Constructed out of hard pine that was milled on the property, the barn on event planner Keith Robinson's Georgia plantation was built in 1914 after the original structure burned down. No longer part of a working farm, today the two-story outbuilding houses props, furniture, and dahlia roots rather than livestock, and its loft has become the perfect setting for a sublimely rustic holiday dinner party.
A boxwood wreath is left unadorned to showcase its large scale. Both the wreath and garland nod to the expansive hedges cultivated elsewhere at Robinson's Redwine Plantation.
"The austerity of the space lent itself to a very simple expression," Robinson says. "I wanted to highlight the character of the bare wood walls."
He gravitated toward traditional shapes and colors, like red amaryllis ("so quintessentially Christmas"), a large boxwood wreath, a boxwood garland that cascades down the table and onto the floor, plain white china, and natural, unbleached linens.
The soaring Christmas tree towers over the vintage farm table and benches; linen tablecloth and napkins, Terrain; glassware, CB2.
For Robinson, the spare backdrop still required a bit of spectacle. "You have to bring drama to the setting," he says. So under the barn's lofty ceilings, he installed a jaw-dropping 19-foot-tall Christmas tree, its boughs left natural, which was harvested from a farm less than a mile up the road. And as guests arrived, a sea of candles on the plank flooring-the only source of light-guided them to the table.
The votives cast a warm glow for an intimate and quietly magical evening with friends and family. "We're coming together to share a meal, tell stories, have a good laugh," Robinson says. "It's a time to catch our breath, slow down, and really enjoy the season with the ones we love."
Fresh rosemary sprigs from Robinson's herb garden were transformed into simple yet elegant napkin rings.
This story originally appeared in the November-December 2016 issue of VERANDA.
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