Ashley and Max Vogel like to think of their house as a reflection of their family—colorful, creative and fun. Aaaannnnnndddd…. Now it’s Christmas, and their home is just that!
The Vogels, along with their two girls, took up residency in their Sequoyah Hills home around Labor Day of 2022, and it continues to be a work in progress, putting their own personality into each space. In spite of the fact that Max is a minimalist, Ashley says her husband lovingly indulges and encourages her inspirations for the home. “We decorate together. We want a house that can not only be lived in, bu one that each family member feels like they play a part in making a home,” Ashley says. “We’re always in the middle of a project. The girls come up with ideas and I try to find a way to bring them to life.”
The Vogels had no intention of moving from their Riverbend area home when they took a spur-of the-moment look at the house on Father’s Day. Ashley happened to mention it to her parents at a family gathering later that day. Without much planning, Max and Ashley’s father went back to tour the house promptly, and the Vogels decided to put an offer in that day with a closing on August first. One of her first thoughts upon visiting the house was envisioning decorating the front door for the holidays.
Ashley uses fresh cut magnolia leaves and fresh evergreen everywhere when decorating and isn’t opposed to fake greenery around the house. However, the trees in the family room must be real, as that is Max’s only request. What started as a precautionary measure after their youngest was born, tensile topped trees are now a tradition the oldest daughter insists upon. On the anniversary of their second Christmas in the home, they decided to double the live trees letting each girl pick one out. Decorating is a family affair. The Vogels like to add a personal touch wherever they can as seen in the purchased portrait of Santa they painted over in bright, rainbow colors and added crystal for a sparkling sky.
Ashley claims her love of all things Christmas comes from her family, especially her mother, Loretta. Decorating for her comes from a deeprooted appreciation for the holiday and is not only a labor of love, but her love language. Her mom still makes the holiday special and sentimental like putting out the life size, waiving Santa, originally purchased by Ashley’s grandparents when she was little, and decorating everything down to holiday-inspired sheets on eac person’s bed. Memories of the season involve clipping buckets of fresh greenery from the yard with her sister and her mom and decorating the house together, as they still do today. Loretta was on hand for this interview and didn’t deny these claims, adding the fact that her style of hostessing
is more classic southern charm. The style evolves, but the sentiment of the season is one they continue to pass down from generation to generation.
The Vogels share a love of all holidays and go all out for each occasion. Ashley described a specific point of pride in her recent St. Patrick’s Day décor of rainbows shooting out of the girls’ bedroom windows into pots of gold in the front yard. She came home one afternoon to find a class of a nearby day care on a field trip on the sidewalk in front of the house admiring the display and looking for leprechauns. The neighbors can’t wait to see what the Vogel Family does next.
On reflecting what the inspiration was for the home, Ashley pointed to a wedding photo prominently featured in the living room of her and Max exiting their wedding reception at RT Lodge, “Love explosion! I want that kind of big energy to fill our every day."