Family traditions help make the Christmas season merry and bright, and today Dallas-based interior designer Cathy Kincaid invites The Glam Pad into her festively adorned 1920s Highland Park home as she shares her favorite holiday traditions, including her delicious recipe for Spicy Buttered Pecans! Fresh greenery, fruit, paper whites and amaryllis create an elegant and timeless backdrop to Cathy’s holiday home, setting the stage for cherished memories she creates for her grandchildren and family.
Let’s take a peek inside with photography by Par Bengtsson.
Q: When do you start decorating for Christmas each year?
A: I start decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving.
Q: Do you have any tips you can share with us?
A: Make sure you are organized from the previous year, so it’s easy to take out ornaments for the tree, gift wrapping, etc.
Q: What are some of your most cherished holiday traditions?
A: The Mother, Daughter, Granddaughter Christmas Tea at The Dallas Woman’s Club. My annual Christmas Eve party at my house. The carriage rides in Highland Park.
Q: How do you like to set the table for special holiday meals?
A: I like to set the table with collected linens and china from over the years and lots of greenery.
Q: Do you have a favorite Christmas recipe you could share with us?
A: Spicy Buttered Pecans – we hand these out to vendors, clients, family and friends.
This is a trial and error recipe. First, melt butter over pecan halves and season with garlic, salt, and cayenne pepper to taste. Spread the nuts on a shallow pan and cook for several hours at 200 degrees, flipping after 20 minutes. The pecans need to be buttery enough to coat. In the end, the nuts should be still a bit buttery but dry.
Q: What are some fun ways you involve your grandchildren and make Christmas magical for them?
A: Decorating cookies, decorating the tree, delivering presents and riding in the horse carriage around Highland Park.
To learn more, please visit Cathy Kincaid Interiors and follow @cathykincaidinteriors on Instagram for ongoing inspiration. We highly recommend her book, The Well Adorned Home, which would make an ideal Christmas gift for any design lover in your life. You can also see more of Cathy’s work, as featured by The Glam Pad here!
Adore her home. Cozy, pretty and comfortable. So very glad that designers are moving away from perfect, cookie cutter interiors. Merry Christmas and thank you Glam Pad for your inspirations and beauty are year round!
I like the mix of edgy modern art with nap-worthy upholstered furniture. Chanel was right: luxury must be comfortable. Brava, Cathy! Cheers.
I adore Cathy Kincaid’s style and especially her own home. The mix of colors, textures and patterns is pretty and balanced. Her style is well crafted yet approachable. Bravo Ms. Kincaid!
Cathy Kincaid is by far one of my favorite designers and I look at her published book often that highlights a few of her design projects. She has an innate sense of design that many designers do not have. Her decor for Christmas also is so charming and natural looking. Congratulations, Cathy!