Standing knee-deep in decorations stored in a basement work room of Victoria’s only castle, Langford resident Sherry Kerr formulates a plan.
Now in her 16th year decorating Craigdarroch for Christmas, she doesn’t start with sketches, drawing instead on instinct, experience and creativity.
“I’m very creative so I’m able to put that to use and this is my bliss,” said Kerr, a designer who works as a manager at Jordan’s Home in Langford outside of her holiday passion. “I actually don’t plan. I walk into the room and get a feeling. I go downstairs and I just start grabbing (things) and it starts to flow.”
A national historic site, Craigdarroch Castle was built by coal baron Robert Dunsmuir (who died before it was finished) and now gives glimpses into privileged life in the 1890s. His sons finished overseeing the work, with one of them, James, also commissioning Greater Victoria’s other castle Hatley in Colwood. (Some sources describe the Fairmont Empress Hotel as also being a castle.)
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Adding holiday flair to the former home of the widow Dunsmuir and her youngest daughters is a winter highlight for Kerr. Immediately diving into research, she found little information available on how the castle was treated for the holidays.
“So I decorated in keeping with the Victorian theme,” she said.
The first few years were done to the hilt, with chandeliers, doors and halls dripping in garland and every room decorated. Even the paintings were swathed in fabric in a Victorian decor style. Over the years that has cut down to the key rooms, such as the dining room, breakfast room and, of course, the drawing room.
It’s likely more in keeping with what the original family would have done, Kerr said.
Mantels heavily swathed in garlands provided her first big challenge. Since it’s historic, she can’t use sneaky nails, little screws or adhesive strips.
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Layering greenery, fabric, ivy, feathers and more, she’d find things falling all the time.
She overcame that using heavy fishing weights, flattened on the sides and lined with protective felt.
The eyelets on the weights provide an anchor for attaching layers upon layers of festive garlands.
“Absolutely everything has to be secure … it’s layers and layers of stuff,” she said. “You look at it and you don’t know what goes into those layers.”
She loves every bit of it, with nothing standing out as a favourite.
“I’m always sad when I’m done.”
If there’s a least favourite part, it’s probably the railings from the ground floor to the tip of the tower bedecked in greenery intertwined artfully with red ribbon.
The “painstaking” work, while stunning at the end, means two days hunched over weaving ribbon into four floors worth of garland.
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But it’s worth it. There is the reward of a beautiful display, and kudos from guests.
Her design ideas, done on the fly for well over a decade now, are often the inspiration for visitors from around the world who offer praise, and snap images to duplicate the decor at home
“I get lots of gratification when I’m here. Lots of pats on the back.”
Craigdarroch Castle is open Wednesday through Sunday.
Learn more at thecastle.ca.
Apple Snowballs
A plate of round white balls takes pride of place near the centre of a table in the breakfast room at Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria. Naturally, they’re imposters, dupes used for the display at the castle.
But they’re true to the time the Dunsmuir family lived there. And the recipe is something the castle society shares.
Adapted from Cassell’s Dictionary of Cooking, 1892, apple snowballs take about 30 minutes to prepare six servings and 50 minutes to cook.
Ingredients:
- rice pudding rice
- 6 cooking apples
- 6 tsp Muscovado sugar (substitute with dark brown sugar)
- 3 tsp cinnamon (or to taste)
- milk
- muslin cloth
- string
Directions:
- pare and core six apples leaving them whole
- mix sugar and cinnamon then spread some in the hollow of each apple’
- boil one cup of rice pudding in milk until half-cooked
- prepare six pieces of muslin large enough to wrap each apple
- divide the partly cooked rice into six portions and spread on each cloth
- place apples in the centre of each cloth and wrap so the rice covers the apples completely then tie the cloth with a string
- place wrapped apples in a saucepan of boiling water and boil for 45 minutes then remove and unwrap
- serve apple snowballs sprinkled with sifted sugar or a sweet topping
