A Holiday Tour of the Blair House

Traditional Home invited my daughter Eleanor Niermann and me to tour the Blair House in its holiday glory. This house serves as the guest house for the White House, which is just across the street.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked magazines to decorate the house in time for a grand party for the families of diplomats serving the US in such hazardous places that their families must remain in the US.  Traditional Home, Martha Stewart Living, Mother Earth News, and This Old House got a three week window to decorate in accordance with the priceless antiques of the residence. The tour concluded with Secretary Clinton’s elaborate bar open bar and fancy canapés for the diplomats’ families. The Eleanors felt privileged to be included in such a fabulous affair. This Eleanor especially, as I am the child of a diplomat who served behind the lines during the Cold War, and I can remember some meager holidays worrying about my Dad.

The Washington Post (12-8-09) reported on the Blair House party with great pictures.  The pictures I took are lesssatisfactory.  We were so busy talking with DC Designer Barry Dixon and Traditional Home‘s Anne Maine that I actually forgot to photograph his dining room for Traditional Home; you’ll probably see their photos in their next holiday issue.  In other rooms, I was so afraid of being asked not to take pictures, that I moved the camera too soon on many of the photos.  Here are the best of mine.

Martha Stewart Living did a double parlor, half of which includes my daughter Eleanor Niermann and Jenny Bradley of Traditional Home in the center.  Martha’s people had emphasized the gorgeous hand-painted wallpaper with decorations featuring the same color tones and glittered bird sculptures perched on golden boughs.

Just the single element of the peacock feather fan behind Eleanor’s head was lovely, but you can’t imagine the overall impact.

Then I turned around to capture the other side of this area, with Mr. Niveo standing ready to serve guests. He’s standing in front of one of a pair of golden trees that separated the parlors from each other.

Moving on through the labyrinth of the Blair House, we entered yet another double parlor to be serenaded by a string quartet.

Martha, I think, had done this room, and I know she was responsible for the adjoining dining room.  My daughter has become sick of me singing the praises of this decoration, but you’ve not yet heard me rave about it.  The theme was peppermints, so all the colors were in the red-pink-white continuum, and most of actual decorations were different types of peppermint candies.  This is my single good photo, taken of a small side table.

The fireplace mantle hung with peppermint candy canes.

I could actually accomplish this sort of design and maybe next year will incorporate some homage into our family’s traditional arrangements at our home.

Mother Earth News embellished the next foyer and dining room, cleverly using mainly sustainable, natural objects.  Dried orange slices festooned the live boxwood to the left, while a selection of heirloom apples stood in the punchbowl.

Their dining room accentuated the blue green tones of the priceless wallpaper with aqua lamps and bowls.  Ears of heirloom corn, wheat sheaves, and more live trees completed their arrangement. Please excuse my crummy photos.

Then Eleanor and I trooped all the way back to the front door to enjoy the study. While the White House was being restored after World War II, President Truman and his family lived in the Blair House.  The staff of This Old House found the President’s list of gifts the family had received for Christmas 1951, and so recreated the room as it was that morning.  For example, Santa had given Margaret Truman a sled. The picture frames on the tree show the Truman family at important moments in his administration.

The stockings on mantle were stitched with the names of Harry, Bess, and Margaret.

Major kudos to This Old Home for creativity!

The pièce de résistance, however, awaited us in the central reception area, a huge room with fenestration on two sides and blazing fireplaces on the other sides.  In the center stood white and gold tables stacked with cleverly assembled canapés. Four trees decorated in different themes of white and gold celebrated in the four corners of the room.

And finally, our friends at Traditional Home have been kind enough to let us use some of their pictures of the Traditional Home Dining Room.  It’s absolutely stunning!

Thank you to Traditional Home for giving Eleanor and me this experience!

Thank you to everybody involved for creating such a magnificent setting for our diplomats’
families!  This is a hard season to be separated from your loved ones.

Thank you to all Americans serving us in hazardous parts of the world!

Thank you, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for honoring their families with this party!

Please check out these links for more information about the participating magazines and designers.

* www.barrydixon.com
* Martha Stewart Living – see the online story on their contribution
* Mother Earth News – see the online story on their contribution
* This Old House – see the online story on their contribution
* Traditional Home
* The Washington Post – see the online story on their contribution