Jessica Barefield, a Pittsburgh native, knew this house on a hill was a rare find in the flat lands of North Texas. Having lived in five different homes across four states, Jess—an interior designer with Jessica Barefield Studio—is well-versed in creating spaces where her artistically inclined family thrives.
As a mom of three, she limits decking the halls to an amount that can be done in the span of one day. “I feel like decorating is something that evolves over time,” Barefield says. “I want it to feel traditional, but also modern. That can be hard to find, so I keep my eyes open during the holidays and pick up anything that catches my eye.”
In the spirit of a modern-meets-traditional holiday, Barefield and her husband, William “Trip”—a rapper, author, and speaker—have started a number of holiday traditions with their kids. But their most personal custom is also Barfield’s favorite: Trip writes the words and melody to an original holiday song, then on Christmas Eve, the entire family heads to their in-home studio to record it. “One day, we’ll have a whole album full of songs to embarrass the kids with,” Barefield laughs.
Oh What Fun
Starting a family means starting your own family traditions—an exciting prospect for new parents. But it’s important to keep your expectations realistic and allow for traditions to evolve as kids grow. With their own family’s holiday traditions, Jess and Trip Barefield are mindful of their kids’ interest levels.
For instance, Jess says of her holiday decorating, “I usually pick a random day to decorate while the kids are at school and they are always surprised and excited when they get home and the tree is up. I want to eventually decorate together with them, because that was a tradition we had in my family. But right now, they just want to enjoy the end result.”