Empty nesters Elyse and Drew Theodore’s decision to move after raising four children led them to a 1980s Heathwood home, rich with timeless details. With the assistance of their daughter and Columbia designer, Rossi Theodore Green, they enhanced the spaces to reflect their lifestyle, incorporating the unique existing elegance of the home. Fitz and Floyd St. Nicholas Christmas china inherited from Elyse’s Aunt Georgia graces the beautiful Christmas dinner table.
In 2017, after more than 25 years, four children, and an uncountable number of dogs in the same home, Elyse and Drew Theodore decided they were ready for a change. Well, at least Elyse was. “We loved our Gregg Park house, but everyone grew up, and we were left with six bedrooms and no one to sleep in them,” says Elyse, whose children all live nearby. “I felt like it was time to do something different for the next phase of our lives.”
Living on one of Columbia’s in-town lakes was high on the couple’s priority list, but nothing wowed them. On a whim, their realtor took Elyse to look at a house just off Heathwood Circle. Before taking a single step into the home, though, Elyse was smitten. “It was just across the street from two of our best friends,” she says. “We’d been turning around in that driveway for 35 years.”
Entering through the home’s tall double doors, Elyse realized that living on the lake suddenly wasn’t quite as important as it had been. To the left of the entranceway, she was greeted by an expansive living room filled with light; to the right, a cork-walled den exuded timeless masculine appeal. Continuing through, Elyse discovered a bright sunroom that faced a perfectly manicured courtyard, a huge dining room, and a kitchen large enough to handle the couple’s growing family of in-laws, grandchildren, and “granddogs.” There was even a gigantic laundry room and an even larger storage room that offered easy access to the beloved things that often end up in attics and basements.
Though she adored the house, Elyse knew she had to get Drew, who could have stayed in the Gregg Park house forever, over the hump. “I got a whole sales pitch ready,” she says with a laugh. It turned out, though, that she didn’t need it: one glimpse into the study, with its cork walls and bourbon-and-cigar vibe, and Drew was sold.
The more that Elyse explored the home, the more intrigued she became, both with its details and its story. The house had been constructed in the late 1980s on a parcel of property adjacent to a home on Heathwood Circle as a place for the owners of the Heathwood Circle house to move when their son married and moved into the home where he’d grown up. Though a few of those ’80s accents remained, Elyse was overwhelmed by the home’s timeless details, which included an antique fender that hemmed the living room fireplace and the hand-painted Gracie wallpaper, which has been produced since the late 1800s, that decorated the dining room.
Once Elyse and Drew purchased the house, Elyse and their daughter, designer Rossi Theodore Green, got started on the work that would make the house a perfect fit for their family. In some cases, it just needed paint, light fixtures, and a few cosmetic changes; other areas needed to be refurbished completely. One was the oversized kitchen. Instead of a single large island, Rossi suggested two smaller spaces.
“I’ve always wanted to do two islands, and my parents’ new kitchen was big enough for us to try it,” she says. In addition to the two islands, Rossi added eye-catching brass-toned light fixtures, sleek cabinetry, a wooden shiplap ceiling, and Roman shades. Rossi and Elyse also decided to change the previous owner’s sunroom into a dining room that looked out into the courtyard, and they made the old dining room into a snug family room with comfy sofas, chairs, and ottomans.
The renovation was moving along according to plan until the team decided to transfer the wallpaper from the old dining room into the new one. “We thought it would be easy, but it turned out that the only way we could remove it was to take the drywall with it,” says Elyse. “So that’s what we did. We cut five large rectangles out of the wall, had them mounted in the new dining room and surrounded the whole thing with molding. It was a nod to the previous owner and her lovely taste.”
Taken from a shade found in the wallpaper, the soft blue that blankets the room’s walls, ceiling, baseboards, and crown molding is also what set the decorating stage for the rest of the house. “We decorated the whole room around that piece and liked it so much we used it as the basis for the colors we used throughout the house,” says Elyse.
Though Elyse was able to reuse most of the furniture and accessories from the Gregg Park home, the cool neutrals that she and Rossi chose to decorate the new home gave her the opportunity to rethink her holiday decor. “We’ll always have a fun tree for the grandchildren in the den, but this year we were able to put an ‘adult’ tree in the living room,” says Elyse. “There’s a perfect spot for it in the corner where you can see it from the foyer and outside, but it’s protected from dogs and grandchildren.”
Tall and stately, the tree is surrounded by a pale blue skirt that mirrors the accent fabrics used throughout the house. Six stockings in the same shade dangle from a greenery- and Christmas ball-topped mantel, which is under the constant supervision of a surprisingly realistic full-sized Santa Claus. “The grandbabies love him,” says Elyse. “He moves and sings. Nick’s son looks for ‘Ho-Ho’ all year long.”
Just beyond the living room, Christmas cheer abounds without overwhelming the decor of the home — a creche that Elyse purchased as a newlywed surrounded by a trio of drip-castle fir candles looks right at home atop an antique inlaid chest; in another room, a wreath hung by a wide sash of pale pewter-toned satin ribbon decorates a tall brass-framed mirror. Just below, a French provincial cabinet holds a festive display of fruit, candles, and artwork. The same ribbon, tied into fluffy bows, anchors garland strung through the dining room.
Elyse added a dash of festivity to the kitchen with a golden bowl filled with magnolia leaves and cedar branches — the gold matches the brass cabinet pulls and light fixtures — and a wreath hangs from the Roman shade. “I love to decorate for Christmas, but I’m a bit of a minimalist,” says Elyse. “I don’t move furniture or replace artwork — I just add decorations where I can.”
One reason for Elyse’s choice is the need for speed. Each year, just after Thanksgiving, the Theodores host a reunion for Elyse’s side of the family. “I do like to have most of the Christmas decor up by then,” says Elyse.
Once the reunion is over, Elyse spends the weeks before Christmas getting ready to host her children, grandchildren, and members of her extended family for a two-day extravaganza of gifts, food, singing, and more food. “We host Christmas Eve, Christmas morning breakfast, and Christmas dinner,” says Elyse. “We wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Though the menu includes traditional dishes like turkey and gravy, Elyse also prepares dishes to celebrate the family’s Greek heritage, including Greek salad, Spanakopita, and traditional Greek dressing studded with raisins, pecans, and other delectables. Adults sit in the dining room at a table set with Elyse’s mother’s silver and bedecked with magnolia leaves; younger adults have their fun at the “kids’” table, which is actually one of the two kitchen islands. “We can squeeze 12 at the table and 12 at the island, so it works out well,” says Elyse. “We had so many wonderful Christmas memories at the Gregg Park house; we’re having such fun making new ones here.”
Spanakopita
Filling I
2 pounds spinach, rinsed and finely chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound feta cheese, crumbled
1 small onion, finely chopped
6 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons olive oil
Dash salt and pepper
15 filo sheets
2 sticks butter, melted
Filling II
4 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 pound feta cheese, crumbled
¼ cup grated Romano cheese, optional
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 eggs, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
For Filling I, combine spinach and salt. Let stand for 15 minutes, then squeeze to remove excess moisture. This is very important in making a good filling. Combine spinach with feta cheese, onions, eggs, oil, salt, and pepper.
Arrange 9 buttered fila in a greased 15-by-10-by-2-inch pan and cover with filling. Top with 6 buttered fila. Seal edges. Brush top with butter and refrigerate until firm. Cut through top layers to mark 20 pieces. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
For Filling II, combine spinach, cream cheese, feta cheese, Romano cheese, eggs, onions, oil, parsley, dill, salt, and pepper. Proceed as directed above.
Turkey Dressing (Gemisi)
“Don’t be afraid of the chicken livers,” says Rossi. “I can’t stand livers but love them in this dressing.”
1 cup green or white onion, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
4 tablespoons butter
1½ pound ground round
½ pound chicken livers
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 4-ounce can button mushrooms, drained
½ pound boiled chestnuts, chopped (optional)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup long-grain rice
2 cups chicken broth or bouillon
Saute onions and parsley in butter until softened but not brown. Add beef, chicken livers, salt, and pepper. Stir lightly until brown. Add mushrooms, chestnuts, pecans, raisins, rice, and broth or bouillon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed. Serve with roast lamb or chicken.
Greek Salad
A traditional Greek salad consists of sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, green bell pepper, red onion, kalamata olives, feta cheese, oregano (to taste), salt, and pepper. “It’s called a ‘Horiatiko’ or ‘Village’ salad,” says Elyse. “Adding lettuce is an American thing, but I like to add crispy romaine lettuce to my Greek Salad. As for the dressing, I make it the way my mother taught me, and her mother taught her. There are lots of variations, but this is the basic salad and the one I grew up eating every day.”
Greek Salad Dressing
1 cup EVOO
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 clove fresh garlic
Make the dressing ahead of time and keep it refrigerated in a glass container like a Mason jar. Set it on the counter for a few minutes to thaw before dressing the salad. Shake well!
