Anyone who’s gotten to know Kathy Hilton via her breakout turn on season 11 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills knows she’s the type to go big or go home—and with Christmas, she does both. “I normally start decorating in October,” Hilton tells AD, “then keep adding until December.” The tchotchkes and trees stay up until February, and from Thanksgiving onward, there’s nothing but the Holiday Traditions music channel playing throughout the house. Hilton says she thinks about Christmas all year long.
The spirit of the season starts on the outside of the home, sans bulbs. “I can’t do lights,” Hilton declares. There’s no obscure Bel Air ordinance to blame for this. Hilton admits, “It’s just that I’m not actually good at it, and I like things perfect.” Instead, garlands of fresh apples, oranges, and grapes welcome guests into the 14,980-square-foot manse.
For those uninitiated in the Cult of Kathy, the name Hilton may bring visions of sugar-plum fairies dispatched from all over Beverly Hills to craft her perfect winter wonderland, but fans of the Bravo darling know better. She does employ some assistance (“I have a wonderful lady that helps me, and she has a young man that comes and helps with all the stuff that’s really high up, because that’s a little scary,” Hilton says), but every touch is purely personal.
Each room in Hilton’s home—which includes seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, multiple sitting rooms, a butler’s pantry, and an open plan specifically designed for entertaining—has a different feel to it. “My blue-and-white room reminds me of Southampton, New York. My library reminds me of New York City, in a town house or an apartment, with the dark wood… Then, if you’re standing in the living room, it’s all butter yellow, pale blue, creams, with a little bit of apricot or maybe shrimp or blush.”
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