Photos: Decorations in the spirit of the era

It feels as though Rhoda Adamson, for whom the graceful Spanish Colonial Revival house was built in 1930 as a wedding gift, has just left the room. And that’s exactly the effect that the docents doing the decorating are after.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

“The intent is to be in keeping with what the Adamson family had and did during the holidays,” said Sandy Underwood, the docent who takes the lead in decorating the house each year for Christmas. “We use a mix of things the Adamsons actually owned, and decorations we believe preserve the spirit of the era.”  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The 4,500-square-foot Adamson House and its grounds make up the Malibu Lagoon State Beach, one of the jewels in the crown of the state park system.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The house, filled with priceless Malibu Potteries tile, is the sole historic residence in the system where visitors are allowed to walk through all of the rooms.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

During the Christmas season, the docents decorate.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Holiday cards from the Adamson collection are displayed on a ribbon board.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

In the bedrooms, mannequins in fancy fashions offer a glimpse of how the family may have dressed for holiday gatherings.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

According to family lore, Mrs. Adamson hung a Della Robbia wreath — evergreens festooned with oranges, lemons, pomegranates and other fresh fruit — on the front door each year. Although state regulations today don’t allow anything to be hung from the front door, visitors will see a nod to the Della Robbia tradition in the kitchen.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The house, which still has its original wiring, is quite dim in the evenings.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Docents use faux garlands ...  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

... and trees and wreaths (living plant materials are not allowed) strung with twinkle lights to give a bit more brightness to the rooms.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

When docents first began to decorate the Adamson House, after it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, they used the decorations they brought from home.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Now, the volunteers scour eBay and discount stores for affordable decorations in keeping with the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, the years the family lived in the house.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

“If someone comes on the Christmas tour and falls in love with the house, or even takes away an idea for decorating their own,” Underwood said, “then we’ve done our jobs.”  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)