Holiday Homes: Being a Holiday for a Good Cause

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Celebrity couple Todd and Rabecca Talbot will host the 17th annual Homes for the Holidays tour, in Vancouver from November 20 to December 5. This year, the tour will highlight five luxury homes decorated for Christmas (including Talbot’s home) in East Vancouver, Burnaby, Coal Harbor, West Vancouver and Whistler.

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The proceeds from the tickets go to Helpline for children , a charity that supported more than 4.5 million youth last year, up from 1.9 million in 2019.

Kids Help Phone has seen a sharp increase in outreach to young Canadians since the pandemic began. The charity has increased its services for these children, including an online bilingual mental health support forum and text message support.

This year, Kids Help Phone has connected with around 14,700 youth per day and anticipates that it will have supported nearly five million interactions with youth by the end of the year. Call and text volumes increase 31 percent each year, says Rebecca Paterson, Kids Help Phone development officer.

Homes for the Holidays is a great event for design lovers and those who enjoy Christmas decorating because interior designers and florists transform these homes into a festive wonderland.

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One designer participating this year is Negar Reihani from Space Harmony interiors .

Reihani says she was approached by the Homes for the Holidays team to decorate one of the houses on the tour and that she is happy to be involved.

“Charities that focus on children and youth are invaluable because they are an investment in the well-being of our future generations. The child of today will be the adult of tomorrow, so the mental well-being of the current generation will have an immediate effect on our future, ”he says.

The homes, spas, cafes, restaurants and office spaces that Reihani has designed throughout her career, which spans more than two decades, are of very diverse styles. This is something she is proud of, says the designer, because they reflect the personality of her clients, not herself.

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“I’m very proud of the fact that most of our customers are repeat customers, that’s the best stamp of approval,” she says.

The Coal Harbor townhouse that Reihani is decorating for the Homes for the Holidays tour is one she previously renovated for a young professional couple.

The style of the house is “West Coast Parisian,” says the designer, one of the owners is from the West Coast and the other has spent time living in France.

Its interior is a mix of intricate French design combined with West Coast airiness, using bold patterns, beautiful textures, and fun colors throughout.

For the tour, Reihani opted for lush, simple, organic, free-form greenery (ferns, eucalyptus) with lots of natural wood accents, crafts, and handmade furnishing items.

“This approach brings nature indoors and brings a comfortable and down-to-earth feeling to the home while letting the original design features shine through,” she says.

“The greenery and the flowers are all masterfully done by Thomas Hobbs Florist.”

For tour tickets and a full list of the houses and designers involved, visit homesfortheholidays.ca .