Nestled on a dead end street in a bucolic setting on the edge of Boley swamp and a stone’s throw from the creek is the home of Ron and Kay Whitfield. The cottage was begun shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck the area and was built by Derwin Whitfield’s Heritage Homes. The Whitfields finally established residency in April of 2007.

Ron Whitfield and his cousin, Derwin Whitfield, and Kay Whitfield with her brother, Quinn Houchin, took a stock plan by Donald Gardner, who designs for Southern Living, and customized the plan for the way the family lives. “We took the rooms that we really actually used in our former larger house and incorporated them into a much smaller home that lives big,” said Kay Whitfield.

As in typical cottage style, there is a blending of the old and the new to create a transitional environment throughout the home. There is a mixing of pattern and saturated color creating an air of comfort and an upbeat atmosphere of a good old fashioned Christmas. Every room is decorated differently and takes on its own personality with each offering a little bit of Christmas spirit.

The upstairs bedroom was built for the couple’s grandchildren, Caroline, Ross and Justin Whitfield, and their nieces, Olivia and Molly Houchin, who live just down the street. The tree in this room is a hodgepodge of both old and new ornaments collected at ornament exchanges, during travels, and from Kay Whitfield’s elementary students through the years, making this tree especially sentimental and timeless.

The rest of the cottage is decorated with a little of this and a little of that. It all blends together to make all who enter feel welcomed. The Whitfields would like to invite everyone to stop by and visit their home and enjoy the premium entertainment that has been lined up by their daughter-in-law, Jennifer Whitfield.

The annual Civic Woman’s Club Christmas Pilgrimage is a great way to usher in the season. Not only is it an enjoyable evening but visitors will also be contributing to a worthy cause — the CWC scholarship fund. For more information, please contact Michelle Boyd at 601-749-0745 or Judy Griffin at 601-798-4475.