29 Oct Designing the West: Home for the Holidays

Two weeks before Thanksgiving, interior designer Jeremiah Young is perched on a ladder in the ballroom-sized showroom of the Kibler & Kirch headquarters in Billings, Montana. At this time each year, the designer and his staff undertake one of their favorite rituals: decorating for the holidays.

The scent of Christmas is in the air, thanks to the multiple trees erected throughout the room and scented candles aglow on tabletops. The space, flooded with light from a long bank of windows, exudes seasonal cheer and coziness, a feat achieved through carefully curated vignettes.

Simple arrangements enhance custom cabinets in rough-hewn wood and oak countertops that “will only get better with time.” Young paired a vintage-inspired range with a handcrafted porcelain tile backsplash, Old Hickory stools, and Visual Comfort milk glass pendants.

“Anything is fair game,” Young explains as he deftly weaves lights through branches. “Last year we put up eight Christmas trees, and each setting was totally different. For one, I put down a red rug then added a red pillow and some black-and-white checked blankets tied with a red ribbon. For another, I hung ski art and propped a pair of vintage skis against the wall for a wintry ski chalet vibe.”

A seasonal vignette combines a tramp-art-style mirror designed by Young for Old Hickory with vintage snowshoes and lots of plaid throws.

He might arrange antlers, tines up, in a wooden bowl on a live-edge slab then nestle evergreen boughs among and around the antlers. Or he’ll place a vintage sled peeking out from under a tree festooned with red plaid ribbon. One tree might have leather straps with brass sleigh bells in its branches, positioned so the twinkling lights reflect off the bells’ smooth, shiny surfaces. Another might feature oversized monochrome glass balls and lengths of wide gold ribbon cascading in graceful loops from the big bow at the top to the elaborately wrapped gifts beneath.

Sleigh bells and antlers draped through tree branches.

Young has several time-tested tricks for Christmas trees, one of which is to stuff the tree with additional greens for a denser feel. He often uses a mix of evergreen types like magnolia and sprigs of blue spruce and other pines in various shades of green. “Fresh greens engage the senses of smell and touch to remind us instantly of Christmas,” he says. He also arranges greens in vases and weaves them into garlands for the mantel. (Young’s pro tip: “You can get free cutoffs from a Christmas tree lot when they trim the bottoms, and they make an artificial tree look and smell real.”)

The great room is made cozy with garland, books, touches of red, and a well-lit tree placed near a roaring fire. “Hanging greenery around Benny the bison’s neck is a real Montana move,” Young says. The 60-inch chandelier is from The Peak Antler Company. Photos: Audrey Hall

Nothing heralds Christmas like a classic red tartan, Young says. “One of the things I love about the holidays is they give you a free pass to embrace your love of plaids; they just work,” he says. Young recommends piling up cozy blankets in a variety of plaids, letting them spill over furniture or railings. “And pile on plaid throw pillows to add both decoration and a cozy vibe,” he says. “For wrapping presents, I like to mix plaid ribbons with solid papers.”

Young has had plenty of holiday seasons to contemplate what works, and, more specifically, what feels both timeless and fresh. Since its founding in 1990, Kibler & Kirch has been celebrated for its gathered, collected interiors. It has long been known for its curated showroom and retail stores, first in Red Lodge, Montana, and now in Billings. This marriage of design consulting, home decor shopping, and fine art gallery reached full fruition after Jeremiah Young purchased the business in 2001. He renovated the historic Stapleton Building in downtown Billings and rebranded the associated Stapleton Gallery as Kibler & Kirch Fine Art.

Strings of crystal beads on a tree catch the light from a bay window. Young will often intersperse additional greens among the boughs of the tree for extra greenery and fullness.

The rehabilitation of the 10,000-square-foot space, three years in the making, was painstaking. Interior period details — rich dark wood paneling and black-and-white tile — are true to its 1904 provenance. The reproduction molding, shelving, and light fixtures were custom. The grand staircase was re-created from the building’s original architectural plans, which Young unearthed in Montana State University’s Archives and Special Collections.

Kibler & Kirch welcomes the public with an eclectic collection of American-made furnishings, artwork, accessories, handmade rugs, lighting, bedding, and gifts. It’s a place where potential design clients can get a sense of the breadth of the firm’s attention to detail, thoughtfulness, and focus on quality and interact with furnishings, collectibles, and fine art. Young says it’s about the tactile experience of sitting in a chair, feeling the fabric, and seeing how pieces interact in a series of vignettes that helps create a personal connection.

This home’s dining room is defined by the spectacular mural–like wall covering by Barry Dixon for Vervain. Young played on the design by arranging magnolia garlands to echo the shape of the boughs in the trees. “We also like to tie chair backs with wide velvet bows to create an easy, elegant feel.”

Kibler & Kirch’s style is versatile. Young and his team are as comfortable designing interiors in rustic ranch buildings as they are in traditional homes and contemporary settings. They enjoy creating unexpected pairings, often juxtaposing modern flair with Old World antiques. At the heart of their work lie quality-made pieces that uphold the spirit of the West.

During the holidays, the designer relishes the opportunity to unleash his creativity in his clients’ homes, the warmth and ritual of the season imbuing his work with even more meaning.

Young combined magnolia garland, wreaths, and beeswax pillar candles with the homeowner’s collection of Spode and Italian dishware, plaid and velvet ribbons, glass ornaments, Matouk linen tablecloth, crystal, candlesticks, and stemware. “It’s the perfect harmony and a timeless approach that would feel welcoming and warm for generations.” Photos: Lucy Call

For a family with a rustic home dominated by beams and timbers and a blue-and-white palette in rugs and fabrics, Young did not attempt to introduce holiday red. “The basis for her tree every year are these wonderful blue ornaments. There’s no red, just blue, white, natural tans, and oranges. It’s perfect for her home. With this house it was more about pulling out those extra plaid blankets, adding that extra layer of pillows, putting stockings on the tree and adding lots of greens.” The result, he says, “is a timeless Montana manse. It’s not going to age.”

In contrast, a grand, antique-filled home gave the designer the opportunity to embrace and amplify its traditional aesthetic, especially in the formal dining room, where a Vervain wallpaper renders a bucolic landscape on all the walls.

Echoing the movement in the wall covering, Young placed magnolia blossoms and leaves on the front doors as wreaths, on the sideboard as a garland, draped along the top of a mirror, and woven among a forest of ivory pillar candles on the table. He added strings of crystal beads to the tree and draped them from the light fixture. Ribbons used to wrap presents are reflected in big bows tied on the backs of the red velvet dining chairs.

Young and his team love to bring cheer to Kibler & Kirch’s 1904 building in downtown Billings. With its 10,000-square-foot showroom and ground-floor pop-up space, there’s room for multiple decorated trees, wreaths, greens, candles, throws, and more. Photo courtesy of Kibler & Kirch

Each year, the family assembles on Christmas Eve to hang ornaments then gathers around the dining table, where crystal candlesticks reflect the light, oversized gilded pine cones gleam in the mirror of a side table, and classic Christmas dinnerware from Spode stands upright in the corner hutch. It is a scene that Young and his team work all year to help enact. In doing so, they create the backdrop for the most lasting family memories at the most wonderful time of the year.

Jeremiah Young’s Tips & Tricks for Timeless Holiday Decor

Embrace Timeless Traditions

• Use natural, good-quality materials and ornaments that are timeless.

• Select decorative items that have meaning for you and your family.

• Create holiday traditions around annual events, such as choosing a tree or decorating on a certain day.

Bring the Green

Add lots of fresh greens and layer them on surfaces, tuck them into the tree, hang them on the door. “My suggestion is to take one kind of garland or green then buy far more than you think you’ll ever need. A lot of anything is beautiful.”

Focus on the Tree

• “Use warm yellow lights. I’m a maniac about warm light. You’re going to sit there in the evening, so you want a soft glow, not cold white lights. Use linen ribbon for a garland or brass sleigh bells buckled together. After the greens, add other natural elements like giant sugar pine cones, pheasant feathers, sticks, and antlers. Think texture and dimension.”

• When hanging ornaments — handblown glass and hand-turned wood ornaments are particularly beautiful and timeless — start with your largest ones, then use smaller ones to fill in gaps. Make sure you allow light to pass through to animate them.

• Decorate with authentic, handcrafted pieces that connect to place and become cherished heirlooms and part of an annual family tradition.

• Swap the string on ornaments. Using a velvet ribbon, he says, “instantly turns a good ornament into a great one!”

• When it comes to adding a garnish to the garland, consider the 14-inch sugar pine cones that Young swears by. “Greens and huge pine cones — that’s Christmas right there.”

• Beautifully wrapped presents are decor, Young insists. “It’s both practical and festive. Start early and choose papers and ribbons that match your tree. You can start with a base paper — a black, a tan (think craft paper or white tissue) and maybe one color, like red — but then get creative in the use of layered ribbons, simple leather string, or ornaments tied to presents that match the tree they sit under.”