How Alfredo Paredes Crafts (Low-Key) Christmas Magic At Home
Honoring the timeless character of his English manor-style abode’s front entry, designer Alfredo Paredes styled the scene with faux evergreens dressed up with gold and ruby ribbons from Mood Fabrics. The antlers above the door were purchased from Randall Tysinger Antiques.
At home in Locust Valley, New York, Alfredo Paredes' love affair with Christmas comes full circle.
“With every house I have ever looked at or lived in, my first question has always been, ‘Where will the Christmas tree go?’ ” says designer Alfredo Paredes, who professes to mentally clocking where an outlet would have to be hardwired in the floor for every would-be residence in question. Paredes’ passion for all things holiday took root early in life. As a child growing up in Coconut Grove, Florida, the season began in early October, when he would promptly unbox decor (“I would drive my mother crazy,” he admits), assume the role of Santa’s elf, and fantasize about cold, snowy Northeast winters.
It’s not exactly surprising then that crafting Christmas magic came to be a cornerstone of Paredes’ prolific career. Prior to launching his eponymous interior design studio in 2019, Paredes dreamt up and delivered dozens of inspired holiday themes, from Dr. Zhivago to Balmoral tartan to teddy bears, in exacting detail during his 33-year tenure at Ralph Lauren.
But at the enchanting Locust Valley, New York, residence that he shares with husband Brad, daughter Carolina and son Sebastian, the Christmas season calls for decidedly less production. “The house sits in a woodland setting and looks like an English manor or a hunting lodge,” says Paredes, describing the 1929 Long Island charmer. “It’s tailor-made for the holidays, so you don’t have to throw too much at it. I wanted to keep things low-key.”
Dressed in his version of a Christmas sweater, Paredes poses at his living room’s distinct fenestration.
The dining room is fit for a crowd with its Richomme table set with vintage candelabras. Fine & Dandy Co.’s Aegean mural juxtaposes an enormous Noguchi lantern.
Synthetic garlands make a convincing case for faux on the stairwell banister and at the living room fireplace.
A stone-top console from Obsolete offers a beautiful decorating opportunity at the second-story landing, joined by a Jamb pendant and drapes of Kravet fabric.
Take the classic swags of evergreens that drape mantels and stair banisters, or the bountiful winter berry bouquets placed just so, or the miniature bell-bedecked wreaths that hang at every door. They are all, Paredes shares without a shred of remorse, faux. “Who wants to vacuum and have fire hazards everywhere?” he posits pragmatically, crediting Afloral and Terrain as favorite resources for convincing artificial flora. Christmas trees, however, are the real deal and entail a solo pilgrimage to a favorite tree farm in Southold, New York, to chop down the most perfectly imperfect specimens.
When pressed for his holiday hosting mainstays, Paredes espouses white flannel sheets for every bed (a “cozy but not crazy,” touch, he notes), a jazzy 1930s playlist on rotation, scented faux bois candles and always, he stresses, playful decorative accents to temper the architectural seriousness of the home—and tap into everyone’s inner Christmas child. Take, for instance, the chocolate Santa figurines that he tucked into napkins at last year’s dinner. Paredes’ approach to gift wrapping, which involves ordering rolls of sundry wallpapers and ribbons from Etsy for a bohemian mix-and-match vibe, is another signature stroke that lends a certain je ne sais quoi.
But the traditions that bring Paredes the most joy are those being built, brick by brick, by his young family: an ever-expanding stash of hand-selected sentimental ornaments; a beautiful menorah scored at a Palm Beach antique shop to honor Brad’s religious roots; sheepskins artfully arranged into snowscapes beneath the tree and upon windowsills, where Paredes’ heirloom collections of ceramic figurines are set up for the children to delight in.
For the little boy who grew up loving Christmas, life in Locust Valley is proving to be a dream come true. Last year, 18 family members were hosted for the holidays a ‘la Alfredo. And while it “didn’t snow on the day of, it did a few weeks later, and it was just incredible,” he recalls. “It is a very, very romantic house for capturing that feeling.”