After years of traveling the world, photographer Ashley Hafstead and her husband Marc chose Lamy. Cullen Curtiss was invited to experience how they honor the festive season in their new Africa-inspired home, a blend of beloved artifacts and landscape.
Holiday Decorating with an Africa-Inspired Twist
Whether it’s the 75 baskets she purchased from local artisans on her travels to five African countries arranged in a mesmerizing wall array. Or the image of Naked Lady lilies at the edge of McWay Falls in Big Sur, California, finally captured in full bloom after six years of trying. Or the subtle festooning of her home to celebrate Christmas. Ashley Hafstead is driven by a vision.
Her husband Marc often jokes, “Do you have to make everything pretty?” To which she answers, “I love taking that extra moment to make something special and beautiful because we have just one life.”
Falling in Love With the Land
A graduate of San Francisco’s Academy of Art University in Fine Art Photography, Ashley is a travel and lifestyle photographer, sought by various luxury hotels and travel companies. She’s quick to credit her father as an early mentor, putting a camera in her hands as a child and encouraging her to capture whatever she saw.
“He would develop every single roll of film, even though most of the pictures were horrible, half of them underexposed or overexposed.”
Equally pivotal, Ashley’s dad introduced his East Coast daughter to Santa Fe and the Western landscape through summers of whitewater rafting and camping. She knew in her young soul that she’d come back. “This land is pure magic,” she says.
And here she is decades later in her freshly built 4,000-square-foot Lamy home, surrounded and enchanted by forever-protected views of the Sangres.
Bringing the World to Santa Fe
Suffusing her home are pieces collected during their travels to Africa, Ashley’s favorite place in the world outside of Santa Fe. “We basically created a gallery to allow what we collected the space to shine.” You feel as though you are in a camp on safari and that an elephant might lumber by on their one and a half acres, if not for the high-elevation piñon-juniper landscape.
“I used to be very colorful. Deep jewel tones. My photography was bright and kind of a slap-in-the-face color. And then I went to Africa on safari and now everything, even my clothing, is a neutral palette with a ton of texture. I joke that I am color phobic.”
That’s true until Christmastime when fragrant New Mexico juniper and fir clippings complement other greenery, including eucalyptus. Among other approaches, Ashley says, “I like to bring the high desert inside.”
She adds, “I put all of my effort into this one special time of year, and I love to have a full house of friends and family to experience it with. It’s like a warm hug all month long.”
Ashley’s 10 Pro Decorating Tips
Want to get the look? While Ashley acknowledges every home and taste is different, she has pro tips for anyone wanting to create a special mood in their home.
- Tree shopping: “Wherever you go for your Christmas tree, gather or ask about clippings. I get a trunk full!”
- Story. “Bring out the beautiful elements that you’ve collected throughout your life. Find the ones that transport you back to a little moment you love.” Examples include her mother’s vintage gold glass ornaments and napkins she found in a boutique in Marrakesh.
- Frame. “As a photographer, I have always seen things through an A-frame.” Use this approach to look at your interior from various vantage points and imagine what element you can add to create surprise or joy. “From where I sit on the couch for my early morning coffee, I see festive pops of green in different corners and I always place a couple of wreaths in the laundry room to keep the spirit alive!”
- Simplicity. “We decorate our 11-foot tree in white lights only. Don’t overdo it.”
- Unexpected. “I use this Moroccan wedding blanket that I purchased in the Atlas Mountains as a tablecloth.” It’s fun and creative to decorate with things in unexpected ways.
- Palette. “Get yourself a color wheel. Go with direct opposites or pick your favorite color and the one right next to it.” The space will pop or blend accordingly.
- Repetition. “I buy multiples of things to create art.” One wreath on the back of each beige kitchen barstool creates a vignette and a sense of order and calm.
- Texture. “In our neutral home, different elements of texture are essential to create warmth. The baskets have texture. The fireplace wood has texture and so do all of the different types of greenery.”
- Fragrance. “Fresh juniper, eucalyptus, and fir bring the scent of the outdoors in.”
- Post-holiday. “Buy all of your festive accents post-holiday when they’re half price! And then you are all set for the wonderful season to come.”
Story by Cullen Curtiss / Photography by Ashley Hafstead
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