Tucked within Virginia’s pastoral wine country, the 2025 Southern Living Idea House stands as a shining example of elegant design, seasonal beauty, and creative inspiration. This year, celebrity interior designer and author Charlotte Moss returned to her native Virginia to transform the home for the holidays, infusing every corner with warmth, charm and a spirit of thoughtful celebration.
Highlights of the Southern Living Idea House as Decorated by Charlotte Moss
The Southern Living Idea House 2025 blends modern design with classic Virginia architecture, offering open, flowing interiors and large windows that capture lovely views of a private lake and beautiful woods. Each space reflects the welcoming, functional, elegant qualities that define gracious living.
From the living areas to the kitchen and outdoor spaces, Moss layered textures, colors, and seasonal accents to create a home that feels both festive and timeless. Her holiday color palette of choice echoed the greens, browns and warm golds from the homes fabrics and wall colors with only small touches of red. Every vignette tells a story—whether it’s a mantel adorned with greenery, a cozy seating area with holiday textiles, or a porch glowing with creative ornament displays.
Among the home’s most striking features is a handcrafted pinecone tree (seen below at top right), made by Moss’ niece and design assistant, artist Charlotte Moss-Huey, from cones gathered on the property. This natural, homespun touch exemplifies her philosophy of incorporating personal, meaningful elements into holiday décor. For Virginia residents interested in this kind of found holiday decorating, wineries and florists throughout Virginia Wine Country hold winter workshops on makng DIY holiday wreaths to help you incorporate these signature Charlotte Moss-style elements.
Beneath the living room tree, Moss layered cloth gift bags made from leftover fabrics from the decorating project. These whimsical accents add color, homemade charm, and a sense of personal craftsmanship, reflecting her belief that thoughtful details make a home feel personal and inviting.
Charlotte Moss Envisions Holiday Entertaining
For Charlotte Moss, holiday entertaining is all about creating warmth, connection, and sensory delight. She encourages layering greenery throughout the home—draped along mantels, woven into chandeliers, or tucked behind wall sconces in the dining room—to bring fragrance and freshness into every room. Hand-embroidered napkins, with an evergreen sprig and holiday crackers on the dining table add some festive fun.
With creativity and a mind toward sustainability, Moss added ball ornaments (seen below at right) made from leftover fabrics from the original decorating project, turning simple materials into vibrant, elegant accents. These thoughtful details reinforce her focus on environmentally conscious holiday decorating and elevate the Southern Living Idea House into a showcase of festive innovation.
Moss also emphasizes slowing down during the holidays, taking time to write personalized gift tags, and focusing on meaningful touches that elevate entertaining. For her, the true joy of hosting comes from connection, intention, and a sense of hospitality that makes guests feel both welcomed and cherished.
Beautiful Touches in Tucked-Away Places
Throughout the Southern Living Idea House, Moss incorporates delightful surprises in unexpected corners, encouraging visitors to explore and discover the layered details of her holiday design. From small wreaths in cozy corners and over windows to layered textures on tables and shelves, each space offers a sense of discovery. Her attention to detail ensures that even tucked-away spots contribute to the home’s festive ambiance.
One of Moss’s signature touches is sliding holiday cards from friends and family into mirror frames (as seen above.) This simple yet meaningful idea transforms greetings into seasonal décor while keeping loved ones close throughout the holiday season.
Gift Wrapping Ideas from Moss
Charlotte Moss brings elegance, creativity and sustainability to holiday gift wrapping, turning everyday materials into unique, eye-catching designs. She encourages using leftover fabric, wallpaper, and decorative remnants to wrap gifts, showing that eco-friendly solutions can be stylish and luxurious.
For a polished look, she layers ribbons, natural elements like twigs or pinecones, and coordinating textures to elevate each package, making gift-giving an extension of the home’s seasonal décor.
Moss reminds hosts that thoughtful touches, like handwritten tags, add depth and meaning to each gift. This attention to detail turns even simple presents into memorable expressions of care, echoing the warmth and creativity seen throughout the Southern Living Idea House during the holidays.
Holiday Gift Ideas from Moss
For those looking to bring a touch of Charlotte Moss’s design philosophy into their own homes, her book “Home: A Story” is an inspiring choice. This Southern Living Idea House companion offers readers an intimate look at her approach to interiors, showcasing elegant decorating ideas, styling tips and personal stories behind her design choices.
Filled with beautiful photography and practical advice, the book makes a thoughtful gift for anyone who loves gracious Southern living, festive décor, and creative inspiration for their own home. The book can be found online at the link above,
Another unique holiday offering is the limited edition Special Edition Charlotte Moss x Tara Roma Gill Scarf. This exclusive collaboration features a luxurious, hand-designed silk scarf printed in Italy that embodies Moss’s signature style.
The design features Virginia wildflowers, hand-painted and arranged as though delicately pinned in place, and bordered by a vine of honeysuckle. From the old-fashioned forget-me-not to the pink lady’s slipper which Charlotte would find in the woods of her childhood Virginia home and bring to her mother, each wildflower featured is carefully selected.
Perfect for gifting during the holidays, only 100 have been made in total, making it a truly special collectable gift for fashion lovers. The scarf can be found exclusively at her online shop.
Southern Living Holiday Cover Cake
No holiday celebration is complete without a show-stopping dessert, and the Southern Living Holiday Cover Cake perfectly fits the bill. Southern Living’s signature cover cake, traditionally featured on the magazine’s holiday cover with a recipe inside, is as beautiful as it is delicious—layered with rich flavors, adorned with festive decorations, and designed to impress both visually and on the palate. Ideal for holiday entertaining, the cake captures the spirit of gracious Southern living, making it a centerpiece for gatherings and a sweet way to bring family and friends together during the holidays.
As a gracious host to the Southern Living Idea House 2025, editor-in-chief Sid Evans (seen below at front row center), said, “We were thrilled to return to Charlottesville after a decade and showcase a home that celebrates the natural beauty of this region. Nestled within the hills of Keswick, Virginia, this home offers the perfect backdrop to the rich history, renowned wineries and vibrant culture that make this area so special.”
The Southern Living Idea House 2025 Team
Behind the 2025 Southern Living Idea House in Keswick, near Charlottesville, VA, is a talented Virginia-based team of architects, builders, developers and landscape designers. Celebrated designer Charlotte Moss (shown above at front center) used her vision to infuse the home with elegance, warmth, and timeless Southern style. Her studio team, including Laura Rogers (shown above at second row, far left) and niece Charlotte Moss‑Huey (shown above at front far left), helped bring her signature aesthetic to every room, creating interiors that feel both inviting and beautifully curated.
Rosney Co., led by architects Julie Kline Dixon (shown above at second row center) and Keith Scott (shown above at third row far left), shaped the home’s modern-classic footprint, while Waterstreet Studio landscape architects Eugene Ryang (seen above at third row center) and Megan Taylor (seen above at front row far right) crafted gardens that complement the natural Keswick surroundings. Developer Molly Hardie (seen above at fourth row far left) and builder Allan Pettit (seen above at top row left) of Alexander Nicholson ensured craftsmanship, authenticity, and sustainability, making the 2025 Southern Living Idea House a seamless blend of style, function, and Southern charm.
At the 2025 Southern Living Idea House, Charlotte Moss transforms Keswick elegance into a holiday wonderland, blending Southern style, thoughtful décor, and festive creativity. With unique gift ideas, seasonal accents, and charming hidden details throughout the home, this Idea House inspires readers to celebrate the holidays with warmth, sophistication, and personal touches that make every gathering memorable.
Profits from all ticket sales to this year’s Idea House tours go to three worthwhile local charities. Reserve tickets to the home tour quickly, though, as the 2025 Southern Living Idea House will come to a close December 21, 2025. ~
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R. L. JOHNSON is our co-publisher and creative director, Robin Johnson Bethke, who began her career as a professional photographer in Los Angeles before moving into graphic design and art direction when she relocated to Charlottesville in 1994. As our company’s co-founder and visionary, she enjoys all aspects of the publishing process from story conception to graphic design to photography. Her work is often seen in many of our publications.
