The Pierson’s Christmas Home Tour

Finally. I’m so excited to be able to show you a Christmas home tour!

Like most of you, I always enjoy seeing how people decorate and design their homes, but isn’t it even more exciting when someone can take it to the next level for the holidays?

Years in Saudi: 16 years

Kelly is currently a 7th grade Social Studies teacher at the Dhahran Middle School, and Kimberly is Registrar at the Dhahran Hills School. After living in California, the Pierson’s moved to Egypt for 7 years, Oman for 3 years, and then to Saudi Arabia in 2002. After 16 years of living in Kingdom, they will be moving to Bend, Oregon, in the summer of 2018.

Moved from: Muscat, Oman

Style:

Totally eclectic with an emphasis on warmth. I do not match wood tones at all and mix many different mediums. I tend to be drawn to warm tones and then throw in splashes of color.

The Pierson’s home is what I like to call “American traditional paired with an incredibly strong love for Middle Eastern and Asian antiques, furnishings, and art.” Their spaces ooze warmth, and are filled with absolutely gorgeous items that they have picked up from their life abroad as well as from their travels. Having traveled to over 20 countries in their 26 years of overseas teaching, they have decorative items from Egypt, Oman, Sri Lanka, Bali and Saudi, of course. Many of these items have been beautifully incorporated into their spaces, but you have to see how they’ve added Christmas to the mix too!

“The mashrabiya bench is from Egypt and was purchased on road 9 in Maadi. I designed how I wanted the bench to look and watched them hand carve it over about a three week timeframe. They were just down the road from my home and I would go daily to see the progress of the bench and was thrilled with the results.”

“The Norag bench in the entry was purchased just down the road from our home in Maadi Egypt. The bench is an antique and was used as part of a plow in the fields. There is hardware on the legs of the bench that would be hooked to a plow that was then attached to a “Gamousa”, Arabic for buffalo, to plow the fields. The farmer would sit on the bench and guide his Gamousa plowing through the fields.”

“The mashrabiya screen was designed by me (Kimberly) from the Nadim Mashrabiya Institute in Egypt. The Institute features mashrabiya, wood carving, wood puzzle piece artwork and tin work, so I wanted to incorporate all 4 medians they feature in the screen.”

A wooden carved piece from Sri Lanka

Even though we have not traveled to Syria or India, many of our pieces are from these countries. Other than Arabic design, I tend to be drawn to the Indian designs as well.

I have to admit though, my favorite part of this home has to be the conversion of the outdoor patio into a sunroom. For this space, Kimberly added a wall of windows and a cover on top of the pergola with a cutout for extra light. The giant wall of windows was a great addition as it keeps the room light and bright.

Don’t get too excited about doing this to your home though if you are living in a residential compound as it is something that they’ve been asked to remove. I think it’s worth a discussion with the housing department though!

“The large silver pot in the sun room and smaller one in front of the mashrabiya screen were purchased from Tex years ago when I first arrived in Saudi. Tex was fixture here on camp. He was a Saudi who spoke just like a Texan and was quite a character. He would come to your home with his old car filled with wares he had found from all over the Middle East. Word would always spread fast when a new expat arrived on camp and Tex was right there to welcome you and introduce you to a variety of special treasures to purchase.”

A Chat with Kimberly

What inspired the design of your home?

I love old wood, iron and Arabic design. I tend to always choose something old over anything shiny and new. When I find something I love, I find the perfect spot for it in my home, even if it means totally rearranging things to fit it.

Please tell me a little bit about your favorite pieces in your home!

My favorite pieces in my home would probably be the wooden doors in my dining area, the 3 panel Mashrebeya screen in my living room and the Norag bench in my entry. All three pieces come from Egypt and were treasures I found in my 7 years living there. The doors were purchased for approx $50 from a garbage dealer and were extremely dirty and worn. I brought them to life with refinishing and they are now my favorite piece in my home.

Do you have any tips for people when shopping for their home here? 

My biggest piece of advice would absolutely be to make your house a home. In all three countries we lived in overseas, I was determined to make my house a home. We had two small children when we moved here and I knew that their memories were being formed here and their home was a crucial part of those memories.

Any particular stores you like to shop at?

I have always been drawn to Arabic designs and old wood and iron, so Desert Designs has always been one of my favorite stores here in Saudi.

Thank you for sharing your home, happy retirement, and best of luck!