by Kristina Wrenn
Joy could not be a more apt description of the home René and Gaylord Hughey have created. It is a pervasive feeling even when their halls are not decked for Christmas, but when they are, the feeling is all-encompassing. It is a blending of nostalgia and warmth that brings people to their home for pictures and sometimes marriage proposals. With the classic 1950s Red Chevy truck, prominently displayed and dressed for Christmas, that belonged to Gaylord’s father, people are drawn to their home. It seems the truck brought back past Christmas Tree cutting memories for the bride of her father and was the perfect spot to include that reminiscence in the proposal.
For someone who is considered Mr. Christmas by the neighborhood and all his friends, having a proposal during the season was befitting of the Christmas magic that surrounds the Hughey home. It is a magic that knows no time frame as one year The Elf Squad of Sheri Redden and Stephani Brown had to schedule the Hughey install work right before Halloween, so Trick-or-Treaters got to enjoy the porch garlands and nutcrackers along with their costumes and candy.
Which really wasn’t far-fetched as the Hughey’s are known to throw some epic Christmas Costume Parties. There was the year that everyone came dressed as characters from Elf and adhered to the code of the Elves: 1) Treat every day like Christmas, 2) There’s room for everyone on the nice list and 3) The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. The Elf party also included a scavenger hunt and lots of cheer spreading through song around town. Or the year that Elvis was in the house when they celebrated Christmas at Graceland with friends and family dressed as other well-known rockers.
What makes this home truly extraordinary at Christmas is that in addition to the creativity and entertaining personalities of the Hugheys, they are also avid and learned collectors of rare and storied French Christmas decorations and glass.
In the entryway you can see René’s needlework on the family stockings and appreciate the carryover from the front porch of the nutcracker theme. The ample garland is covered in glass nutcracker ornaments and small exquisitely finished needlepoint stockings. René has also since finished a lovely free-standing needlepoint crèche for the entry table and is adding a wreath with needlepoint ornaments around a mirror you pass on the way to the living room.
The living room is resplendent with French Blue baubles mixed with ribbons and Radko. The miniature trees frame the mantle in such a majestic way. Many
of the items in the living room were sourced from the Chatou Antique Fair, held on an island in the Seine. Leave it to the French to hold an antique fair on an island beloved for boating parties and picnics and frequently painted by the Impressionists, Renoir and Monet. You can see some of the Hughey’s collections in the secretary across the room and in the birdcage in the foreground.
René and Gaylord have traveled extensively through France. As part of their travels, they learned that the town of Sélestat in Alsace is considered the cradle of the Christmas Tree. The first known reference to the Christmas Tree was made in a manuscript in 1521. This information has informed the Hughey’s collecting, as the Celtic custom of hanging apples on trees gave way to glass baubles, first hand-blown in 1858 in Goetzenbruck, in the northern Vosges, due to a particularly bad apple crop yield caused by a drought. Now the Meisenthal Glass factory less than two miles away, still creates the glass baubles in the traditional, artisanal way after being resurrected in 1998 through the International Center for Glass Art (CIAV).
These baubles were the birth of the Christmas Ornament as we know it. The glassworks produced up to 250,000 baubles per year. Now the CIAV creates a traditional line inspired by old models and a contemporary line created by current artists and designers. Though there is nothing as popular as the unveiling of the yearly edition of the Meisenthal Bauble. René and Gaylord have stood in line with great anticipation to receive the limited edition, yearly collectible.
The kitchen countertop tree is decorated with French Copper Ornaments that are mirrored on the walls with René’s collection of French Chateau de Chenonceau Copper Molds. Having seen the preceding decorations a visitor could be totally enthralled and satisfied, but the largest collection and pièce de résistance of the Hugheys collection is their French Nöel crèche, believed to have been originally ushered in by St. Francis of Assisi who began staging nativity scenes in the hills of Italy before the concept spread across Europe. The nativity is made up of “santons,” translated from the Provençal dialect to “little saints.”
René’s collection was begun by her father-in-law with a peasant couple. Santons represent the everyday life of Provence in skilled detail. In addition to the Holy Family, it represents all the characters of the French countryside and is indicative of the diversity of peoples and professions offering gifts to the Christ child. It is a wonderfully inclusive representation of the spirit of Christmas. The tradition of the santonnier (makers of santons), is passed down through family businesses and generation upon generation of apprenticeship. The realistic details of the fine clay figures are an unrivaled art. The figures are formed, dried, and hardened, then treated with gelatin to create a smooth base before they are painted and adorned by hand.
The Hugheys display Quimper Pottery made in Brittany (hand painted by one artist start to finish and featuring Breton figures) and santons throughout their home year-round. Additionally, they are members and travel with the Quimper Club, a group of collectors, dealers, and enthusiasts. René has even shared her knowledge through a santon article for the club magazine.
The dining table is set with Spode, Saint-Louis crystal, another artisanal French collection the Hugheys add to through their travels, and Gaylord’s mother’s Rosepoint. The table is accented with varying heights of Musical, Radko Nutcrackers and winter foliage. The colored seltzer bottles add interest to the bar cart at the right of the dining room.
In the classic movie room, designed to pay homage to the movie Casablanca and “René’s” Café Americain the Hughey’s host holiday movies. Up on the stage there is a Polar Express Train with a tree and a movie Santa. The ceiling of the theater is a representation of the night sky and constellations over Tyler when the room was completed. It is the best place in town to slide into a recliner with candy and popcorn and while away the afternoon under the watchful eye of Humphrey Bogart.
In the den the spirit of Christmas continues with a celebration of Santa in multiple forms. From the regal wooden Santas standing sentry on the mantle to the glass blown ornaments on the tree, it is a feast for the eyes. The incorporation of red, white, green, and blue brings a cohesiveness to the design that is equally calming as it is beautiful. It is also another example of René’s design aesthetic that expertly frames the perennial mantle art incorporating it too as Christmas decoration.
This wouldn’t be the home of Mr. Christmas without a giant outdoor tree and a Christmas Swan with ornament beach balls gracing the pool in the outdoor living area. Never knowing what the Texas weather will bring; these items are equally at home in warm weather or snow. The custom art sculpture across the pool was created by Jeffie Brewer of Nacogdoches. It is a nod to Tyler’s Rose Capital moniker and is striking in vibrant yellow, such that your eye is drawn to it immediately inside or out.
And just in case you didn’t feel the joy of the Hughey home throughout, here you can see a couple of detail shots of the welcoming front door decorations and the beauty of the truck restoration. It makes one want to go buy red truck Christmas ornaments so you can have a little bit of the charm of the Hughey’s Christmas for yourself. Merry Christmas to all and to all a great season of Hughey joy!