North Myrtle Beach Holiday Tour of Homes

The home of Becca and John BertottiBecca Bertotti admits to joyously suffering from "ADD-Attention Decorating Disorder.""Decorating, especially for the holidays, is almost a sickness with me," chuckles Becca. "It's my sincere passion and I can't stop doing and re-doing every year."

Becca and husband John start pulling out the eleven Christmas trees, boxes and boxes of ornaments and a treasure trove of creativity around October to start decking out their Carriage Lakes home for the yuletide season.

And every room speaks to a heartfelt sentiment.

The Bertotti dining room pays tribute to their Virginia roots with the state bird, the cardinal, fluttering from tree to garland and artfully portrayed on each place setting of "Winter Greetings" by Lenox.

The couples' love of music plays out in the front sitting room where metallic chocolate walls serve as the dramatic backdrop to a composition of copper, gold and lime green ornaments giving harmony to flats and sharps, horns, violins and even a music stand.

Indulging the sweet tooth, the kitchen is a magical, whimsical candy land. It's a world of guilty pleasures spurred on by an army of elves, including the one climbing up the side of the tree, who Becca swears, helped her decorate with hundreds of gumdrops and candy canes and life savers.

John's special "Yankee tree" adorns the Bertotti's adult TV-playroom, dedicated to his beloved New York Yankees with spirited fan ornaments on white tinsel.

The newest addition to the Bertotti holiday-scape is what Becca calls her "family tree." She had black-and-white copies made of photos, "past and present and of those who have gone," mounted them on a creamy background and hung with a single ribbon.

"It's the most simple tree in the house," says Becca. None of my usual bling and glitter and I just used grapevine and burlap for garland...but it made me cry putting it together with all the memories those pictures brought up. Now it's the most meaningful decoration for me...it goes up for Thanksgiving and stays front and center for the holidays."

The home of James and Tawana BoyersFor James and Tawana Boyers of Cedar Creek Village, the holidays are deeply rooted in faith and Southern tradition.

"Our whole family attends Christmas Eve service every year," says Tawana. "We celebrate Christ's birth."

And with the help of professional decorator Susan Platt, the Boyers' home expresses the crux "reason for the season" from the standpoint of their heritage, seamlessly and beautifully.

The formal dining room is all about nature - physically and spiritually.

Birds, magnolia and forest creatures mix with spiritual symbols on the soaring tree and each place setting includes a special gift box tied up with ribbon and a feather. A della Robbia-style centerpiece is a fragrant and time-honored adornment with a pineapple (the Southern symbol of hospitality), fresh greenery and fruits. And befitting of the décor theme, the fine family china just happens to be "Eternal" by Lenox.

Since the kitchen is the heartbeat of any good southern home, the island is transformed into a giddy and playful candy-store station with hundreds of candy canes, gumballs and confections delightfully served up in shapely glassware and holiday ceramics.

And the family room stays true to its intent with a black-and-white family portrait taking center stage above the fireplace mantel hung with a stocking for each of the Bowers, a 15-foot tree full of 'favorite things' in chocolate and gold and a coffee table centerpiece of a simple cross surrounded by greenery.

The home of Joe and Kathy HayesThe 2009 festive season marked a new beginning in a brand new home in Tidewater Golf Plantation for Joe and Kathy Hayes. And they felt the need to fill their dream abode with holiday cheer from top to bottom.

"We didn't have near enough decorations for this new house, so Joe and I took it room by room, deciding on a theme and then shopping for what we wanted," says Kathy. "It was so much work, but so much fun."

Hence, a tree ended up in every room of the house and Kathy lost track of the hours she spent hand-making countless bows.

One tannenbaum is a fan club for the Red Sox and Cowboys. Joe's "bar room" tree tipples the branches with miniature wine glasses, beer mugs and liquors. And the tree in the media room is covered with favorite family movie DVDs, Wizard of Oz characters and yards of popcorn streamers.

Kathy loves the fairy figures and Santas by Mark Roberts. The artist's Santa in a convertible roars around the foyer tree and Santa hats stuffed with evergreen, tiny stuffed animals and ornaments hang from each chair in the formal dining room.To complement the Mark Roberts hats, Joe found the perfect dining table centerpiece at the Dickens Show & Festivals, an old-time Santa in a sleigh piece made entirely of antique and refurbished materials. And Kathy tied the room décor together with tableware she found at HomeGoods and more of her bows.

But once the inside of the home was full of Christmas cheer, the couple's high holiday spirit took them to the front door where they felt they needed something to usher in the season.

Joe and Kathy found the perfect welcoming committee to their home in the form of a 4-foot, turn-of-the-century family of carolers, complete with a glowing streetlamp.

The home of Larry and Ardie PraetoriusA design coordinator for custom homes, a potter and avid collector of antique glass, Ardie Praetorius employs her myriad of creative talents to decorating her Tidewater Plantation home for the holidays.

"I make all my own bows and I add something new every year...I like to make it my own," says Ardie. "It's the one time of year that I can bring out all of my antique collections and put them on display."

Ardie's latest addition to garland and the 10-foot tree in the main living area is a collection of hydrangea-turned-ornaments, plucked from the garden and carefully dried. "Once I did that and put the dried flowers on the tree with white, gold and green ornaments, friends and neighbors asked if they could have my leftover hydrangea to use in their décor too!"

Her collection of old door knobs and bottle stoppers are stylishly arranged in an antique cake stand and drizzled with shiny beads. Delicate 1930's wine glasses help to set the formal dining table and antique sherbet glasses become stunning candle holders placed atop mirrors for ambient effect.

"When my husband Larry and I decorate, we like to have contrast. I love the look of a distressed, maybe wooden figurine, surrounded by glittery things," explains Ardie.Such contrast-in-style is the signature décor mark throughout the Praetorius home. A primitive-style, carved St. Nicholas draped in red beads and candlelight adorns an occasional table while a rustic angel with wire wings is set in a pottery bowl, her feet imbedded in baubles and beads and bling.

Ardie's holiday décor advice: "Pull out everything you love and just start layering it with other things. If you have a leftover string of beads, hang it over a candle or ornament or put it in a bowl. Don't be afraid to put an old-time angel in a piece of pottery with glittery stuff!"

This story was originally published November 12, 2010 at 2:36 PM with the headline "North Myrtle Beach Holiday Tour of Homes."