A VERY MERRY CONTINO CHRISTMAS
When stepping across the threshold of Amber Contino’s home in North Fresno, one cannot help but instantly feel how special this place is. Double-curved staircases welcome visitors through French doors and usher all into the living room with soaring ceilings and expansive windows overlooking a beautifully manicured backyard and rolling foothills beyond. Warm, textural whites with crisp black accents throughout the interior serve as a clean canvas for exuberant living, not to mention some of the most exquisite holiday home décor in the Central Valley. Amber’s taste is superb. Her home beautifully blends functionality with flair, while revealing her masterful ability to seamlessly integrate season décor throughout every room.
It’s easy to see that Christmas holds a special place in Amber’s heart and home. “This time of year, there is always just so much magic,” she enthuses. “With three kids, it’s just a beautiful time to create all these amazing moments for them! I love creating a home environment filled with Christmas joy, and transforming our home for the season makes us all so happy to wake up to something so magical every day.” Amber’s holiday preparations begin in November with the help of her decorator, Danielle DePrima. “She comes every year and creates our magical 12-foot Christmas tree for us,” Amber shares. “I do the rest, from the garland all over the house, the wreaths, Christmas candles in every room, and little Christmassy touches everywhere!” All of her decorations stay up from November to January.
The Contino home is very “rustic-modern,” as she calls it. “We have a white, black, and gold theme,” Amber adds. “Keeping the house simpler, I wanted the Christmas tree to be the main focal point. It is over-the-top and glamorous, only keeping the color the same as our house. However, the rest of our Christmas décor is very minimalistic and understated.” She draws heavily on Restoration Hardware for inspiration, which she blends together with pieces she sees from designers online. “I never love a whole look, but I’ll take small parts and add them to my décor. Everything I buy, I alter—I don’t keep anything the same way I bought it! I’m always cutting off ribbon and adding black velvet ribbon, painting something gold, or layering things together to create a whole different look.” Amber loves to make things her own.
Thus, Amber’s holiday esthetic is a reflection of her personality, priorities, and values. “Our holiday style reflects the style of our house first and foremost!” she explains. Her children are her world. Amber and her husband love to spend time with them, and as beautiful as their home is, it serves their family’s needs above all else. “We add a second Christmas tree in our playroom for all our children’s special ornaments they either create or pick out each year. They get to decorate the tree and buy all the goods for it, so I try to keep that special for them,” shares Amber. “Other than that, the whole house matches our home aesthetic. I absolutely love black, but that’s a color I try to keep little of in our décor, which is really hard for me!”
Christmas wasn’t always so white and lightly colored in Amber’s world. “Our home is fairly new and our last home was very traditional, so our Christmas style evolved from rich reds and bright golds to soft whites and muted golds,” she confides. “I like to go over-the-top with everything, so finding my balance between simple and extravagant was tough, but I think I finally nailed it.” A select few touches beautifully exemplify this esthetic, such as “80 pounds of cedar garland zip tied together to make a larger-than-life garland that drapes down our fireplace. I feel like I love Christmas so much I’ll never stop adding and changing things—each year I find new décor I fall in love with and find a way to incorporate it into our home. No two years will ever look the same around here!”
But you can definitely rely on seeing two very special guests when entering the Continos’ front door. Amber’s gigantic mama and baby polar bears in her entryway always elicit a response. “Every single person who walks through our front door either dies laughing or wants to take a picture with them. They are the most realistic-looking things I’ve ever seen, and it’s just so fun! My husband about killed me when they were delivered but ended up absolutely loving them. Our kids named them Polly and Paul.” The pair stands upon a bed of faux snow and can’t help but bring a smile to your face no matter how many times you pass them by.
Amber didn’t have a huge family growing up, so her Christmas Day is always larger-than-life and welcoming to everyone. “The more the merrier!” she enthusiastically professes. “Our home is always open to friends and family and it’s just grown so much over the years. Every year I try and top the year before! Last year, we made the most insane cioppino in a pot so big that I could literally fit myself and a prime rib that was bigger than half my body in it! No one ever goes home empty-handed or with an empty belly.” She spends months seeking out the most perfect, thoughtful gifts for her friends and family. “I’m always trying to make this day special for everyone. That’s where I find most of my joy comes from—seeing all of the happiness that is a result of the things that I have created.”
For Amber, the holidays mean family above all else. “It’s a time when we are surrounded by all of our family, and we get to do so many activities with the kids. From visiting Santa to driving down Christmas Tree Lane or everyone gathering around the Christmas tree, sipping hot cocoa and building gingerbread houses. The holidays give us so many more opportunities to spend quality family time together and create core memories.” She and her husband are big on tradition. “Christmas Tree Lane is one of those traditions. Even though I went every year as a child, it never gets old. It’s still so fun and nostalgic to go see. We also love baking and decorating cookies, no matter how huge the mess is.” However, she admits, “Waking up at the crack of dawn all in matching pajamas and opening presents is probably our favorite tradition. I hope that when my children are grown, they will continue to do it with their children.” Amber’s extraordinary ability to make everyone and even the little things feel special is a gift in and of itself that can be felt beyond the holiday season.
Editorial Director Lauren Barisic
Photographer Ellie Koleen
Hair Ashley Beckenhauer
Makeup Kristen Flores
Ellie Koleen
Photographer
Ellie is a lifestyle, wedding, and brand photographer based in Fresno, California. An artist behind the lens, her trademark airy, light-filled style and masterful camera angles make her work easily recognizable. She uses her love for all things design related as inspiration for her work. The Fresno Bee named Ellie Best Photographer for the People’s Choice Awards in 2018 and 2019.
