The Leonards adorned their house with 17 trees to reflect various aspects of their personalities such as the pink frilly tree in the craft room to the movie-themed trees to a series of trees in the kitchen and hearth. Even the nine-year-old Cocker Spaniel, Lucy, has her own tree, decked out with canine ornaments and goodies in the kitchen. They even stashed one tree in the most unlikely of locations: the garage.
“It’s fun to do the themed trees,” said Kelly Leonard, a registered nurse at Jackson Purchase Medical Center. “We really enjoyed the popcorn trees. It was a simple way to decorate.”
The Leonards showed off their love of old movies and “I Love Lucy” with trees and greenery in their upstairs den. The tree is adorned with movie reels, candy boxes, soda cans, all the things one would find at the movie concession stand. They wove white twinkle lights through greenery and added decorative popcorn boxes and ribbon in between Santa figurines. A poster of Marilyn Monroe overlooks the scene.
“We thought it would be a cute idea,” Kelly said of a movie-themed Christmas room.
They even left of bowl of popcorn out for jolly old St. Nick, just in case he might want to stop and catch a movie as he delivers presents.
The movie room opens into the craft room, and the Leonard ladies, Kelly and grown daughter Megan, used bright colors to decorate around their scrapbook nook. “We laugh a lot,” Kelly said of their time spent together scrapbooking.
True to Barry Leonard’s occupation as a history teacher at Graves County High School, the couple decorated his study with pieces of American and Kentucky history. He acquired Lon Carter Barton’s antique rolltop desk that Barton used when he was a state representative. “Everything about Lon was history,” Barry Leonard said. “I had to have his desk.”
The room also features a World War I photograph of Barry’s grandfather, George Thomas, and a Buffalo head dubbed “Samson” hanging on the wall. Samson sports a Santa hat for Christmas. A buffalo rug rests on the floor. Barry also has collected items from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I and World War II, which he displays on his bookshelf along with dozens of history books.
And true to the form of a local historian, the Leonards bought greenery and wreaths from the Executive Inn prior to its demolition last year. That tree in the garage: a $10 steal from the Executive Inn.
Lucy’s tree in the kitchen features dog-themed ornaments that the Leonards have collected through the years. Lucy seems to enjoy having a tree with all the things that she likes.
In the master bedroom, they placed two trees accented with perfume bottles. A white tree rests in the corner of one of the bedrooms, and they even placed a small tree on their bathroom counter. Trees also grace the guest bedrooms. It’s Christmas in almost every corner.
Even the table décor features a touch of Santa whimsy in the kitchen.
“We have had a blast making our home cozy and spirited,” Kelly Leonard said.
