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Easy Holiday Entertaining

Dec 15, 2025 | Posted in How To & Decorating Tips |

Closeup view of a holiday dining place-setting. At the front of the image, two stacked white china plates are placed with a white linen napkin, tied with red and white twisted string to hold the napkin. White-lettered red namecard is attached to the string. A fork is visible to the left, and a tan fluted glass is just showing in front of the white, red and green floral centerpiece arrangement, which is cut off at the top of the image.
Photo by Kimball Starr

Are you ready for holiday guests to arrive? Me neither! But I do have some easy-to-do ideas to welcome them to a festive home. Read on for quick entertaining and decorating tips.

Shrub Drink Recipe

Holding an example reddish mixed drink in hand, filled with ice, in the bottom left of the image. The rest of the photo shows a woman making a shrub cocktail drink, holding a bottle of vinegar, with several glasses, bottles, and metal measurers on the counter in front of her. The kitchen space behind her is a modern design with textured wood grain and stainless steel appliances.
Photo by Kimball Starr

When your guests arrive, the first thing you want to do — after taking their coat and bags — is offer them a drink. Here’s a simple recipe for a shrub, a fruit-infused “drinking vinegar” that can be added to cocktails and mocktails for a delicious and refreshing twist. Prepare in advance, and store up to a year!

Five images of the process of making a shrub fruit vinegar drink. Top left image shows bottle of vinegar, cut rhubarb and a knife, a Pyrex measuring glass, a glass jar with top. Top right image shows the reddish rhubarb pieces in a bowl, covered with sugar. Middle left image shows the rhubarb being strained into the Pyrex measuring glass with a metal strainer. Middle right image shows an open bottle of cider vinegar next to the Pyrex glass with the bright red strained juice. Final bottom image shows a jar hand-labeled "Rhubarb Shrub 4/28" with a bright red liquid, and a spoon inside an upside-down lid sitting on the counter, in front of a cocktail glass containing the pale pink shrub as it appears after being diluted with seltzer water.
Photos and Recipe by Sylvia Fountaine via Feastingathome.com

ingredients

  • 2 cups fruit or berries (rhubarb used here), diced into very small 1/4 inch pieces
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup vinegar (white or apple cider, or any other)
  • time required: 4-11 days
  • yields: 2 cups

instructions

Mix the fruit or berries and granulated sugar in a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4-5 days, stirring every 12 hours. Strain the liquid, pressing down hard on solids. Mix the fruit syrup with vinegar and pour into a lidded jar and refrigerate. You can use immediately, but after a week, their flavors will deepen, meld and harmonize. Add to cocktails or sparkling water.

Gift Wrap with Fresh Greens

Beautiful gifts can adorn your holiday dinner table too, and look great as a place setting. Here’s an easy way to dress up a simple holiday gift-wrapping.

4 images of gift-wrapping options. Top left corner image shows plain brown craft paper wrapped box, with twine and red-and-white banded string wrapped around the middle, and a roll of twine in front of the box. Top right image shows a wooden box with red and white twisted string wrapped around the middle of the box, holding an evergreen cutting. Bottom left image shows a woman's hand as she wraps red and white twisted string around the brown craft-papered box. Bottom right image shows the final result, brown craft-papered box with twine and twisted red and white string wrapped around the middle of the box, holding a fresh evergreen cutting and a sprig of 4 red berries.
Photos by Kimball Starr

materials

  • gift in a small box
  • brown craft paper
  • clear tape
  • twine
  • colored string or ribbon
  • fresh evergreen cutting
  • sprig of berries

instructions

Wrap your gift in plain brown craft paper and tape shut. Using twine, wrap around the center of your box several times, and tie. Add a fresh evergreen cutting, wrap colored string or ribbon around the center of your box to hold the cutting, and tie. Add a sprig of berries by sliding under the string or ribbon. Optional: Write your guest’s name on the craft paper in red or green ink.

Dress Up Everyday Tables and Chairs for the Holidays

Overhead view of a rectangular dinner table, with a white textured blanket thrown over the back of the head chair showing top right corner of image. Table has a white marble top surface. Chairs are very light taupe with a pierced pattern cane back and velvet fabric seat. The table runner is white with white linen napkins and placecards in red with white text topping the formal place settings for 6 people. Tan colored fluted glasses sit next to clear water glasses. The center of the table is filled with red, white and green plants and flowers in a festive arrangement. The rug underneath is also a light tan.
Photo by Kimball Starr

My last quick decorating tip is to throw a textured blanket over the back of your holiday dining head chairs, to make them feel more cozy. You can easily change the color scheme of your chairs this way, if they don’t go with traditional holiday colors.

If you need to dress all of your chairs, use a wide ribbon looped around just above the seat, tied with the bow at the back to keep the blankets in place, and unify the chairs.

View of a rectangular dinner table from the short end, with a white textured blanket over the back of the head chair showing bottom right of image. Table is light-colored with wooden legs and white marble top. Chairs are very light taupe with a pierced pattern cane back and velvet fabric seat. The table runner is white with white linen napkins topping the formal place settings for 6 people. Tan colored fluted glasses are next to clear water glasses. The center of the table is filled with red, white and green plants and flowers in a festive arrangement.
Photo by Kimball Starr

Do you need help from a designer with your holiday decorating? Kimball Starr designs beautiful spaces to entertain and relax throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Lake Tahoe – contact Kimball today for a remote or in-person consultation.

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Holiday Decorating Themes

Dec 08, 2025 | Posted in Trends |

I’m seeing both beloved and unique holiday trends and decorating themes this year. Let’s explore!

Photo courtesy Pinterest via Etsy Blog

Nutcrackercore

Holiday classic ballet The Nutcracker with whimsical, fairy-tale-like elements that makes children’s dreams of the Sugar Plum Fairy come true. Music boxes featuring this theme are popular this year.

Colors: Red, white, blue, gold

Materials: Wood, velvet, silver, feathers

3 hand-crocheted red and white stockings hang over a fireplace with greenery tied to the white cuffs with packaging string for an old-fashioned look. Two white and grey candles stand to the side of the fireplace surround, which is painted white, while red berries and green pine needles hang down from the mantel above. These stockings are examples of Nonna Holiday style designs.
Design and photo courtesy nellascottage.patternsbyetsy.com

Nonna Holiday

Anything your grandmother would have made or had in her home. Family time, food and cooking aesthetics, home-made decorations, doilies and crocheted items. Comfy and cozy!

Colors: Red, green, gold, cream

Materials: Sweater fabrics, velvets

Two images of Spoonflower fabrics side-by-side. On the left, a silvery background with black and purple ornaments hanging on beaded strands at a slight left angle. On the right, on a black background, multiple ornaments hang on grey strands in white, red, and grey including skulls, jack-o-lanterns, candy canes with skulls on them, red and black bats, vampire faces, scary moons with Santa hats, Christmas trees in red with skull decorations, and white headstones with crosses at the top.
Fabric photos courtesy Spoonflower

Gothmas

Halloween isn’t the only time for dark and moody yet romantic vibes! Candles, dark red velvet, bone china, black and white checkerboard, and statement bows in black with pearls can be used through the winter holidays, too. These custom Gothmas fabrics by Spoonflower are sure to add some dark whimsy to your home.

Colors: Black, red, purple, grey, white

Materials: Lace, antiques, metals

Two custom stemware glasses formed from kneeling stags with the drinking glass balanced between their antlers are displayed on a tabletop. Light shines through the first glass, revealing a gold pin holding lemon slices inside the clear drink. The second stag glass is behind in shadow and slightly out of focus.
Photo courtesy Jersey Art Glass

Supper Club

At-home entertaining is back in vogue! The classic dinner party is a great way to host for the holidays, using vintage serving ware, cocktail items, fabric placemats and full table settings.

Colors: Red, pink, green, yellow

Materials: Glass, paper, ceramic, metal

Kimball Starr designs beautiful homes throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Lake Tahoe. Contact her today for a remote or in-person holiday decorating consultation!

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Lovely Leather

Nov 17, 2025 | Posted in Inspirations |

I just love leather furniture: The texture, the feeling, the look of something aged by use, loved by a family. Here we look back at some of my favorite projects that include leather furniture, in time for the holidays!

Close-up of a dark brown leather arm chair with patina nail heads on the arm's end is countered with an American flag pillow in front of a yellow and white chevron-patterned throw blanket.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Marija Vidal

Love the cracks in this well-worn armchair.

A hair-on-hide ottoman pairs with leather armchairs in this gentleman's living room in front of a wooden fireplace mantel and a stone surround. A second red velvet sofa sits across from the armchairs, the other side of the ottoman, with 3 patterned throw pillows. Books are piled behind glass doors to the right side of the fireplace.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Marija Vidal

Leather chairs pair nicely with a hair-on-hide ottoman, here used as a coffee table.

Two images side-by-side. On the left, closeup of a shiny white bedside table with a bowling pin lamp and a small posey of white flowers in a clear vase. Next to the table is the bed, with a dark navy blue leather headboard, white sheets, and two pillows in army green crochet and blue. The right photo is of the corner of the leather headboard showing the patina nailheads in two lines. Behind the headboard is a red curtain fabric with a yellow patterned accent stitching.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Marija Vidal

The look of the bed’s leather headboard with nail-head details in this same gentleman’s modern classic condo makes my heart sing.

White leather Barcelona chairs with silver legs and button-tufting on the seats and backs, in front of a floor-to-ceiling window and a dark curtain with a gold band a foot above the floor.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Barcelona leather chairs are timeless.

An off-white leather daybed faces the view in this contemporary hillside retreat. The daybed holds green-blue-brown-white striped throw pillows, along with an orange and another turquoise blue pillow. To the left are patterned upholstered chairs with metal frames, a round wooden coffee table dressed with a vase and several different-shaped sky-blue shiny containers. A hot pink throw blanket covers the back of one of the chairs. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors form the corner of the room in front of a beautiful San Francisco night view through metal railings.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Lounging on an ecru leather daybed as day turns to night, with this gorgeous San Francisco skyline view outside, is just heavenly.

Kimball Starr designs custom leather furniture for homes throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Lake Tahoe. Contact her today for a consultation.

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Home Office to Guest Room

Nov 03, 2025 | Posted in Before & After |

Do you struggle to use a spare bedroom as your home office? Books, computer gear, and paper piled everywhere? Difficult to make space for your guests when they arrive last-minute? I have just the solution for you! Take a look at this San Francisco home office / bedroom before-and-after for inspiration.

A hardworking home office converts to a comfortable guest getaway with this convertible bed, hidden behind a large custom-made blue wall cabinet. A white desk chair and a blue-and-white desk sit in front of a window with roller blinds. The light colored carpet helps with sound attenuation. Custom built-in cabinetry provides storage for both guests and office needs.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

In a contemporary urban condo, this workhorse office converts into a serene guest bedroom. Blue custom-designed cabinetry hides a convertible Murphy bed for a calm and welcoming space, matched with custom desk drawers.

Before photo of a guest bedroom used as a home office, with stacks of paper on every surface, and a computer.
BEFORE photo by Kimball Starr

‘Before’ photo, showing how the guest bed and all available surfaces are piled high with paperwork.

AFTER view of the guest bedroom used as a home office. A white table is folded down from the closed wall bed, creating a second desk area. The main desk is a custom-built blue and white surface with drawers against the windows, with a Macintosh computer on top. Art is hung nearby, and storage is also built-in either side of the convertible bed.
AFTER: Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

‘After’ view of the home office, showing a white wood and metal desk folded down, providing additional space for laying out papers, drawing, reading, or computing. You can fit two people into this office at the same time now!

BEFORE photo of the home office, walls lined with boxes, bins, and paperwork plus a computer and printer.
BEFORE photo by Kimball Starr

In another ‘before’ view, you see the challenge of organizing and hiding all the paperwork and equipment needed for a home office. The stark walls could use some love as well.

AFTER view of the home office showing the blue convertible guest bed starting to come down from the wall.
AFTER: Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Now artwork provides a beautiful place for the eye to land above the neatly organized built-in storage for the desk. The bed is so easy to pull down, you can do it with one hand.

BEFORE with bedding spilling out of the closet and paperwork on all available surfaces including the guest bed. A storage rack of DVDs stands next to the closet.
BEFORE photo by Kimball Starr

Even the closet overflows with spare bedding in this ‘before’ photo, and the bed itself is surrounded by visible storage that looks busy and cramped. Not restful for your guests or peaceful for YOU to use.

AFTER the home office space is calmed, the guest bed can be revealed, dressed with white linens, yellow blanket, and yellow and blue patterned throw pillows. Overhead lights provide a way to read in bed, while a pulldown surface is a place for guests to place their book or glasses. It currently holds a beautiful orange and red flower posey in a clear vase. Books and magazines are stored neatly on the shelves either side of the bed. Pull-down blackout window shades are a thoughtful addition for guests.
AFTER: Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

After, storage is neat and tidy while still being accessible. The fold-down bedside table, here dressed with a vase of flowers, is a thoughtful touch for guests, as are the pull-down blackout window shades.

A sky blue wall paint color is the backdrop to this restful bedroom, showing 2 ceramic blue lamps on blond bedside tables, either side of a sea-blue-green headboard and bedstead, with white and gray patterned sheets and 2 stacks of pillows, and a matching blue accent pillow in front. The dark wood floor contrasts against an oriental rug at the foot of the bed.
AFTER: Design by Kimball Starr / photo by Joe Fletcher

Here’s another project that’s a bedroom and a home office, with a smaller space for working within the room.

A light-colored wooden folding chair in front of a white wall stands next to a small folding camp table in front of a green-yellow wall.
BEFORE photo by Kimball Starr

Before, this bedroom was crying out for design, and appropriate furniture.

A wood chair with a rattan seat in front of a beautiful medium dark wood midcentury modern secretaire desk with artwork hung on the wall and a single plant in a small vase atop the desk next to the artwork. Small items are inside the desk, revealed by the lowered secretaire surface. A corner of the bed is visible at the bottom right corner of the scene.
AFTER: Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Joe Fletcher

After, this mid-century modern secretaire desk is perfect for writing letters, paying bills, or signing cards, and it folds up neatly so you can relax when it’s time for bed.

Do you have a guest bedroom that needs to double as a home office, but isn’t doing the business? Kimball Starr Interior Design creates contemporary residential spaces that guests and owners love! Contact her today for a complimentary consultation.

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Fireplace Weather Alert

Oct 20, 2025 | Posted in Inspirations |

Autumn is here again! This season, my thoughts turn to warm sweaters, raking crisp leaves, and getting cozy by a warm fire. Here are a few of my clients’ favorite fireplace designs I created, and I think you will enjoy them, too.

Gentleman’s Modern Classic Fireplace

A hair-on-hide ottoman pairs with leather armchairs in this gentleman's living room.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Marija Vidal

I like to call this one a modern classic because the room has elements of both traditional and modern design. We styled the fireplace with art, lighting, and a flower arrangement, to make it easy to use and welcoming.

Contemporary Warm and Cozy Fire

The knotty cedar wood wall paneling in this living room is accented by the white custom-designed ribbon fireplace with a black hearth. A midcentury modern stool in white sits atop a fluffy grey faux fur in front of the fire. A piece of artwork in black and white hangs above the fireplace, and two sculptural vases decorate the hearth.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Paul Dyer

A simple yet elegant design that fits today’s busy lifestyle. I custom-created the fireplace and surround to contrast with the warm, knotty cedar wood wall construction, and personalized with art and pottery. The stool and rug are perfect for getting the fire started on a chilly night.

Comfortable Mid-century Fireplace Without Mantel

Living room showing table and 2 vintage green metal chairs at the back left corner, in front of a window. To the right, a modern grey horizontal striped fireplace without a mantel, with simple black firescreen in front. Above the fire, a turquoise blue and bright green and yellow artwork is hung. In the front of the image, a purple and white striped mid-century modern chair and matching footrest sit on a blue patterned rug. The rest of the flooring is warm wood-tones. An orange and white lattice-patterned round side table is at the very front of the view, next to the chair and footrest.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Classic furniture is allowed to be the star of this living room, while the architectural fireplace is appropriately subdued. Having a fireplace without a mantel means you won’t collect clutter, showing off beautiful artwork instead. A simple metal screen stops loose sparks and beautifies the hearth.

Industrial Zen Elements Fireplace

View of a living room fireplace. In the foreground, a grey chaise lounge dressed with brown pillows. A hint of a multicolored rug on the floor, with light colored wood underneath. A glowing globe light sits on the floor, to the right of the hearth, which is patterned grey with oversized brick-like shapes. The Douglas fir wood mantel is dressed with Asian art and sculptures, plus dried plantings that have an architectural, spiky look to them. To the left of the fireplace is a large potted plant, again with spiky leaves, and to the right is a bookcase.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Asian elements and organic surfaces appealed to this client’s understated masculine style, so I used a floating Douglas fir wood mantel to balance out the steel and stone fire surround. We finished off the fireplace design with simple plantings and art. The wood placed just inside invites you to light a fire and enjoy a peaceful evening.

If you dream of having a warm fireplace in your home, Kimball Starr can answer your questions – contact her today!

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Transform Stairs with Paint

Oct 06, 2025 | Posted in Inspirations |

Blue painted stairs with white railings and stringers with a hat on the newel post. A green trunk sits nearby with personal items on it, and a small mirror and art hang on the white wall going up the stairs. Warm wood flooring peeks out at the bottom of the staircase.
Design by Emily Henderson / Photo by Bjorn Wallender, courtesy Country Living

You’ve seen colorfully painted walls, floors, and even ceilings. What about painting stairs?

The example above reverses the basic “paint the railings dark and the stairs white” approach. What follows are some unusual ideas that progress the painted-stair design into new directions!

As seen from above, a country store-style staircase is painted with multiple signage logos such as Pepsi-Cola, Texaco, and Coca-Cola across one to two treads each logo.
Design by Funky Junk Interiors / Photo courtesy Lushome

A country store signage painted staircase, for a bit of fun while changing floors.

An optical illusion of polka dots floating in space is created by painting stairs and their surrounding walls with pink and white paint, including the door at the top of the stairs, and also revealing the wood color for some portions of the dots. Light beams from around the doorway.
Photo courtesy Lushome

This polka-dot stair illusion is amazing, leaving portions of the treads unpainted with the wood revealed, and the door painted to integrate into the vision. This would require a lot of calculations to execute!

A beautiful white painted staircase with beige center portion accented with 3 country-blue colored stripes up the middle, the center stripe being the biggest. A beige jug filled with green and white flowers sits atop a stack of books on the second step.
Photo by Leslee Mitchell, courtesy Country Living

A painted grain-sack inspired stair runner is good for country or city living. Simply stylish.

A staircase with dark wood treads and risers painted white, with aqua blue numbers from 1 to 10 on the risers going upwards. In the background, shelves filled with vases, books, and collectibles are slightly out of focus to the left of the stairs, behind the railings that ends in a circle of rails at the bottom step.
Photo by Lucas Allen, courtesy Country Living

Teach your kids their numbers by going up and down stairs.  This North Carolina home uses aqua-painted brass house numbers to label their stair treads.

A staircase at a slight angle in the photo starts with dark treads at the bottom, gradually lightening the colors through shades of blue and turquoise, rising to a pale blue at the top where the stair turns to the left. This graduated change in color is called ombré. The treads themselves are all painted white, as are the surrounding walls. The stringers are painted a solid turquoise blue to harmonize the colors.
Photo courtesy Shef Sutton

This fun ombré stair tread is something I would suggest to my clients who love color.

Kimball Starr specializes in designing colorful homes throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Lake Tahoe. Contact her today for a remote or in-person consultation.

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