A French Cottage Christmas

When Jane Milford first stepped through the door of a charming 1914 French cottage located on a quiet midtown Yakima street, she knew instantly that “God had answered every prayer I’d had for such a house.”

Milford, who owned a home décor store called Found Collections in Seattle, moved to Yakima four years ago. She now creates the displays in Yakima’s Garden Dance/raindance. When Milford moved here, she wanted to find an older home so that she could decorate it with the antiques, vintage furniture and curiosities she had collected over the years.

The cottage’s first owner, Phillip Smith, had traveled through France with his family before the start of World War I. When they returned to Yakima, Smith hired a prominent Yakima architect, William Henry Harrison Weatherwax, to design and build a house that would simulate what Smith had seen in Normandy. Over the years, the house has often been called the Weatherwax Cottage.

Milford bought the cottage from Carol Carroll, who had lived in it for more than a decade. Milford felt fortunate, because Carroll had remodeled the interior only a few years before, brightening the walls and ceiling with white and butter yellow paint, adding a bath, installing French doors to the backyard and enlarging the kitchen. All Milford had to do was give the home her signature “rustic romantic decor.”

Christmas is a special time for Milford and her two daughters: Megan, a college student, and Augusta, who is in high school. Not one who enjoys over-the-top wreaths and light displays, Milford uses a subtle yet elegant approach to decorating her house for the holidays.

The floor-to-ceiling river rock fireplace makes a dramatic counterpoint to the creamy white furnishings, and gauzy window dressings are a neutral backdrop for the small Fraser fir, its base wrapped in burlap.
Her tree decorations are either vintage or handmade. Like her mother, Milford has a degree in clothing textiles from Washington State University.

“My mother taught me how to sew when I was young, and we always made Christmas ornaments,” she said. “I’ve passed that on to my girls.”

The tree features twinkle lights and handmade paper ornaments constructed from doilies, photos and interesting scraps of various materials. The chenille-cuffed felt Christmas stockings on the mantel are her girls’ creations as well. Milford loves using brown paper and colorful rickrack for her packages, which results in a whimsical elegance that could rival the most expensive wrapping.

Although the cottage has French touches like the exquisite arts and crafts light fixtures in the living room, Milford also brings a bit of her German heritage out every Christmas Eve in the form of an old German music box. It’s a family tradition that presents can’t be opened until the family hears the music box play Silent Night.

Milford likes to decorate her cheery red and white kitchen with paper whites, antique tin boxes, old cookbooks and the occasional vintage Santa or tiny Christmas tree. Adjacent to the kitchen is a cozy kitchen nook that features a handsome mural depicting a French family enjoying after-dinner entertainment.

The oil painting is thought to have been created by Smith. The charming scene remains untouched, even after many different families have occupied the house over the past 97 years.

For Christmas dinner, Milford sets an ethereal table on the far wall of the living room near a bank of windows. Using a white palette, she arranges candlesticks, vintage wooden santos, snow berries, cordial cup luminaries and tiny Christmas trees and snow maidens under glass domes to set a heavenly mood.

Every object d’art or curiosity Milford displays holds special meaning. From her Phillippine santos to her French fabric, cast iron planters to mismatched antique chairs, or old dress forms to a jewelry collection, Milford has a passion for the old and precious.

And she makes staging of these objects look like child’s play. Anyone who has tried this art form will tell you that there’s a world of difference between “time-worn chic” and just plain “time-worn.”

Milford has advice for the novice decorator: start with a centerpiece and work outward. But don’t despair if your attempt looks, ahem, like an attempt.  Passion and a lot of practice make perfect, and in Milford’s case, très magnifique!

Get the Look: Try these easy DIY projects

Jane Milford’s house didn’t become a home overnight. It has taken many years of collecting, crafting and decorating to achieve her eclectic style. We wanted to try our hand at Jane’s look, so we started with a few DIY projects.

Window Frame Chalkboard
We’ve made this vintage window frame decorative and functional simply by brushing on a couple of coats of chalkboard paint, which is available at craft stores. Two eye screws and a few feet of rope created a personalized display board. To keep with Jane’s rustic look, we’ve left the frame in its natural state. It looks quite charming placed on a kitchen wall displaying the night’s menu.

Materials:
1 vintage window frame
1 foam brush
1 small can rust-oleum chalkboard paint

Instructions:
Prep the surface by thoroughly cleaning the glass.  Smoothly paint on one coat of chalkboard paint.  Let dry for 2-3 hours.  Paint another smooth coat of paint.  Let dry for 24 hours before drawing on the board.

Burlap Napkin Rings
We fell in love with Jane’s decorative use of burlap and stenciling. To get her look, we designed these napkin rings to give our dining table a touch of texture and character. You might be surprised to learn that this project gets started with a cardboard toilet paper tube. Using a hot glue gun, add a few strips of burlap, some patterned ribbon and an embellished fabric button — and there you have it — personalized napkin rings for your guests.

Materials:
scissors
glue gun
1 cardboard toilet paper roll (makes 2 napkin rings)
12″x12″ piece of burlap
1 yard of ribbon (about 1/4 inch thick – your color choice)
2 buttons
2 – 2″x2″ fabric squares (to cover buttons)
letter stamps

Instructions:
Cut cardboard toilet paper roll in half.  Cut two pieces of burlap to wrap around rolls (approx. 2″ x 6″).  Glue onto roll.  Cut six strips of burlap into 1/2″ x 6″ strips.  Fold each strip into a bow and then glue in the center.  Using three bows, glue on top of one another to create a flower-like shape.  Glue flower onto roll.  Next, cut six strips of ribbon, each 6 inches long.  Fold each strip into a bow and then glue in the center.  Again, using three bows, glue on top of one another to create a flower-like shape.  Glue the ribbon flower on top of the burlap flower. Cover button with fabric by snipping the edges and then gluing them around the button.  Stamp letter on button and then glue button to the napkin ring.  Fold napkin and then place the napkin ring over it.

Decoupaged Wine Glasses
Using old sheets of music and vintage book pages, Jane adds character and whimsy to everyday items — like glassware and storage boxes. This is done using a process called decoupage. It’s actually quite simple, too — if you can cut and paste, you can decoupage. We quickly transformed these thrift store wine glasses into decorative votive holders using pages from an old book and remnants of ribbon. We love their timeworn elegance and DIY flair.

Materials:
Mod Podge
foam brush
old book
3 wine glasses
3′ ribbon
3 tealight candles

Instructions:
Tear pieces of book into strips and squares.  One piece at a time and using the foam brush, place glue on the back of the strip, place strip on the wineglass, smooth out, brush more glue on top of the strip (glue will appear milky, but dries transparent).  Repeat to cover the entire wineglass.  Let dry 24 hours.  Tie bottom of wineglass with ribbon.  Light candle.