LISA DECKS HER HOME FOR HAPPY KITSCHMAS

Vintage decorations add nostalgia

- JOANNE RIDOUT

A SONG, a scent, or a special meal can often whisk you back to a cherished memory from your past. Sometimes, an object such as a Christmas decoration or toy can have the same effect.

Step into Lisa's Cardiff home during the festive season and it won't be long before you spot something on her Christmas decor laden shelves, walls and even ceilings that will stop you in your tracks because you recognise it from your Christmas past and you suddenly feel like a child again.

Lisa, 52, has a passion for retro, mid-century design and she also adores Christmas. When these two loves combine her home, affectionately known as The House of Christmas Nostalgia, comes alive with displays of her impressive collection of festive decor from yesteryears.

The journey through Lisa's own personal Christmas grotto is a wonderful chance to seek out and find items that maybe once adorned your childhood home and is so impressive that it was featured in last year's BBC Cymru Wales’ programme Wales’ Christmas Home of the Year, which is still available to view on iPlayer.

Lisa reveals that viewing the show left her equally emotional, explaining: “I cried all the way through, watching the programme, because for me it is all about the nostalgia and watching Glen, one of the judges, getting choked up about it, his childhood memories, honestly I was crying my eyes out because that’s why I do it. It was a really nice validation of everything I've set up to do, to make people happy.”

Lisa already harbours a deep appreciation for mid-century aesthetics, with vintage pieces scattered throughout the home she occupies with her husband and son.