REDMOND, Wash. — Just off Redmond-Fall City Road, a twinkling driveway marks a detour to another world.
"Magical is really the perfect word for it,” said Rob Rose, owner of The Christmas Shop at Timber Creek.
It’s a log cabin built in 1925 that, once a year, changes into a floor-to-ceiling holiday extravaganza. Rose, an interior designer by trade, runs the Christmas Shop at Timber Creek with his husband Gerry Ketchum.
"He'll come up with the start of an idea and yeah — I usually blow it way out of proportion," Rose laughed.
"I think we break fewer things than we used to,” Ketchum added.
It's no small task turning every square inch into a winter wonderland — especially when you consider Rose and Ketchum also live in the cabin.
They transform the entire first floor of their home into a showroom. The kitchen displays holiday-themed cooking tools and baking kits. The bathroom features Christmas scents in candles, bath salts and diffusers.
They've set up the space — and lived upstairs during the holidays — for the past 15 years. They say their shop isn't just for commerce. It's for community.
"It makes me feel good. Because you know, you walk out that door, there's so many things going on out that door. And when you come in here, you just don't feel it,” Ketchum said. “You feel happy. You feel safe."
Customers also can find one-of-a-kind pieces for their homes. Small vignettes cater to every kind of taste, from western themes to a Harry Potter village to classic silver and white.
"So much of it is little snapshots of our lives,” Rose said. “These are Aspen trees that we cut down off our property in Colorado.”
But perhaps no display is as meaningful as the one nicknamed "The Chapel," a room featuring nativity scenes and biblical imagery.
"I am in the process of becoming a priest in the Episcopal church, I'm deeply religious, it's important to me,” Rose said. "It's about showing that original story of Christmas. It tells the story of what our potential is as human beings, for love and for kindness."
The Christmas Shop at Timber Creek | 25629 N.E. Redmond Fall City Rd. | Open daily from 11-5. Private shopping is also available by appointment. Social distancing and masks are required.
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