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Anne Tollett runs her Hanover Avenue website and its affiliated interior design business from her home office.
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Sherwin Williams’ “Black Fox” creates a moody background in the family room. The art is by Penny Ashford (top) and Anne Tollett (bottom). The chair is from Williams & Sherrill. The lamp and rug are vintage. The Christmas trees are from Target.
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A striped Ikea rug adds a contemporary touch under the traditional dining table and classic Windsor chairs.
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Large magnolia branches add seasonal flair to the entryway, where a contemporary photo of surfers in the waves contrasts with a traditional desk and a textured rug from HomeGoods.
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A pair of authentic foo dogs flank a needlepoint canvas stitched by Tollett’s grandmother. She framed it with an oversized mat to give it a more contemporary look. A bouquet of simple greens adds a festive touch to the sideboard.
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A contemporary artwork by Cindy Neuschwander from Reynolds Gallery hangs between portraits of Tollett’s ancestors — she was named after the woman on the right. Holiday decorations are kept low-key — a mix of magnolia leaves with new and vintage ornaments on the mantel, a bowl of festive candy and a sweet bouquet of seasonal foliage on the coffee table.
Interior designer Anne Tollett works hard to make sure each house she works on reflects the people who live there. “I like the rooms I design to feel effortless, like a designer was never there,” she says. “I want a house to look like it was collected over time.” She takes the same approach to holiday decorating, striving for a simple, personal look.
Forget elaborate table decorations, themed holiday trees, and kitschy snowmen and Santas. For Tollett, the holidays are all about natural greenery, simple decorations she inherited from her family, and an overall sense of ease. “I feel like holidays are so emotionally charged already,” she says. “I don’t want the design element to be another part of the stress.”
Tollett, a Richmond native, graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with an art degree. She worked for Sotheby’s in New York and Los Angeles, then worked in interior design when she and her husband, Rad, moved to Austin, Texas. She ran her own design firm there before returning to Richmond in 2007. Five years later, Los Angeles beckoned once more. The Tolletts returned to Richmond again in 2014, settling in The Fan with their two daughters.
In 2015 Tollett launched the Hanover Avenue website with the goal of making foolproof decorating available to the masses. Knowing that hiring a professional interior designer is an unaffordable luxury for many, Tollett wanted to share the “hows” and “whys” of interior design to give everyone the tools to create a beautiful home. The site has evolved since its initial launch, these days serving more as a portfolio for Tollett, who found that it led to interior design work.
“I thought I wasn’t going to be an interior designer anymore,” she says, “but it’s opened the door for clients who really want carefully considered design.”
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The family room features an eclectic mix of old and new pieces, from an abstract artwork by Javier Estrada and a pillow by Lindsay Cowles to the West Elm capiz chandelier and French painted end table from West End Antiques.
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Festive colored lights and an ornament wreath made by Tollett when she and her husband were newlyweds give the kitchen holiday flair. The vintage refrigerator is used as a pantry.
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Simple bouquets of greenery adorn the all-white bathroom, accented with a textured Walker Zanger tile.
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The master bedroom, painted in Benjamin Moore’s “White Ice,” features bedding from HomeGoods. The rug and armoire are vintage. The bolster pillow is from John Robshaw, bleached and then tea-stained by Tollett for a more subdued look.
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Tollett installed 3-D stick-on butterflies in her daughter’s bedroom to create an artful mural above the bed. The pillows are from HomeGoods and World Market. Rugs are from Ikea (seagrass) and World Market.
Tollett’s own Hanover Avenue home combines family antiques and fine art with inexpensive items such as an Ikea rug and consignment-shop finds. The style is traditional and tailored, with an artsy edge. It’s a comfortable home, one where the Tolletts’ two girls, ages 9 and 10, can gather with friends. Durable, all-weather fabrics cover upholstered furniture. Rugs are wool, or seagrass, both of which can be easily cleaned. (Avoid sisal, Tollett warns. It cannot be cleaned, whereas seagrass is very durable.)
For the holidays, Tollett decorates the same way she designs her house — using a mix of old and new, precious and inexpensive, and, above all, keeping it real.
Except for the Christmas tree, that is. Yes, it’s fake. Tollett purchased the tree a few years ago when Rad was working out of town. After she broke down crying while trying to wrangle a live tree into the house by herself, she vowed to simplify the ritual.
When it comes to an artificial tree, her advice is to buy the best you can afford. “The more you spend, the better it will look,” she says. Tollett’s tree is pre-lit, but she adds 12 to 15 strings of white lights, in varying sizes, to it each year.
She decorates the tree with a combination of vintage and new glass balls, storing the ornaments by color so that she can evenly disperse them on the tree. Tollett’s girls place the family ornaments on the tree, each purchased as a souvenir from vacations. She finishes with candy canes, which make the tree look good when the lights are off, she says. (Just don’t try to eat one — she uses the same candy canes each year.)
“I work a lot, and I don’t have a lot of time to spend decorating,” she says. “I do the same thing every year, or sometimes a slight variation on the theme. I feel like the holidays are high-stress enough, and the house does not have to be the thing that takes you over the edge.”
Tollett cuts greenery — boxwood, magnolia and other plants — from a friend’s yard and disperses it throughout the house, placing it in small vases, in the dining room centerpiece and on her mantels. “I don’t really use flowers,” she says. “I don’t like it to feel too fussy. I like to decorate with things that look good when they fade.”
She keeps the rest of the holidays just as fuss-free, shopping early and wrapping a few gifts each night while she watches TV rather than tackling a massive pile all at once. She also cooks throughout the month of December, freezing dishes for holiday meals, when she pulls out her fine china and gathers the family in the formal dining room.
“My best advice to anyone would be to keep your holidays mellow,” Tollett says. “Do what feels like your own family. Don’t try to copy anyone else. It makes it look more authentic.”
Tips for a Simpler Season
(click to view slideshow)
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1. NO THEMES, PLEASE: Tollett uses a mix of vintage and new ornaments to decorate her tree, giving it a more personal, authentic look.Candy canes (which she recycles every year) add old-fashioned charm.
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2. LIGHT IT UP: Tollett adds 12 to 15 strands of lights in various sizes to her pre-lit artificial tree. Make sure you see the lights lit before you buy them, Tollett advises, as the warmth and tone of new LED lights varies.
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3. GREENS ARE GOOD: Tollett relies heavily on fresh-cut greens in her holiday décor, choosing varieties that “look good as they fade,” she says. Visit a big-box store that sells fresh trees and ask for the branches they cut off the bottom. They’re free.
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4. GET SENTIMENTAL: Tollett created stockings for her family using pre-made red velvet ones from Target. She adorned them with trim, ornaments and pieces from her grandmother’s costume jewelry collection.
