By Anne Ruisi
Treasured family heirlooms abound in the Mountain Brook home of Mallie and Jay Whatley, right down to holiday décor such as the angel topping the fragrant 10-foot spruce Christmas tree in the living room.
“That was a gift from my mom,” Mallie Whatley said. “She had it. The wings had broken off and she glued them back on.”
Every room in the house is beautifully decorated for Christmas, which the family will share as the home is featured in Independent Presbyterian Church’s 73rd annual Holiday House Tour.
Four homes will be featured in this year’s tour, which is virtual. Those who want to take the tour can buy tickets and will receive a special link to view it online.
In addition to the Whatley family’s home, holiday décor in the Christopher home, Klick/McCormick home and Robinson home will be featured.
This isn’t the first time Whatley’s family has participated in the Holiday House Tour. Her mother, Kacy Mitchell, opened her home to the tour in 2001.
At the Whatley’s a few days before Thanksgiving, Micheal Dyer, the owner of Uncut Flowers LLC in Cahaba Heights and designer of the holiday décor, and she were in the kitchen adding finishing touches to a wreath with juniper.
Christmas in Every Room
After they finished, they went about the house to prepare decorations for filming of the virtual tour.
“Every room has touches of Christmas,” Dyer noted.
Preparing the house for the filming of this portion of the virtual tour took several days and was full of holiday bustle. Visitors came by to see Dyer and Whatley when they began putting up the decorations.
The fragrance of fresh rosemary permeated the breakfast nook, wafting from three rosemary bushes trimmed to look like petite Christmas trees that sat on the kitchen island. Red carnations will be added to trim the little “trees” before filming.
How do the flowers stay fresh through the holidays? Dyer said the secret is to make sure water picks are attached to the bottom of the stems.
Whatley and Dyer finished setting the table in the breakfast nook by placing holiday dishes by Rosanna Imports onto gold chargers. The plates, inscribed “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in gold lettering that circles the rim of each plate, belonged to her grandmother. A centerpiece designed by Dyer featuring holly berries finishes the look of the tablescape.
Dyer knew Whatley’s grandmother, the late Mallie Ireland, and decorated her house for the holidays. He said she loved going all-out with Christmas décor.
“You’re talking about someone who did Christmas,” he said.
In the living room, where the Christmas tree topped by the angel commands a corner of the room, Whatley opened a hidden cabinet to reveal a feature that clearly brings delight: a custom-made recessed bar.
“I was inspired when I saw it on the deGournay Instagram,” Mallie said.
A small Christmas tree and a figurine of a friendly teddy bear mixing holiday treats in a bowl anchors the first shelf, while the glass shelves hold an array of Champagne flutes, crystal gold-rimmed glasses and Christmas glasses decorated with holly leaves and berries. A set of wine glasses are adorned with Christmas trees on their stems.
A large, antique Father Christmas that belonged to Whatley’s grandmother Ireland sits on a cabinet on one end of the room. The base of a lamp on a side table near the foot of an Empire fainting couch holds special meaning – it’s made from a bottle of Bollinger Champagne served at the Whatley’s wedding.
Knick-Knacks and Christmas Stockings
In the dining room, textured deep green Scalamandre wallpaper flecked with mica-like chips that shimmer in low light is a stunning setting for the décor.
A trio of small glass Christmas trees sits on the marble-topped buffet next to red holiday decorations. Five needlepoint Christmas stockings, inscribed with the names of Mallie and Jay and their daughters Katharine Grace, Dorothy and Charlotte, hang over the white marble fireplace.
Mallie’s aunt, Dell Hatten, who lived in the Birmingham area until she moved to Florida, made the first two stockings for the couple when they married and added a stocking for each girl when she was born.
Every piece in the room is heirloom quality, with the sideboard, buffet, mirrors and even the drapes legacies of her grandmother. The room was designed around the drapes, said Annie Goldberg of AG Designs, who did the room. AG Designs designed the whole house, Whatley said.
“This whole room is family,” she said. “All I bought were the table and chairs.”
In the master bedroom, where the walls are covered in beautiful hand-painted wallpaper by Gracie Studios in a floral motif with birds and butterflies, Whatley hopes to set up a pink Christmas tree, if the order comes in on time.
When you enter the home from the front door, more than two dozen figurines surround a traditional wood creche, adoring the baby Jesus. The Fontanini nativity set was given to the family by Whatley’s mother-in-law, Grace Whatley.
“She gives a couple of figures every year to her daughters-in-law,” Whatley said. “I’ve been married the longest, so I have the most.”
Outside, red Christmas trees will be set up on the patio by the pool, if, like the pink tree, they arrive on time for the film shoot.
