The Paul and Susanne Nester Home

At Home for Christmas The Paul and Susanne Nester Home

BY MARY MICHAELS PHOTOS BY JULIE PRAIRIE PHOTOGRAPHY

Susanne Nester loves Christmas. On average, she spends about five days transforming her house into a winter wonderland.

The clue that you’re in for something special here is seeing the colorful exterior of the house, which is turquoise with green columns and a pretty pink door. The holiday starts right on the porch, which has its own tree and a snowman to greet you.

Over the past 24 years, Susanne has decked the halls of this 1920s home, taking advantage of the architectural charm that comes with older houses.

“I had looked at houses for a long time and in all parts of the city,” she says.

There was a different house down the street that caught her eye and when she looked at it, she says, the homeowner had said she “liked the look of” Susanne. Unfortunately, the house sold to someone else. But then, she found this house, which quickly earned a vote of approval from one of her daughters.

“I remember going around into each room and sitting on the floor and just taking it all in,” Susanne recalls. “And I just felt blessed that this was my home.”

Some people say that older homes are too much work, but Susanne is drawn to them. And, since previous owners had already updated more substantial things like plumbing and heating, all Susanne had to do here was add her own style through a few “cosmetic” changes like pulling up carpeting to reveal the hardwood floor in the living room, and swapping out wallpaper for a lighter colored paint on the walls.

Getting ready for this holiday season started with Susanne’s husband Paul making four trips to the storage unit to bring in all the decorations.

“I’m a collector,” Susanne laughs.

Two of the bigger Christmas collections are Dickens village pieces and figurines by Jim Shore. Susanne credits her mother for getting her hooked on them.

She remembers the very first Dickens piece she bought when she traveled to Rochester, Minnesota, with her mom for a medical appointment and stopped in a small town.

“I remember that first village piece – it was a church.”

The Nester household is filled with many traditional Christmas activities. Susanne has five children, so Christmas Eve is typically filled with family and great cooking by her husband Paul. They also have a Christmas gathering with Paul’s family and a “white elephant” party with friends, complete with a dress-up theme. Past themes include National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and “dress as your favorite Christmas movie character.”

The comfortable living room is certainly welcoming to whoever is over for the holidays. Flames flicker in the brick fireplace, which was converted to gas during some of the updates to the house. Built-in shelves on either side of the fireplace are the perfect spot for books

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and for special Christmas treasures. Greenery spans the length of the mantel, and the “formal” tree stands in the corner. Decorated with silver and gold ornaments, white icicles and a stunning spray topper, it adds elegance and beauty to the room.

Susanne enjoys sitting in the chair next to the fireplace – a chair that belonged to her mom, Dorothy, with whom she had a special relationship. They shared a love of Christmastime, and they also ran a retail store together in downtown Sioux Falls for 12 years – Susanne’s On Phillips. Her mom passed away in January 2019.

“Christmas was always special for us,” says Susanne. “We loved decorating and we kind of fed into each other’s Christmas decoration ‘addictions.’”

The living room tree – and, really, all the Christmas décor throughout the house – is evidence of Susanne’s artistic background. While she ultimately completed a business degree, she had a little art training. Over the years, she even had a few classes will well-known local artist Marian Henjum.

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“I absolutely love colors, designs and textures,” Susanne explains. “I guess that is one of the things I really loved about having the store downtown, because I could bring all of those elements into the clothing or gift items we had available.”

So many things in the Nester home have a great story. For instance, the tall, antique armoire in the living room came from that house down the street that Susanne had hoped to buy.

“One day, I was passing by and they were having a moving sale. Even though I didn’t get that house, I loved meeting that homeowner and was thrilled to be able to get this piece from her.”

The buffet in the dining room belonged to Paul’s mom, and during the Christmas season, its surface – along with the window ledge above it – become part of the extensive Dickens village.

The china hutch on the opposite wall displays glassware and many Christmas items, including two special art pieces created by Susanne’s mom and Paul’s mom. Above the hutch hangs a print of the original downtown Washington High School that Susanne attended, which, of course, is now the Washington Pavilion of Arts & Science. That print was a birthday gift from her mom.

The dining room table is an eye-catching delight with all sizes of candy jars filled with colorful ornaments and edible treats.

Two snowman soldiers stand guard at the French doors that open to the breakfast nook. Beautiful wreaths hang on each door (Susanne makes all her own wreaths), and a greenery swag hangs above.

The whimsical tree here, with elf legs sticking out the top, is filled with ornaments Susanne’s mom gave to her children. Even when the kids got older, Susanne says, they didn’t let Grandma off the hook when it came to getting their special Christmas gift. The shelves of an old pie stand are filled with Santa Claus

figurines by Jim Shore. More statues – both Santas and snowmen – sit on a shelf on the opposite wall as well as on a shelf above the opening to the kitchen.

Kitchens in older homes tend to be smaller than what you might find in today’s new construction, but Susanne says this quaint space still has enough room for Paul to work his culinary magic. The kitchen has its own small tree and a friendly snowman holding a birdhouse to add a little Christmas spirit. A friend helped them add an eye-catching brown metallic tile for the backsplash, and Suzanne created the lovely grapes-andvines stained glass panel on the door leading out to the backyard…which is where they spend lots of time during warmer months.

In the pass-through area from the kitchen to the stairs leading to the lower level, there is a convenient half-bath as well as additional cupboard space, which comes in handy as storage space is often a premium with older homes.

The Nesters recently added new furniture downstairs, providing a great place to hang out by the fireplace – complete with stockings hung with care – or to enjoy a look at the Disney globes and other treasures kept in the old library hutch. Santa keeps watch from a print on the wall, where he has that famous list in hand. Susanne is also a fan of Jon Crane’s artwork, so they took advantage of wall space in the family room to hang some of his prints.

Another great feature of older homes is the main staircase that leads to the second floor. There’s nothing quite like being able to adorn a bannister with evergreen garland, white lights and big bows. All the dark wood in the house is original – the windows, trim and top of the bannister. The white spindles are a pretty contrast, and the bare wood steps provide that familiar “creak” of a home that has stood the test of time.

At the top of the stairs hangs a large Snowman face with a movable carrot nose that inches around in a circle to help countdown the days until Christmas.

The master bedroom, which Susanne says a previous homeowner told them used to be two separate rooms, also has its own tree. This one can only be described as adorable, with a Snowman’s head for a topper and a tree shape that perfectly serves as its body. The eclectic collection of ornaments – from frogs to Waterford crystal – came mostly from her kids or from friends.

A shadow box on the dressing table holds a Christmas tree made from her mom’s jewelry, with snippets of holiday sheet music in the background. Near the bed hangs a framed poinsettia bloom that her mom painted. And, above the closet door is a black and white framed print with the words, “I love you, Mom” – a gift from her oldest daughter. It was a special gift made even more meaningful because the words are in her mom’s handwriting.

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The Nesters love their home that they share with two Doodles and a Shih-tzu, as well as their neighborhood.

“It is such a friendly neighborhood,” Susanne says. “People walk by and say hello, we’re close to downtown and we can even hear concerts from McKennan Park when we’re sitting out on the deck.”

When November rolls around, however, the transformation begins, and everywhere you look, it’s Christmas. It might be a coaster on a side table, a basket of ornaments on the floor, or a print hanging on the wall showing downtown Phillips Avenue at Christmas time. Here and there are whimsical sayings, like a piece in the dining room hutch that says, “Drink Up, Grinches.”

But, perhaps the most meaningful of all is a platter on the shelf in the breakfast nook – a piece she got with her mom while on a buying trip to Dallas when they still had their store. It’s a holiday sentiment, and one we should carry with us each day. “May Peace Be More Than A Season.”

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