Rhode Island Salt Box House Decorated for Christmas

Nat Rea, styling by Matthew Gleason
It all started with a dollhouse. “That’s how I learned to love Colonial-style architecture,” says Jennifer Barone. “I was 7 when I got my saltbox-style dollhouse for Christmas. It’s still at my parents’ home and the kids love it.” So when she and her husband, Nicholas, first laid eyes on a charming saltbox house in Pascoag, Rhode Island, in 2013, Jennifer knew instantly that it was the one. “I said, ‘This is it’—we didn’t look at any other houses.”
Besides being situated on 12 country acres complete with a retired cranberry bog (now home to a family of beavers), the house was filled with delightful details that made Jennifer’s heart skip a beat. In addition to a fireplace built from salvaged brick, the ceilings were covered in rustic reclaimed beams from an old mill, and the wood floorboards were made from pine trees that were cleared from the property. And then there was the open-yet-cozy floor plan: “I knew it was perfect for hosting holidays,” Jennifer says. “I pictured having the fireplace going and the kids gathered around the tree singing ‘Jingle Bell Rock,’ a family favorite.”
While having ample open space is an everyday necessity for the Barone family, which includes Lester, Russell, Waylon, and Flora, it’s essential come Christmas Eve, when Jennifer and Nicholas play host to both sides of their extended families, welcoming up to 20 guests into their home. (Santa even makes a cameo.) If they’re lucky, the flurry of activity indoors isn’t the only flurry to be found come Christmas morning. “We don’t always see snowfall on Christmas,” says Jennifer. “But when we do, we’re over the moon.”
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