This Des Moines Decorator's Home Truly Became a Miracle on 34th Street

Before the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone, a Christmas tree twinkles in the window of a house on 34th Street in Des Moines. Inside, Ruthie and Greg Jackson pile onto the sofa with their two kids, and he pulls on a crewneck that says, "This is my Hallmark movie-watching sweatshirt." Press play.

"We're obnoxious. We start watching those movies as soon as they start airing," Ruthie laughs. And they don't stop until Christmas Eve, when she and Greg take plates of fettuccine Alfredo to the living room and wrap gifts while watching The Holiday. "We don't take anything too seriously," Ruthie says, "whether it's decorating the house or holiday entertaining."

About that house: When the Jacksons bought their Colonial Revival, the street address felt like kismet. "Our house reminded me of the set of a Christmas movie, and I always wanted a Christmas house," says Ruthie, who is an interior decorator. "I work on our house every day, just a bit at a time. I like to experiment and have fun with the decor." She started a blog and Instagram to track her tinkering and named it—of course—Miracle on Thirty Fourth.

The Jacksons' home was built in the 1930s, but a 1960s renovation left it with an era-fluid feel. There's quirky storage, plus fruited tiles and a full-on cocktail bar in the kitchen. "I think of my house as midcentury traditional, but Jackie O traditional, you know? With that kitschy element," Ruthie says. Rather than stifle that soul, she embraces it, with go-for-broke choices—sassy patterns, textural wall coverings and saturated hues that might make others gulp.

"Color is so effective when you don't have a huge budget or have a bunch of things that don't go together," she says. "If you wrap a space in a bold color, it's like a little hug for your things."

An avid DIYer and serial thrifter, she loves a bargain find and isn't afraid of eclecticism or wrong turns. (Though she does have one mix-and-match rule: Only buy tableware in sets of four or more.) A whim like hanging plaid wallpaper below a chair rail is worth the gamble. If she gets a different idea later, all the better.

But all the tweaking comes to a halt at Christmas. Ruthie's holiday palette is red, gold and green; her tools are old-fashioned ribbons, candles and mostly faux greenery (with some backyard trimming tucked in). She aims to get it all up fast, then move on to the real fun of ice-skating, hot chocolate and movie marathons. "I'm not going with a different theme every time," Ruthie says. "I like vintage Christmas. That's my jam, very nostalgic."

And as if the walls were listening, a few years ago the house on 34th Street delivered a little miracle: Behind a hidden panel under the basement stairs, the Jacksons found a box of old wooden ornaments. For a family that loves the season so much, the discovery was like a belated welcome gift from their home—the happiest kind of ghost of Christmases past. They have had a place on the tree ever since.

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