An Outlander Christmas

When Joe and Chelsea were house hunting in 2018, they found this 1755 colonial but were wary of all the upkeep needed for an old home. “[The previous homeowner] had maintained it really well,” Chelsea says. “It was in bad shape when she got it, and she did a lot of fixing up.” So, the couple was able to work on the cosmetics of the house without having to update the larger, more costly systems like electrical or plumbing.

Let It Snow. The exterior of the Gray home is a traditional Colonial façade. “It’s still a work in progress,” Cheslea says. “I’ve always done a classic New England Colonial Christmas with wreaths in the windows. They’re fake, so it’s affordable. We just have to replace the ribbons every couple of years. It feels very classic Christmas to me.”

Dark, Cozy Cottage

At first, Chelsea thought the charm she wanted to give it was farmhouse style. “[The trend] was white shiplap, the Joanna Gaines look,” she says. For the first two years, they followed that aesthetic. “It was just pounded into my brain because it was everywhere, and I realized I didn’t actually love it,” she says. Then in 2020 during the pandemic, Joe and Chelsea discovered Outlander. “As we watched it, we got into old buildings and tours,” she says. “We decided to totally change everything and do a more old, historical Colonial feel that felt more appropriate for the house and also our design tastes.”

Elbow Grease. The historic art on the wall is one of Chelsea’s favorite DIYs in the house. “I found a print I really loved and had it printed as a tapestry,” she says. “We stapled it to the wall and then framed it out with wall trim so it looks like it was painted onto the wall. You could also attach it to a piece of plywood so you can hang it like a giant frame if you want.” In the corner is a cabinet Chelsea salvaged from another house, which they repainted and added trim to make it look built-in.

Once Joe and Chelsea decided what they wanted, they dove in. “At first it was just going to be one room,” she says. “And then we realized we wanted to do more.” The home’s style is now truer to its roots. “It’s a mix between colonial dark cottagecore and moody maximalism,” Chelsea says. “I incorporate a lot of witchy, natural history items, with medieval storybook vibes.”

Outlander remains a central inspiration, but Chelsea has also looked at other historic and
fantastical places. “The way I style and decorate the rooms is more my personal style and not so much Outlander,” Chelsea says. “I get a lot of inspiration from other movies too, like Shrek and Harry Potter. I’m very inspired by set design. We also go on historic house tours when we can, and we’ll get inspiration from that.”

Christmas Tavern. While most of her Christmas décor this year was inspired by European Christmas markets, Chelsea decorated the dining room with an American colonial tavern theme and stuck with it for Christmas. “Imagine you’re in the 1700s, pulling up to port in a big wooden ship, and you’re stopping in a tavern for lodging,” Chelsea says. The chandelier was an antiques store find in New Hampshire, and the couple painted the floors in a black-and-white checkerboard pattern.

For the holidays, Chelsea decides on a theme each year. “For Halloween, I did a Grimm fairy tale dark take, so I thought, ‘Why don’t I do the same vibe for Christmas but make it more fun?’” she says. “There are a lot of German and Bavarian Christmas market vibes. There are some very colorful Christmas markets you can go to in Europe, so I did it a little bit of that with Hansel and Gretel.”

With trees in almost every room, garlands hanging from the ceilings and tons of ribbon, the home takes on a festive air at Christmastime, with red as the primary pop of color. Alongside the historic roots of the home and the 1700s architectural and décor details Joe and Chelsea have added, it’s a wonderful place to be for the holidays. “It’s super cozy in the winter,” Chelsea says. “When it’s snowing, it’s super magical to be there at Christmas.”

Bookworm. In the living room is a bookcase that Chelsea and Joe filled with vintage books. “I always go with either a specific color palette or a subject matter, so we have a ton of books on natural history, animals and the environment,” Chelsea says. “It’s fun to collect subjects that you care about. For the holidays, if you can, find Christmas-related books and pick green or red books to sprinkle in.”

Rock Wall. “The kitchen was inspired by a Scottish castle that’s in Outlander called Doune Castle in real life,” Chelsea says. One of the main features is the rock wall. “It’s a natural stone veneer, and each one is between five to 15 pounds heavy,” she says. “The installation took three days, but the prep took a lot longer. We wanted square stones, but they only had them with rounded edges, so we had to cut a lot of them and we had to lay them out on the floor so we could fit them together.”

Furniture Flip. This furniture upcycle was inspired by Outlander. Chelsea found a 1950s hutch on Facebook Marketplace with an original orange-wood stain. “I stripped it, then we propped it up so it had counter space that wasn’t there before,” Chelsea explains. “It had glass doors we removed, then we created the cubbies with a jigsaw.” You can see a hutch with arched cubbies just like it was on the set of the TV show.

Kitchen From the Past. The kitchen is the largest renovation project the Grays have tackled so far. “We took down the drywall ceiling to expose the original ceiling beams,” Chelsea says. “We also installed a stone wall in there.” The kitchen table was a find by Joe’s mom, who saw it on the side of the road and picked it up for the couple. At Christmastime, Chelsea hangs a festive garland from the ceiling. “There are so many beams in the house, and I just feel like they’re meant for garlands,” she says.

Bedroom cozy. The primary bedroom looks cozy and welcoming with its own Christmas tree decorated in red bows from Walmart. Displayed on the black dresser is a Tudor dollhouse that Chelsea flipped from a “crabby, plain Victorian dollhouse,” she says. “The paint was peeling and the windows were gone, so I flipped it.”

Darling Details. For kitchen spices, Chelsea added homemade labels to glass jars to make them resemble apothecary containers. “I printed them out, crumpled them up and then tea-stained them and applied the labels with Mod Podge,” she says.

Color Crazy. One of the standout features of Chelsea and Joe’s home are the paint colors. “All of the colors are inspired by Outlander, and I matched them perfectly to the sets,” Chelsea says. “The set designer of the show has said that he’s inspired by history, but his colors are brighter. I’ve looked at the historic paint colors; they tend to be more muted. So, it’s historically accurate, but they would have been more muted.” A dark green graces the primary bedroom, which the Grays enhanced with DIY exposed ceiling beams and a thrifted bedframe from Facebook Marketplace.

Dark and Cozy

Many people ask homeowner and Instagrammer Chelsea Gray if her house feels small and dark. Here’s her answer.

“The answer is surprising,” Chelsea says. “I don’t try to keep it from feeling gloomy or small. I know a lot of people don’t like that feel, but some of us are more comfortable in cozy areas. People think of small and dark as gloomy and cramped, but I think of it as warm, cozy and welcoming. It’s like being inside a big blanket fort.”

Color evokes different moods for different people. “It’s just a matter of preference. When our house was all white, it felt overstimulating for me, vast and soulless,” Chelsea explains. “I’ve felt so much cozier with the dark, gloomy vibes.”

Style Confidence is Key

Love a certain cottage trend but aren’t sure that it’s going to last? Here are tips from Instagrammer Chelsea Gray of @Kevrosehome for having confidence about the style you love.

Reflect on what you think you like. “Really reflect,” Chelsea says. “Do you actually love the trend or are you just seeing a lot of it so you think you like it?” Take the time to really decide if you like the design or trend for itself, or just because you’re seeing it everywhere.
Figure out what you really like. If you realize that the style you thought you liked was really just a fad for you, figure out what you do like. “Never worry about what’s in or outdated or weird, what’s too trendy or what’s not trendy enough,” Chelsea says. “I’ve already done the ‘style my house with what’s trendy’ thing, and it wasn’t me.”
Go with your gut. Once you decide you know what you like, run with it. “When we did this, I was doing it because it’s what I love and what I wanted,” Chelsea says. “This time it’s me, and I’m not worried about it going out of style.” Styles come and go, so for the longevity of your home, you should go with what you genuinely like, not necessarily what’s popular.
Don’t be afraid to change your mind. “If you change your mind, that’s ok. I did,” Chelsea says. “You can always repaint or change out some of your décor.” One tip for redoing your décor is to be savvy with your budget by DIYing changes or buying items used or from the thrift store. “The cheaper you can make the changes, the easier it is to change your mind down the road,” Chelsea advises.

To see more of Joe and Chelsea’s unique home visit @kevrosehome on Instagram.