incorporate in. And then we put a tree upstairs in our. Upstairs when we get up to the landing and in that tree I put my entire collection of teddy bears around the bottom. And my mom again gave me a teddy bear every year for years. I did make a teddy bear for Ballard and it was so cute. One year finally the boy company which makes the most beautiful teddy bears, they said they went in hibernation so we.
[07:22]
B
Couldn'T get any more bears from the boy bears.
[07:25]
C
We really, we did it for years. But I have this collection and it's great because my Owen, my grandson comes over and he makes a dive for the tree and he starts taking out all the teddy. We just surrounded it with teddy Bears. And we didn't put any ornaments on that tree except for one year we made the wooden ornaments with just red bows. And they're not really, you know, glass. And we just put those on the tree. So I just love that you can have different experiences with your trees. But the big thing I always wanted to do is use real greenery, real wreaths. And one of the things that changes up, the biggest change is your what color ribbon you're using that year.
[08:05]
B
Do you change that every year?
[08:06]
C
I really do love the classic red, but I do remember, you know, different years we've used silver and white and creams and then green plaid and the red plaid. So I do love red at Christmas. I will say that it's the one time I. You'll see me today in red. I don't wear red except the holidays. And then I have this whole. I have all these things I have that I only bring out the month of December, which I think is the thing we have to keep in mind when we're getting ready to decorate. Because it can be overwhelming. And I know even this year, everybody's so busy. When it got down to the time of decorating, what you have to think about, and I kind of talked about it today, is take three or four days and just get everything done. And it's a pretty intense three or four days. Like we were missing a wreath, we had to go back and get the wreath, we were missing garland, we had to go get more garland, we had to go get all the boxes from downstairs. And then you have to put em back. But then what you think about is you have the entire month of Sparkle, all your memories, and then you can start like, I'm having the office Christmas party tonight.
[09:23]
B
You got a lot on your plate.
[09:24]
C
I know, but you want people to come and enjoy it once you get it done, right? So if you have a deadline and like we're having friends, we're having dinner with friends this weekend. And I thought, well, I'm gonna have everyone come back just for dessert, not for a whole nother dinner. But I think there's ways to really. And then certainly the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day traditions of the family, then you have the house, you can enjoy it all month.
[09:49]
B
So you spend three or four days. When do you do it? Do you do it right after Thanksgiving?
[09:53]
C
Literally, you have to do it like December 1st. You have to like put that on.
[09:57]
B
Your schedule the second Thanksgiving's over.
[09:59]
C
Get your plan well, because if you're gonna do all this work, you wanna take the Whole month to enjoy it. And one thing that I try to remind people. Cause everyone always seems. It seems like it's a lot. But think how when you come home, like when we got all done this last couple days, when I came home last night from our fun dinner, it just was so beautiful. You know, you really can then really enjoy what Christmas is. And having just. I think these traditions and all the things that you. What. You know, what collections are, are memories of you. Either your mom or your family or you've been out traveling. One time we went to Salzburg, and. Which is all about Christmas. You buy ornamen. I think those memories are just what make having all of this worth getting everything done.
[10:53]
B
I agree. I think it just. It reminds you of the season the second you see it. And then suddenly you feel a little more lighthearted.
[11:00]
C
Yes.
[11:01]
B
Yes. So you were talking about liveries, live greenery. Do you only have live trees?
[11:07]
C
I do one live tree in the family room. And the other trees, I really do not live. And they make beautiful trees today. And the thing is, people wanna leave trees up for a long time for the month. It makes it great if you have the trees lit. And it's amazing the quality today that we can do with the trees that are already. That you buy, that are not real. It also, you don't have to worry about them shedding or being any kind of danger. But I do love having the real tree mixed in. And I always do real wreaths and garland.
[11:47]
B
Now I see this one's flocked.
[11:49]
C
Yes.
[11:50]
B
You like a flocked tree?
[11:51]
C
Only once in a while. Okay. And we did that. This was a tree we designed.
[11:55]
B
This is a ballad tree.
[11:57]
C
And what I loved about it, it's hardly flocked at all. It's just so minimal. I just love that.
[12:03]
B
Yeah. Well, I feel like it goes with your room so perfectly.
[12:06]
C
And it's kind of with all the ornaments we did. So I just love that you can have all these different concepts at Christmas.
[12:13]
B
So when I think of you and your interiors, I generally think neutrals. And I want to look around this room. It's very neutral. So I would assume you would only have sort of neutral and pastel Christmas. But clearly you've told us you love red. Do we need to be matching our interiors to our holiday decor? How does it work?
[12:33]
C
I love traditional red and green Christmas. It's the one time it's strong, it's kind of vibrant, and it really works so great to use the red and green. But over the years, I remember we did a whole collection all Cream, silver, gold. And I think that different years, design trends do influence Christmas. You know, some year that you might want just a rustic Christmas, you could do a tree with absolutely just the tree and maybe some lights. You know, there's. I think that what I love about Christmas design and decor, you can do as much or as little. Like, if you even put a tree up with just the lights on it, it is beautiful, and it can be that natural look. But I remember one year with Ballard, when we were designing our Christmas things, we did the natural branch. We hung over the table.
[13:26]
B
Oh, yeah. Almost in place of a chandelier kind of situation.
[13:29]
C
Yes. And then we hung all the ribbons, and everything was done in silver, and we did all that. I do love the silver metallic. You'll see a lot of silver, and I'm using, like, silver pieces, but we did all the mercury glass with it. Beautiful. And so I think that, you know, I do love that as well. So there are different years. I've done different things. And I do think, again, you can take different looks in different rooms of your house. But traditionally, I have come back recently to loving red, and I. You know, red right now is a fashion color. The burgundy and red that we're both wearing. And so you do get kind of influenced a lot by what's happening, I think, in our. In our design world.
[14:09]
B
Yeah.
[14:10]
C
I want.
[14:10]
B
You're hungry?
[14:10]
C
Yeah. Yeah.
[14:11]
B
Okay. I have a personal question, so. And it involves kind of color coordinating with your home. When you think about your front door and your wreath, your house is white. So I feel like anything would go with that. My house is olive green with sort.
[14:25]
C
Of spa blue shutters.
[14:27]
B
Do I need to have, like, ribbon that goes with that, or do you think I can just go red?
[14:32]
C
You know, probably for your house, I would do our black watch plaid ribbon. Oh, that's so cute. Which. It's that beautiful black watch plaid. It's the green and navy. And I had seen the wreath with that on it. And we have that beautiful ribbon we made, and I love that with that kind of coloring. So I do think that you do have to kind of go with kind of the look. And, you know, our house is that classic white with a black door. So the red and green is certainly, I think, kind of really what shows up here.
[15:03]
B
It's a statement.
[15:04]
C
Yeah.
[15:04]
B
Does it need to flow into the home? You know what I'm saying? Like, when I open the door, if I have a red ribbon here, does what's inside need to sort of.
[15:13]
C
I have usually continued that story. So for you. If you did the black watch plaid ribbon, it would be beautiful to do that on your stairs with all your garland and you know, your nutcrackers. Yes, you could put your nutcrackers out. And we did the throws that matched. We did for years. We did the red plaid and the black watch plaid thr. And you'll see in the house I've saved them and I put them out only at Christmas. And it's interesting how you'll come into a room like I put the pillows and my throws out only at Christmas and then I put em away and I just bring em out for the month of Christmas. It's interesting how that works just at the holidays.
[15:51]
B
I have the red plaid apron.
[15:54]
C
I do too.
[15:55]
B
And I always bring it out at the holidays and it just makes you feel so happy when you're cooking.
[15:58]
C
We have those too.
[15:59]
B
So you're pulling all this stuff out for the holidays and it's a lot of stuff. Do you have to put things away or do you try to integrate it all with the accessories you already have in your house?
[16:09]
C
One of the things I think that's again overwhelming for people about Christmas is you really have to move things out of the way to make room for Christmas. So here you have your house all settled, but the Christmas tree that you want to show in the window, you have to move the table, the end table that has the lamp on it. We literally have to move out of the room. And all the things on your mantel, if you want to put your Christmas things on, you have to take them down. And I think at first that seems a little bit daunting a lot because not only do you have to get out all your Christmas things, you have to then first edit your room to get ready for Christmas. But as I mentioned, the best thing about it is it's an entire month that you get to have your room have a whole different feel. And so then sometimes when I get ready to put the things back that I've taken out, it makes me relook at them and makes me think about how I'm going to put them back differently. So it kind of is a way that your house kind of has great energy that you're always involved in what's happening in the house. Because as you know, I think houses kind of absorb energy about how you kind of collect and move things around and you have your favorite piece and that happens. If you even buy a new piece for a room, the whole room starts having a different energy. So I know that I had to take all the pillows off in the family room to put my plaid pillows on. And at first I'm like, not sure I want to do it. And then you kind of have to get into that whole kind of concept. It's time for a whole look for Christmas.
[17:44]
B
So when you put it all back out, you kind of rethink it, and you don't necessarily put it in the same spot.
[17:48]
C
That happens a lot of times. Or sometimes you're ready for an edit and maybe you don't put it back at all, so you just keep it. I always think that you can have collections and they can rotate. They can kind of be stored. They can kind of come back at different times.
[18:06]
B
I feel like it's like when you change your closet out for the season and you bring out your winter stuff, you're like, oh, I forgot I even had that. I love that so much, I forgot it was there. So it's kind of the same thing where you're bringing out something you haven't seen in a minute, and it gets.
[18:18]
C
You all excited again, and that's how Christmas is.
[18:21]
B
So you mentioned tonight you were hosting your. Your holiday party for your office year.
[18:25]
C
Yes. And it really has ended up being kind of the favorite night of the year.
[18:32]
B
For you or for them, really?
[18:34]
C
I think for all of us. First of all, they all help me. I have a fabulous design team, and they really help me get the house ready, and it makes it worth it. They all love how much I embrace Christmas, and they're always inspired by how many things I have. And every year, we never use all of it because I have boxes of different collections. So we kind of all decide what are we going to focus on this year? But what happens is we have a catered dinner, and this year we're going to do a little differently. We're going to actually set up both. We have, like, 28 people coming. They all come with their partners, spouses, husbands. And we're gonna set up both tables for the first time this year, we're gonna set up the dining room table. We always just let everybody sit where they wanted. And we noticed all the young people would sit at the kitchen table, which is a big kitchen table, and all of us would go into the family room and just sit there. But this year, we're gonna do set up both tables and find a place for everybody to sit. And we're kind of excited. December is such a great closure time of the year. We' such a busy for everybody. It's been a busy. It's Been a lot this year, as you know. It's been an amazing kind of a lot going on. So it's kind of that time to really stop and celebrate. And then I. I give the Christmas gifts.
[20:01]
B
So do you have any tips for hosting? Because I will stress myself out. I will make myself crazy when I'm having people over. How do you not go crazy?
[20:09]
C
I think there is that overwhelming time when you're getting everything ready. And so what I try to do, and I kind of did that, even just getting the house ready this time, we kind of get everything out and it almost looks so. Like, so much. And then we kind of go back to each room and edit and edit each room, take things away and then maybe add a few more things or move some things or then put things in boxes and take it back to storage. But I do think when you're thinking about hosting, think of when everybody comes and you have the Christmas music on, the fires going in the fireplace and how much fun it is and how special having people in your home. But it's a lot for people. And so what I'm gonna do, like I said, this weekend, we're gonna have dinner with friends at Blue Ridge Grill, and then we're gonna come back and have dessert.
[21:01]
B
I feel like that's brilliant.
[21:02]
C
So I'm kind of like thinking of how do we do get everybody to enjoy Christmas without it being overwhelming and all so much. And so for Christmas Eve, one thing I did start seeing is traditions change as your family unfolds. And this year with two new. We have two. The two year old and the new baby. My daughter and her husband will come, and we have the kids, actually six grandchildren total. There are other families in Indianapolis. We go visit them. But one of the things that happens I found with traditions, we love having a tradition. But this year, the tradition is gonna change. We will go to their house for Christmas morning instead of everyone coming here. So we're gonna start a new tradition of coming over Christmas Eve to your house, to our house, and then Christmas morning, because Christmas morning with the kids.
[21:53]
B
Well, you have to follow Santa.
[21:54]
C
And I think you do have to follow Santa. But what I've seen is it's interesting how traditions will change each year. I mean, we always have our office Christmas party. Always try to have friends come over at one point. But with the family, it does change depending on what's happening with all the kids.
[22:13]
B
That's right. They meet people they love. They go to other houses. You have to not be jealous. All right, I'll just Get my moment with you.
[22:21]
C
Yeah, that is true. It is. And I kind of tell people, like I see things kind of unfold differently, but we can still have our Christmas tradition. But sometimes it can't be the same that it was every year.
[22:33]
B
Do you serve a signature cocktail when you have people over?
[22:37]
C
You know, really, I just. We just serve champagne and wine. I don't really.
[22:41]
B
No red wine.
[22:42]
C
No red. I don't serve. I only serve red wine if you're sitting at dinner. Because if you have red wine in your house, it'll be spilled. I'll be there. So I do. I do have red wine. But if you're sitting down at the table, you can have red wine. That's what I do.
[22:59]
B
It's a good rule.
[22:59]
C
Yeah.
[23:00]
B
Yeah. I would be your chief offender. We wouldn't be friends anymore.
[23:04]
C
I know.
[23:05]
B
And then what do you do for like, what's your big holiday meal? What do you do for your Christmas?
[23:09]
C
We really do love still the turkey and you do turkey at Christmas? I really do love it. You know, it's only. You only do. I really only do it twice a year. And like we cooked for Thanksgiving and we really cook and I don't cook often because of my travel and just kind of, you know, we're not. We're kind of doing like a lot of things and. But I do love the traditional turkey and the spinach and strawberry salad and just kind of a. Kind of a classic. I kind of. We kind of do it again for Christmas. We kind of. It's just so. Because it's just not done. We don't do it any other time of the year. So that's kind of what we're gonna try to do again.
[23:47]
B
Another turkey.
[23:48]
C
Yeah.
[23:48]
B
I love it. I love that you have like new babies coming into your traditions. Then you can.
[23:52]
C
It's so fun. And as I said, we have the train and we're gonna have lots of toys out, but it is gonna be a whole different fun change in our Christmas traditions.
[24:02]
B
Do you have to do anything around the house to baby proof? Are you worried that they'll break your beautiful crystal trees?
[24:12]
C
Well, I will say that it's so. The cutest thing is Owen, our two year. The two year old, he's like 26 months. His favorite thing is to run around the house in a circle. And he runs to the living room which has everything in it that is not baby proof, Very fragile, white. But we follow him and he picks up all of my crystal pieces. He is so attracted to everything Beautiful. And one thing in the family room, we have had to edit the table. We take every accessory off the table and move it up higher. But it is funny that we do that in the family room. But the other rooms, we kind of let them experience with a lot of monitoring some superficies. But it's so interesting how everyone's so attracted to all the beauty. Yes.
[25:03]
B
Well, maybe he's gonna be a collector.
[25:04]
C
Well, I just think that it's fun. And we'll say every table, you know, like, it's like. And they're. And I have a lot of. Interestingly, as a designer, a lot of low tables. They're all like perfect height for everyone.
[25:15]
B
Yeah.
[25:16]
C
But it is. It's fun. And then we have our game table that we will move into the room and start a puzzle.
[25:21]
B
I love a puzzle. Around the holidays.
[25:23]
C
Yeah.
[25:23]
B
We have such a great tradition.
[25:25]
C
I know. Right here I have my Dior puzzle ready to go on the game table.
[25:28]
B
Well, because the family can obs it on Christmas Day.
[25:31]
C
And we did that at Thanksgiving, too. And I think that having just places for people to hang out and all be together but have things happening is really part of it, besides watch football. And then the fire of going. Even though. Yeah.
[25:45]
B
We're in Atlanta and it's not that cold.
[25:47]
C
We're having a fire anyway.
[25:49]
B
That's right. You gotta suffer through it.
[25:51]
C
Yes.
[25:51]
B
Yeah. Take off your sweater. Right. Well, I love all these holiday traditions.
[25:55]
C
Well, I think that I was thinking back about it and when we were talking about how you start traditions and so much of it. I remember my collecting was going to my grandmother's. And she would always take me to the antique shops or the little antique country. She lived in the country. She was always collecting china and crystal. And I was. Cause I was thinking, how does. How did I always start collecting? But what I probably also have this memory of is. And what I love most about Christmas is you have this beautiful box. And when you get it out and you have all these beautiful things in the box that are interesting or sparkly or bring back memories. So I just encourage everyone to keep focusing on. Take that. Three days. Three or four days. Really get your Christmas all done. And just how much joy it will bring you for the entire month.
[26:57]
B
It's like a gift to yourself.
[26:59]
C
It is. And it is my favorite time of year. And one of the things I have loved the most. I will say about Ballard. Over the years, we have made the most special things for Christmas. And people come back and talk to me about it. I mean, I think that people Love the idea of us sharing things that we have found that are special to us, that can be kind of their family, their memories for them.
[27:25]
B
So you clearly like to scour the world shopping and collecting. But is there anything that's sort of diy? Do you do anything like that?
[27:32]
C
Well, I've always loved to do miniature boxes. And I did a Christmas miniature room, which we are going to show you on our film years ago. And what you do for miniature rooms, you go to the miniature shows all over the country and you buy the most exquisite little pieces. So I literally did an interior design of a room. And the way I did my rooms, instead of doing a dollhouse, I did it more architectural. I did a Plexiglas box. And only the back wall would be the design of the room. For my Christmas room, I painted it dark green with all white molding. But the great thing about it is I would go to the miniature shows and buy every piece individually and create this interiors. And it is so beautiful. And at Christmas we get it out. The tree lights up, the sconces light. And it has a little train, which I haven't figured out how to get that running around the tree. But I think that those kind of things. When I started doing my miniature rooms, all my friends started going to the miniature shows with me to do their own miniature collections. But I do it so that you can actually have it as an art piece rather than it really can be more sophisticated. And really you can then peer into.
[28:54]
B
The room so the kids aren't allowed.
[28:56]
C
To play with it. Well, it is. Does have a protection over it, the plexi box, because just so that you keep everything kind of as you designed it. But another thing that I love about living in Atlanta is the gift show here is so fabulous downtown. And we would go with the team in Atlanta from Ballard and walk the Christmas floors. And one year we were doing that and I found the most exquisite little miniature trees made in Germany with little handmade ornaments. And I mentioned to you all, I bought 15. I ordered 15 trees. And they were kind of expensive because they're all handmade.
[29:39]
B
And every ornament's handmade.
[29:40]
C
And every ornament is handmade. And they are so beautiful. I have them grouped together. I kept at least eight of them for me. I did give a few as gifts. But one thing is they don't make them anymore. And so that's what I said. If you see something, you should buy a whole collection because you don't always know if it's going to be there when you go back. And another thing that I do love is this tradition with my friends and Kate, my vice president of product, who, you know, well, every year she has given me a sterling silver ornament, and because I don't have room for another tree, I have put them all in my silver bowl.
[30:22]
B
Beautiful.
[30:22]
C
And they are so beautiful. We tie a red ribbon around them, and you can kind of take each piece out and look at them. So there's so many traditions and things. You can actually have your family, like, whether it's my mom buying me the nutcrackers or the bears or your friends buying you the silver ornaments or you buying something for your children or your friends that each year you get out. It's that memory that I love about the holidays.
[30:48]
B
I think that's the whole spirit of the season.
[30:50]
C
Right? Yeah.
[30:50]
B
Sharing the joy.
[30:51]
C
Right.
[30:52]
B
Well, thank you for having me here today. It's been so fun.
[30:56]
A
That was our chat with Suzanne Kasler. She is. Is such a, you know, inspiring designer, and we always love getting to chat with her. So go follow her on social media, check out her house tour on our YouTube channel, and subscribe to our YouTube channel. We would really love to see you there because we know you enjoy decorating conversations, and that's exactly what we're doing over there. So happy holidays from all of us at the how to Decorate podcast from Ballard Designs. We love you, and we're so grateful that you tune in to the show. All right. Happy holidays.