Fa La La Fabulous

Twelve tips on holiday décor & seasonal entertaining from Houston's toptastemakers

"Use quirky [ornaments and objects] so that it looks collected, even if itisn’t," suggested noted event planner Todd Fiscus.
Courtesy photo
Fiscus, the "Sultan of Soiree," charmed the crowd at the Houston Design Center.
Photo by Daniel Ortiz
Christofle's Ginny Gerard demonstrated the art of sabering.
Photo by Daniel Ortiz
Saba and Sarah Jawda encourage entertainers to "use what you have. And don’t beafraid to mix and match" your plates, glasses and stemware.
Teri Pugh and Regina Gust's holiday tabletop was anything but ordinary.

The jolly elves at the Houston Design Center worked their little ears off when they recently hosted the week-long 5th Annual "Deck the Tables" Holiday Tabletop Tour & Showroom Open House. Both naughty and nice were delighted with five days worth of incredible entertaining tips, exquisite holiday tabletop designs, gorgeous tableware and more.

We asked top tastemakers for their most sensational seasonal tips for decorating and entertaining in style. Here are 12 pieces of advice to up your posh quotient this holiday season.

Getting the Party Started Right

The events kicked off with a talk from the witty and charming "Sultan of Soiree," event planner extraordinaire Todd Fiscus. With a clientele list that includes Elton John and Lady Gaga, Fiscus clearly knows a thing or two about how to make your holiday decorating and entertaining absolutely sing. Here are a few of the Sultan's most enchanting tips:

"Always set your table with something beautiful."

1. Your holiday décor should look well-curated and beautifully-collected. "Use quirky [ornaments and objects] so that it looks collected, even if it isn’t."
2. No need to go gourmet with your holiday dinner — just serve whatever dish you make well, "even if it’s burgers or soup. The point [of entertaining] is to spend time with friends and family."
3. Tip for the novice decorator: Get a really quality tree and a few high quality ornaments to use as "jewelry" on the outermost branches of your tree.

Who Needs Kris When You Can Have "Christofle" Kringle?

Famed French silver purveyor Christofle hosted day two and things got off to a chic start when Christofle vice president Ginny Gerard dazzled and delighted the audience with a traditional Sabrage lesson. Gerard offered a simple suggestion for holiday decorating:

4. "Always set your table with something beautiful." Designer Julie Dodson definitely took that philosophy to heart, using eye-catching Christofle animal knife rests in her resplendent table design.

Ms. Dodson had her own bit of entertaining and table decorating advice as well:

5. "Have fun with it. Infuse your personality and don't be afraid to mix [luxury and everyday items]. And always, always, always [have] fresh flowers!"

A Brunch of Holiday Fun

The vivacious Deborah Elias of Houston-based event planning firm Elias Events hosted a festive brunch with Bernardaud's Kate Britto that featured tableware and decorative objects from the French porcelain luxury brand. Deborah’s tabletop design was inspired by a beautiful Bernardaud "Aux Oiseaux" vase featuring a pattern of birds and branches. She pulled elements from the vase into her design in the form of colors (red and black), feathers and glittery branches.

"Find an anchor piece, a piece that inspires you, and then build from there."

It's no surprise, then, that these were her brilliant design tips:

6. "Find an anchor piece, a piece that inspires you, and then build from there."
7. "Incorporate things from around the house." For instance, she likes to use wall hangings in lieu of linen table runners to create a unique and intriguing design.

When it Comes to Entertaining, These Two Have Each Other’s Bacc(arat)

What could be more fun than making merriment with the talented, sisterly duo of Saba and Sarah Jawda? The design darlings really showed guests how to up the ante on holiday entertaining with a modern twist. Their "Hide & Sleek" tabletop mise en scène was a lush, textural layering of cowhide, suede and enough Baccarat to tempt you to spend the Christmas toys budget on yourself instead of the kiddos.

The sibs also had several great tips on making the most of holiday adorning and entertaining:

8. "Don’t go for the expected." Doing something different makes it memorable.
9. "Use what you have. And don’t be afraid to mix and match" your plates, glasses and stemware.
10. "If you're not having fun it shows." Don't get so caught up in every little detail that you end up stressing yourself out.

Closing Out In Style

The week of festive affairs came to a chic end with a décor workshop hosted by Teri Pugh and Regina Gust, interior designers and close friends who are known for creating inventive holiday décor design themes. They definitely didn't disappoint and created an avant-garde, vibrant orange and white tablescape and shared some great design and styling tips and trends:

11. Clearly one to take her own advice, Pugh advised, "Don’t be afraid of color; that’s what makes [decorating] a lot of fun."
12. "Don’t be afraid to mix metallics." The table they designed had both gold and silver, and they played wonderfully off each other.

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SOUTHERN EXPOSURE

Southern Living showcases design trends at Hill Country 'Idea House'

Photo courtesy of Laurey Glenn/Southern Living

The 4,000-square-foot Idea House in Frieden, a development in Fredericksburg, combines stone, brown siding, and a metal roof.

The 2026 Southern Living Idea House is now open for public tours in Fredericksburg, bringing the magazine's long-running showcase-home series back to Central Texas.

The 4,000-square-foot house is in Friedën, a planned community about three miles from downtown Fredericksburg. The development is expected to include roughly 230 to 250 custom single-family homes when complete, along with commercial space, retail, offices, multifamily housing, trails, lakes, and green space.

The Idea House program is part model home, part design experiment, and part brand statement for Southern Living. For more than 35 years, the magazine has worked with builders, architects, designers, and landscapers to create homes in different parts of the South, usually pairing regional references with current home-design trends. Past projects have included homes in Nashville, Louisiana, Georgia, coastal Texas, and the Carolinas.

$Southern Living Idea House 2026\u200b$ This room really plays with textures, including an abstract art piece that looks a little like crushed velvet.Photo courtesy of Laurey Glenn/Southern Living

Central Texas last hosted a Southern Living Idea House in 2018, when the magazine renovated a 1980s fixer-upper in Austin's Northwest Hills. That project leaned on local architecture and design talent to turn an older house into a more open, family-oriented home.

This year's Fredericksburg project is a new-build contemporary farmhouse. The exterior mixes limestone, brown siding, and a dark metal roof, with separate wings arranged around a broad drive. The home also has floor-to-ceiling windows, multiple porches, and a backyard fire pit, which are meant to connect the interiors to the surrounding Hill Country setting.

The design team included a secondary private casita, a feature Southern Living says was intended as a nod to Fredericksburg's historic Sunday houses. Those small in-town homes, traditionally near churches, were once used by German settlers who had to travel long distances into Fredericksburg on weekends for church, shopping, and social visits.

$Southern Living Idea House 2026\u200b$ Dark wood cabinetry and brass hardware frame the kitchen’s veined stone backsplash and large island.Photo courtesy of Laurey Glenn/Southern Living

The interiors were split among three Texas designers: Jean Liu of Dallas, Marcus Mohon of Austin, and Paloma Contreras of Houston. The broader team includes builders Melanie Sparks and Chris McGinley of Kurk Homes, architect Andrew Bray of Mustard Architects in Fredericksburg, and landscape designer Melissa Gerstle of Dallas.

The kitchen uses dark wood cabinetry, brass hardware, pale pendant lights, and a heavily veined stone backsplash. It is more formal than a typical farmhouse kitchen, but the long island and six counter stools keep it oriented around gathering rather than display.

One bedroom takes a more traditional approach, with a four-poster bed, exposed wood beams, and green scenic wallcovering wrapped around the room. A matching green chair near the window and a pale patterned rug keep the palette tied together without making the room monochromatic.

$Southern Living Idea House 2026\u200b$ Green scenic wallcovering surrounds a four-poster bed beneath exposed wood beams.Photo courtesy of Laurey Glenn/Southern Living

Southern Living editor-in-chief Sid Evans said in the release that the house was designed to take cues from the Hill Country landscape while showing "a home that's as warm and welcoming as it is stylish and innovative."

Public tours run through December 20 at 518 Interlaken St. Tours are scheduled Thursdays through Saturdays from 10 am to 5 pm and Sundays from noon to 5 pm. Tickets are $44, with part of the proceeds benefiting Operation Finally Home, the Hunt Preservation Society, and the Gillespie County Historical Society/Pioneer & Vereins Kirche Museums.

$Southern Living Idea House 2026\u200b$ Look out for this cover on newsstands to pick up a copy and learn more about the home.Photo courtesy of Laurey Glenn/Southern Living

Southern Living is also scheduling several event weekends during the tour run, including Volvo test-drive weekends and a Holiday Classics event from December 4-6.

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