There are other ways to deck the halls than with tinsel and baubles. In Holly Henderson's historic Mount Baker home, candlelight and firelight reflect off ceiling beams nearly a century old while white lilies, amber glass balls and French ribbon add elegance.	Garlands of cedar and a simple holly wreath greet visitors to the old hunting lodge, the first house built in Mount Baker.

It is a fine house for a dog, as the old wooden floors slant away at different angles, allowing Gabe to have a lively ballgame all by himself. Gabe was as carefully chosen as every other decorative element in the household, imported from Austria, lovely to look at with his chocolate curls, matching brown nose and curiously webbed feet.

Such selectivity is the hallmark of Henderson's taste, apparent particularly at holiday time, when so often taste is forgotten as we deck the halls with every ball, bauble and nutcracker doll pulled out of the Christmas boxes.

There is something to be said for tradition and tinsel, but there are other possibilities for festivity besides red and green and piling it on.

Holiday decorations enhance the old house's charms, with mossy stars and topiaries leading the eye to wood-framed windows and the lake beyond.

Seasonal celebration seem to erase restraint in decorating as surely as in eating and drinking, and you'd think Henderson, stylist supreme and owner of the Madison Valley shop Lavender Heart, would have a particularly hard time not throwing the decorations on thickly. She has, after all, a store full of wreaths and lights, candles and Santas from which to choose, and a stage set of a house. Eddie Bauer has done several catalog shoots here, lured by its paned windows, original wood walls, its feel of sturdy age.

In her personal palette, though, Henderson allows herself little color besides the flame of her long red hair. She wears mostly black or gray, unrelieved by pattern. "I bought a navy blue suit recently, and it seemed so bright," she laughs. "I love color in nature. Otherwise it is too busy."

She creates a warm, festive house full of Christmas cheer by using natural textures and colors, mainly white and amber, with touches of red limited to the kitchen, where there are red counter tops and golden pine walls. Otherwise, all is white, cream, copper and amber; metal, twig and golden ribbon; and the green of tree, wreath and mossy topiary. It works because whatever Henderson does choose, such as antique amber balls and white candles, she repeats again and again on tree, windowsill and tabletop.

The old brick mantle glows with the flicker from tall, thick timber candles that burn 8 to 10 hours per inch. All the candles are white or made of butterscotch-colored beeswax; their bases are surrounded by cedar and fir and dotted with lilies. Candle flame joins with fire flame to lighten the wood-paneled living and dining rooms, bringing to mind how the old lodge must have been lit just after the turn of the century. Votives in glass cups top a fir-draped metal chandelier and slow-burning, fragrant beeswax tapers rise on tiered candelabras gracing coffee and dining tables.

A cozy, lodgelike feeling carries into the dining room above with twig coasters, cream-colored Italian dinnerware, snowberry garlands outlining the windows and yet more candles.

Too often a Christmas tree becomes no more than a scaffold, branches lost beneath the decorations. Henderson's tree, in one corner of the living room, is a study in green, gold and white, a simple fir that becomes a piece of sculpture with its own form, color and texture accented. From its branches hang the same kind of teardrop carnival ornaments that are piled into a bowl on the coffee table. Tiny white lights shine through the ornaments' amber glass. Sheer French ribbon festoons the tree in swoops, and all is accented by flaring white lilies, each in an individual tube held in place by the tree's needles. Henderson hydrates the lilies by plunging their stems into deep, cool water for at least 24 hours, then cuts the stems under running water before sticking them into the tubes. The lilies will last several days on the tree, and Henderson keeps a big vase full of more to serve as replacements on tree and mantle.

Instead of being daunted by a dark interior (even the ceilings are made of wood) and few electrical outlets, Henderson has chosen to accent the charm of the old house. "I keep putting in more bark and twig to play up the feeling of a lodge," she says. Even her flatware has handles of twig, and furniture is mostly made of twig, wood and metal. Old paneling, shaggy area rugs and bent-willow furniture are relieved by the sparkle of glass and candlelight.

Henderson sees her house as an ever-changeable collage, and never more so than at Christmas, when she has so many elements to play with. "Use what you love, and then change it often," she advises.

Henderson deviates from her subtle color scheme, to highlight the knotty pine walls and red kitchen counters with matching balls, bows and berries.

Doing so lets her learn ways to use the items she sells in her shop and, at Christmas, create a study in contrasts. Aged dark wood is played up by light and sparkling accessories. Comfortably worn pieces of furniture contrast with ornaments carefully arranged in open bowls and tidily stacked, cream-colored Italian plates.

Most in keeping with the spirit of the holiday is her masterful play of simplicity and abundance, with restricted colors and forms offset by generosity of amber glass, delicate ribbon and burning candles.

"I don't agonize over any of it, or take it too seriously," says Henderson. "Really, you can mix anything as long as you do it tastefully, and don't ever use pink or blue."