Volunteer designers decorated Tanner House for Christmas

From sparkly to woodsy to nostalgic, the rooms of the Aurora Historical Society’s 1857 Tanner House Museum are dressed for holiday self-guided tours.

The museum, 304 Oak Ave., is open 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays in December except Christmas Day. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for students, and free for children younger than 12 and members of the Aurora Historical Society.

“Every year we have different designers who take on a room and make it their own,” curator Jennifer Putzier said.

This year the dining room has been decorated by the Aurora Country Club, which will celebrate its centennial next year. It’s theme is “A Toast to Our 100th” and features the beverages, glassware, popular toasts and fashions of various eras from its founding in 1914 to today.

Art restorationist Scott Sherwood has ventured into the so-called haunted bedroom, and NIDO Art Studio is presenting the upstairs sitting room. Historical society intern and art history student Kat Lukes has designed the parlor. Nancy Huntoon Garbe, drawing upon her equestrian background, has created a horsey surprise in the downstairs bedroom.

Other rooms on the tour are the kitchen, decorated by volunteers Mary and Lena Sellen, and the master bedroom decorated by Lisa Smith.