The Melsheimer home in Arroyo Grande: Celebrating year round

Patti Melsheimer adores the elegance of her Blue Willow china collection and the warmth of her crimson-hued sitting room. But there’s another reason she sticks with a red and blue color scheme. “I love to decorate for holidays, and red and blue goes with most of them,” she said.

Each year, before the last Thanksgiving leftover is consumed, Patti and her husband Dick tackle the 20 or so boxes of Christmas decorations for their Arroyo Grande home. Although the couple has moved several times, their holiday collections keep them connected to their family’s history and traditions.

The Melsheimers purchased the 1999-built, 3,200-square-foot home in 2002 and moved in on their 40th anniversary. They had recently moved to the area after relocating their family manufacturing business, Melfred Borzall, from Southern California to Santa Maria. They liked the home’s open floor plan, which is ideal for entertaining. The house also has features that may allow them to live there well into their retirement years including its single level, lack of steps and wide doorways.

The couple hired Green Goods to perform a kitchen renovation, with the help of designer Yvette Chaix. The kitchen had a generic tract home look with white tile and light stained cabinets. Green Goods installed European-style frameless cabinets in maple, with FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council ) Certified interiors.

Although the kitchen is open and equipped with modern appliances, the Melsheimers wanted a traditional aesthetic. So Chaix designed cabinets with a glazed finish, heavy crown molding and gilded bronze hardware. To further the look, she designed cabinetry to look like fine furniture by giving the island a different finish from the cabinetry, creating a pantry that looks like an armoire, and turning an underused desk area into a wine hutch and glass cabinet. The island is covered in easy-care Caesarstone quartz that resembles traditional marble.

The Melsheimers’ preference for traditional décor is rooted in their fondness for antiques and vintage pieces. Their decorating style is highly nostalgic, with collections that gradually and lovingly came together over many years.

The rocking chair in the guest bedroom was Patti’s grandfather’s. The living room lamp was made by Dick in his high school shop class. Their ornately carved sofa table is an antique Basque library table that formerly belonged to a patient of Patti’s when she was a gerontologist. A redwood burl table in the family room was picked up 35 years ago on a family camping trip. “It’s moved with us wherever we’ve gone,” said Patti.

They picked up their holiday décor in much the same way. Among their Christmas tree ornaments are those made by their now-grown sons when they were children. Others were handed down from Patti and Dick’s respective mothers. Some were handmade by friends or purchased at church craft boutiques. “And we try to buy one or two from each country or state that we visit,” said Patti.

In the dining room is a collection of Santa-themed pieces. The Santa and Rudolph-motif covers on the dining room chairs were gifts from one of their sons. “That always brings a smile to our guests,” said Patti.

The couple’s prized collection of nativity scenes has a home in the family room. “I want us to be reminded of the reason for Christmas and we spend the most time in the family room,” she explained.

The couple has more than 10 nativities from around the world, including an ironwood set from Tanzania and another hand-carved set purchased in St. Petersburg, Russia. In the dining room, many of the oldest pieces in the family’s collection come together in a snow scene on the buffet. “It is all snowmen, reindeer — several made of wax — and trees that are quite old. Most inherited from my husband’s family,” she said.

Patti and Dick spend around 20 hours decorating for Christmas each year — a process Patti said “gets us in the spirit.” But their favorite part is when they can enjoy the ambience they’ve created with their two sons and their families. “Dick and I are especially fortunate because our whole immediate family is here and we can all spend time together,” said Patti. “It is a time of joy and celebration.”

This story was originally published December 17, 2014 at 6:36 AM with the headline "The Melsheimer home in Arroyo Grande: Celebrating year round."