Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Atlanta residents take full advantage of the snow-covered hills at a nearby park, a spectacle Erica enjoys watching with a hot cup of cocoa from her front porch.

The Dines family aren“t the only ones taking advantage of a white winter evening at the park across the street from their home.

Daughters Eva (left), a college student and Grace, a middle schooler, “are never too old to make crafts for the tree,” says Erica; the two covered the evergreen with “glittified” strands of popcorn

Michael, an artist, harkens back to his West Virginia roots as he proudly transports the family tree to the snowy outdoors.

A privet hedge Michael has cultivated through the years looks especially enchanting when it’s framing the fragrant family tree.

The entrance to the Dines family home proves positively enchanting with the addition of a brilliantly lit snow-covered tree.

Mercury glass ornaments add visual stimulation to the family“s colorfully lit tree in the backyard.

Mercury glass ornaments add visual stimulation to the family“s colorfully lit tree in the backyard.

A collection of simple but intricate vintage silver discs are among Erica’s favorite things to hang on their tree.

The Dines family decorated one tree with oversized white antique lightbulbs, which shine even more brilliantly when placed on tree limbs blanketed in snow.

Red-and-white packages look especially inviting on the Dines“ vintage wood sled.

A statue at nearby Historic Oakland Cemetery oversees the wintry scene.

For nearly two decades, Erica and Michael Dines have proudly called Inman Park home. The neighborhood—one of the nation’s first “garden communities” which would later inspire the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Druid Hills—is known as much for its historic character as it is for its curvilinear streets and generous public spaces. The couple’s bungalow overlooks the park, so when a rare blizzard blanketed their home last winter, Erica and Michael, along with daughters Eva and Grace and pitbull Mia, simply headed for the neighborhood’s hills to take advantage of the sparkling winter wonderland.

“The girls remember every time it has snowed in Atlanta, each time they’ve gone sledding,” says Erica. “This is the house they grew up in, and we’ve always built snowmen across the street. It doesn’t matter what time of day or night, but the fields just light up in the snow. I love sitting on the front porch and watching from afar.”

Creative by nature—Erica is an editorial and commercial photographer, while Michael is an established artist known for his large-scale landscapes and still lifes—the Dines family culled their artistic aesthetics to create an unforgettable holiday display among the quietude and calm of the surrounding snow.

They began by framing their fragrant evergreen within the profile of their carefully cultivated 8-foot privet hedge (Michael’s labor of love through the years), fronted by a Puzio-designed wrought-iron gate. Grace, a middle schooler, and Eva, a college student, both craftsmen in their own right, hand-strung popcorn and applied a glittery finish before adding the strands to the tree. Also taking pride of place: Erica’s collection of vintage silver metal stars and discs and oversized antique light bulbs, while mercury glass ornaments from Anthropologie added a festive pop of color. The result is a picture-perfect wintry scene only the Dines family could craft.