Inside Kendall Jenner’s Vintage Christmas Wonderland

Rachel Wallace
·7 min read

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There are no Charlie Brown Christmas trees in the Kardashian-Jenner world. But come December at Kendall Jenner’s Los Angeles home, you also won’t find decor like what has famously decked the halls of her sisters’ and mother’s mansions during Christmases past. (Kylie has displayed towering trees in gold, pink, and even flanked by lifelike fake polar bears. Kim once turned her home into Whoville with minimalist cream-colored sculptures. And Kourtney has been known to hang a Christmas tree upside down, roots protruding from the top.) Jenner’s approach to holiday decor is a bit more traditional—simple green garlands decorated with pine cones, classic trees, a vintage Santa Claus—but no less beautiful and festive.

The embroidered stockings hanging from the mantel are from Sferra, just like the ones Jenner grew up with, and the Santa statue is a cherished hand-me-down from her mother, Kris.

When I ask Jenner if she picks a different holiday decor theme each year, she offers a reply I find refreshing: “The theme is Christmas,” she says. “I’d say it stays pretty similar.” The 29-year-old supermodel, whose serene pad was decorated by AD100 firms Clements Design and Waldo’s Designs and graced the cover of AD’s September 2020 issue, is more focused on warm nostalgia than megawatt flash. “My whole life, I’ve loved vintage when it comes to clothing or furniture,” she says. “Anything that looks like it’s about to fall apart is usually what I gravitate to. Or anything that feels like it has history or character.” This attitude is how she created an eclectic home full of earthy, organic textures—übermodern holiday decor simply wouldn’t work here.

Jenner was “touched” by the vintage Christopher Radko ornaments her mom gifted her. “When we were putting them on the tree, she was, like, ‘Oh, my God. I remember all of these ornaments and they tell a story from my childhood,’” florist and designer Jeff Leatham says.

Her family’s affinity for Christmas came from matriarch Kris Jenner. “I give a lot of credit to my mom for the way I keep a house, but also how I love to celebrate holidays and decorate. It didn’t matter what holiday it was—it could have been Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Easter. My mom was always setting up decorations all over,” Jenner says. As Kris and her entire brood’s tree-trimming became more and more intense over the years, they all began getting some help from florist to the stars Jeff Leatham, who installed Jenner’s decor this year. “I remember decorating Kris’s tree when Kylie and Kendall still lived at her house,” Leatham says. “The family has this love of Christmas and heavy, heavy tradition, which is so beautiful.”

“Our setup date is as quickly as I can get it up right after Thanksgiving. But I’m debating for next year to do it before Thanksgiving because I love it so much, and then it goes away so fast,” Jenner says of her holiday decorations.
“Our setup date is as quickly as I can get it up right after Thanksgiving. But I’m debating for next year to do it before Thanksgiving because I love it so much, and then it goes away so fast,” Jenner says of her holiday decorations.
Art: © Lisa Yuskavage/David Zwirner
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Several years ago, I interviewed Kris about her Christmas decorations, and she told me that her eldest daughter Kourtney had been “pouring on the sugar” in hopes of persuading her to part with a decades-old collection of bright and colorful Christopher Radko ornaments. “I said, ‘Well, you don’t need to butter me up anymore because I’m already using them on my tree,’” Kris told me at the time. Fast-forward to this year, and the main tree in her second youngest daughter’s living room is covered in those very same ornaments. “I got the whole lot,” Jenner reveals excitedly. “I was really sad last year because I thought she gave them to another sister of mine. I said to her, ‘Don’t forget about me. I know I don’t have kids yet, and you might not think about me when it comes to passing things down, but I would love those things and I will take great care of them.’” This year, Kris bestowed them upon her, “with the original boxes they came in and everything.”

Maybe her mom understands—as Jenner certainly does—that holiday magic isn’t just for kids, or even parents of little ones. “Growing up with [those ornaments] every year, they became so special to me,” she says. “And I can’t wait to share that with my kids one day, but I love sharing this with my friends. I love entertaining, I love hosting, and so these decorations get used really well.”

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In the kitchen sits a gingerbread house bearing Jenner’s name and the names of all of her animals, including her Doberman pinscher Pyro and five horses.
In the kitchen sits a gingerbread house bearing Jenner’s name and the names of all of her animals, including her Doberman pinscher Pyro and five horses.
The bow motif on the family room tree is new for Jenner this year—and very much on trend. Previously, her secondary tree has taken on different forms. “She would actually string popcorn herself and put strands on that tree. And in years past, we had some beautiful horses on the tree and different things. So her vibe changes a little bit every year, but not too much,” Leatham says.
Jenner calls the gingerbread house “just another nod to the fact that [my animals are] my family right now.” The floral arrangements throughout the home are by Madleen Volk.
Burgundy bows, real acorns, and real pine cones adorn the tree in the family room.
Burgundy bows, real acorns, and real pine cones adorn the tree in the family room.
“If I had a modern home, I might go a little bit more modern [with the decorations],” Jenner says. “I’m following the vibe and the character that my house has—and vintage is just what my house screams.”
“If I had a modern home, I might go a little bit more modern [with the decorations],” Jenner says. “I’m following the vibe and the character that my house has—and vintage is just what my house screams.”
Art: © 2024 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York)
Fans of The Kardashians on Hulu will remember that, last Christmas, Kris had custom dollhouses made for all of her children, reminiscent of one she had in the house when they were growing up. “It was something we looked at every Christmas, and, especially as kids, you’re amazed by it,” Kendall recalls. “Now I get to look at it in my house and feel really warm.”
The dining table is set with Hermès Cheval d’Orient dessert plates, featuring horses, of course.
The dining room is one of many spaces where Jenner has updated the art since AD’s last visit in 2020. “My taste in art has changed, and my knowledge of art has changed. So I’ve gravitated towards different things,” she says. “I’m super proud of and feel really grateful that I have the opportunity and the ability to find these amazing pieces.”
“I got the itch,” to redo the family room in the years since the home was last featured in AD, Jenner says. “I added a built-in bookshelf and warmed up the room with darker tones.” The custom corduroy sofa by Bode and Green River Project features drawings that represent “my life and the things that I love and history and my past.”
What was once an art studio is now a dark and cozy home theater with a custom sofa in chocolate boucle, French pleated lamps, and a Bottega Veneta horse pouf.
Garland and simple lights adorn Jenner’s courtyard.
Garland and simple lights adorn Jenner’s courtyard.
“Hers is the kind of house that you walk into and it’s so beautiful during the holidays because there’s always a fire burning in all the fireplaces, and it smells wonderful,” designer Jeff Leatham says.
“Cars and horses. That is my life right now,” Jenner says.
“Cars and horses. That is my life right now,” Jenner says.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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