At the Kelly home, a warm welcome is guaranteed
Published Saturday January 3rd, 2009
Kelly Kelly and her husband Leigh Kelly have called their Golf Club Road home for almost 32 years and they wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
The plans for this bungalow were for a three-bedroom home but they decided to only have two and use the space for a larger master bedroom.
"We have a very large bedroom and a very small bathroom off of it. The houses that were built in 1977 weren't built with huge ensuites. Quite honestly I'm not sure if I'd want one."
Over the years she's accumulated a lot of collectables. Some she has purchased, others have been gifts from friends.
Most have been packed away to make room for her Christmas decorations and there are many of them. Every year she has a difficult time deciding what decorations to use because she has an entire store room in the basement filled with holiday themed things.
In the sunken livingroom one of these items is a life-sized Santa that is as tall, if not taller, than Kelly.
She giggles as she presses a button that powers Santa through a song and dance routine. But the thing that stands out most is the stone wall that contains a wood stove. It is made from river rock, she explains.
A wood stove that sits inside a curve in the wall casts a warm glow over the room. It's wonderful to sit on buttery yellow leather furniture and feel the warmth on a cold winter's night. This room is her favourite one in their home.
"It's quiet and peaceful."
Once there were draperies in the livingroom but when they added a new bay window she decided not to cover up the view.
This is a favourite spot for her cocker spaniel Harley to curl up and have a sleep on a Christmas blanket all of his own.
Another interesting decor item in this room is a large grapevine that's intertwined with white lights that winds its way around the room.
"I originally put it up for Christmas a few years ago and I thought that looks so good I decided to leave it up year-round."
Navy blue carpeting co-ordinates with the room's wall covering. She found it at a wallpaper store many years ago and decided to buy a large amount of it. When they replaced the room's window she put up the new wallpaper.
"I have friends that say 'Kelly, you know wallpaper is passe' and I say it doesn't matter. Sometimes I think people think I am a little eccentric about my decorating but I like it. I don't go by what is modern. I go by what I like."
From the livingroom and the kitchen the Christmas tree in the dining room can easily be seen. It's decorated with gold and bronze ribbons and ornaments. This is the only large tree in their home this year but there is a smaller one in the main bathroom.
The bathroom is done in graphic black and white wallpaper and an antique claw foot tub which they had refinished in a high-gloss black.
Just down the hall is the master bedroom. The most interesting feature here is a round bed. It was something she always wanted and when she had the opportunity to get one she did. The curved, hand-carved, wooden headboard was made by a carpenter to match some of the room's antique furniture.
"You see them in the movies. I just love it."
Kelly loves to cook and when she does she is in her kitchen which is decorated with black, white striped wallpaper with a sunburst border. The cabinets are stained a dark charcoal and the floor is covered in black and white checker board tile. She watches all of her favourite TV shows as she prepares supper or does paperwork at the kitchen table.
This is where she and Leigh Kelly spent Christmas along with some of their family.
She could live anywhere but, she says, she wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
To add new touches they have added wider baseboards and trim. Also, she says she is waiting for several special-order floor-to-ceiling white bi-fold doors.
In the basement is a large family room where she says Leigh spends a lot of time watching TV. It's a great space for parties, she says.
This room was also decorated for the holiday. She started at the first of December.
Because so much effort goes into decorating her home for the holiday it and because she enjoys this time of year so much, she says, it will stay up long after the New Year arrives. How much longer?
"I have been known to have decorations up in this house, including the tree, until April.
"It's an artificial tree and that's why it's an artificial tree so I can leave it up. I hate to take it down. One year I decided to be normal and I took my Christmas decorations down three days after the New Year and I sat here and cried. It was awful."
This house may not be new or large and its design might not suit others but, Kelly says, it is just perfect for her and her husband.
Disabled
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
