There are a lot of articles coming out these days announcing holiday home tours. It’s interesting how many of the homes in these tours are Victorian. But then, as yesterday’s post discusses, the Victorian era taught us how to celebrate Christmas, right down to the Christmas tree.
Here’s one article from the York News-Times about a woman in York, Nebraska named Vina Mody, who for 20 years has been decorating her Victorian mansion for the annual Holiday Tour of Homes. She sets up over 100 Christmas trees in her home! It takes her a month to get ready for the tour and another month to break it all back down. She says this will be her last year though. She can’t handle it anymore. So if you’re in the York area this coming Sunday, you’ll want to catch Vina’s final display.
Here’s another article, this one from the Tyler Paper in Tyler, Texas. This weekend’s tour in Tyler features a number of homes, one of which is an 1891 Victorian known as “The Judge Parker Home,” owned by David and Alva Kesler. If you only have a couple minutes, scroll down to the description of this home. It tells us that the Keslers have painstakingly worked to restore the house to its “Victorian splendor.” Indeed. Wait until you read this.
Just a taste here. The “judge’s den” has been converted into the master bedroom, complete with a four poster bed in brown silk, sitting in the center of the room on an antique rug. In the corner is a mahogany dresser with cheval mirror, circa 1890.
The article takes you room by room, and although there are no photos, the writing is good enough to allow you to visualize it yourself.
Maybe won’t be able to make it to York, NE or Tyler, TX this weekend. But is there a holiday tour of Victorian homes in your area? You never know. It could be your opportunity to see some splendid pieces of antique Victorian furniture while you’re getting into the Christmas spirit.