Designing Diva Interiors

Every month I take reader questions on everything from landscaping to picking out sofas and ask local professionals to sound off. Today I’m asking for your HOLIDAY DECORATING QUESTIONS!

You may leave your questions here in the comment space of this blog or e-mail them to Jennifer@decorateokc.net. Your question may be answered in the upcoming days right here at Back Talk!

If you follow “divainteriors” on Twitter there are savings in store for you! Between now and December 24, 2009, you can purchase design service gift certificates in one hour increments and receive $15 off each hour!

Example: Standard design fee is $75. For the next eight days ONLY you can purchase two hours of design service for $120 instead of $150.

Gift certificates set to expire one year from date purchased and make great gifts! May be applied towards any design service DDI offers. Minimum of one hour ($60) required.

“Jennifer helped me transform my home into a cozy, warm home that I enjoy every minute.  She is an expert in using what you have, adding her ideas and carefully chosen additions and creating a beautifully crafted look in the style you want.  I look forward to working with her for many years.”

-Liz Lundin

People tend to believe that their decorating problems are unique; that they are the only people on the block with outdated furniture, with a bad room plan, with a themed room gone wrong. But truth be told I hear a lot of the same complaints from homeowners and that is never more true than at this time of year. Holiday decor has always been a mish-mash of collected items from over the years, in my home and in most homes I visit.  I don’t know anyone who has a perfectly coordinated Christmas look– sure, your gift wrap may match your ornaments but that’s as far as most people get. I’m not encouraging a Stepford Wife approach to holiday decorating, either, I’m simply saying that most folks have common issues with their holiday decor and its my job-I mean joy- to solve them! The most common gripes include “Everything I have is hand-me-down and nothing matches,” or “My Christmas decorations are so old, I don’t even know what’s in style this year.” My solutions to these individual households are very customized but in general you could safely stick to these rules:

1) If you have a collection of odd and end decorations, work with it! Its called “eclectic” (or “Bohemian” if you’re from the east) and it works because it looks effortless! This usually ends up looking very colorful and its okay if every ornament isn’t color matched or if you have pink ribbon in one room and green in the other. Think more “Dr Suesse” than “Martha Stewart” and you will easily pull off this playful style on a tight budget.

2) Add a little sprinkle of “new” to your decor. So obviously the kids’ reindeer cutouts from kindergarten have to go up but there’s nothing stopping you from adding a few new pieces to give the room an entirely different look from years past. But be disciplined and make a list before you go shopping otherwise you will get easily overwhelmed and end up purchasing more than you had intended. I recommend replacing the garland every two years depending on its quality. Replace the tree skirt every year (3-5 yards of fabric will do the trick and is only $8 compared to a $50 off-the-rack skirt. Tuck under the raw edges and no one will notice!) and the silk floral arrangements every 3-5 years.

3) For a more tailored look, choose three colors. Two will be your main colors (what your ornaments, tree skirt, gift wrap, candles, etc will be in). The third will be your accent color (use on throws, candle holders, decorative plates, ribbon– smaller doses). Carry these color scheme throughout the home for a designer look.

4) Stick with classic pieces and ornaments if in doubt. Trends are..well, trendy, but if you haven’t shopped for Christmas decorations in several years you could run the risk of going in the very extreme opposite direction (having very outdated decoration to having very modern decorations all over the place, which looks forced) in the middle of the excitement.  You can never go wrong with glass ball ornaments in clear urns, vases, bowls, etc. 

*Photos by Cheryl Meares of Captured By Cheryl Photography www.capturedbycheryl.com, Edmond, OK.

“Although we find Christmas tree alternatives intriguing here on AT, there is nothing quite as satisfying as a fresh Christmas tree to cheer up your home. If you have the yard space and inclination, you can select a living tree and lessen your environmental impact of this holiday season. Here are some trees that will thrive out West.

Sunset Magazine put together a guide for selecting the proper Christmas tree for your “zone”.

Left to Right, Top to Bottom:
1. Alpine Fir
2. Deodar Cedar
3. Australian Black Pine
4. Douglas Fir
5. Giant Sequoia
6. Norway Spruce

Say you don’t want a Christmas tree in your yard after the season is over? You might consider getting a living Christmas tree and then gifting it to a friend with ample land when you are through with it. If you are lucky enough to live around Portland, Oregon you can rent a living Christmas tree from The Original Living Christmas Tree Company. For $80 you can have a tree delivered to your home mid-December and picked up on January 2nd.”

So now that your options have been laid out for you, get thee to the nearest tree farm (my family loves the Coffee Creek Tree Farm in Arcadia, OK) so you can start enjoying your fresh dose of Christmas cheer! Need decorating tips for that beautiful new tree? Keep an eye on this blog for more inexpensive tips you can do in a hurry!

*Note from Designing Diva Interiors, LLC:

ApartmentTherapy.com has become a recent favorite of mine because of their unique content and creative ideas. Subscribe to their RSS feed or follow on Facebook and Twitter!

Your husband doesn’t need one more tie and mom has seen her fair share of picture frames. Go for something truly unique this Christmas; something they will be proud to call their own: a well designed room. Designing Diva Interiors, LLC offers gift certificates in increments of $75 (equal to one hour of service). Who are gift certificates for?

~The sister who’s expecting (nursery design)

~The bachelor brother (Man Cave/Bachelor Pad design)

~The busy executive spouse (Master Suite decorating)

~ The cousin who loves to cook (kitchen design)

~The best friends who just bought a new home

and everyone in between! See DDI’s homepage for a list of services. Gift certificates expire six months from date purchased.

Receive your $20 OFF coupon for booking your holiday decorating service by November 15th! Remember, you do not have to have your home decorated by the 15th, you simply must schedule your desired appointment by the 15th.  

Who is DDI’s Holiday Decorating Service for, anyway? You don’t need a huge home or an overflowing bank account to get a professionally designed room for the holidays! We do it all, large or small: tree decorating, fireplace/mantle decor, decorating for dinner parties and more.

Use your current decor or allow Jennifer Hicks to design a new look from the ground up and at an affordable cost to you! Take it easy this year and let us do the hard part for you.

*DDI and temporary holiday assistants are insured.

* Includes interior design only, exterior decorating jobs accepted at designer’s discretion.

                                              See “Contact Us” link on homepage.

…to receive your $20 OFF coupon for booking your holiday decorating service by November 15th! Remember, you do not have to have your home decorated by the 15th, you simply must schedule your desired appointment by the 15th.  

Who is DDI’s Holiday Decorating Service for, anyway? You don’t need a huge home or an overflowing bank account to get a professionally designed room for the holidays! We do it all, large or small: tree decorating, fireplace/mantle decor, decorating for dinner parties and more.

Use your current decor or allow Jennifer Hicks to design a new look from the ground up and at an affordable cost to you! Take it easy this year and let us do the hard part for you.

*DDI and temporary holiday assistants are insured.

* Includes interior design only, exterior decorating jobs accepted at designer’s discretion.

Designing Diva Interiors would like to pass along information about two upcoming events that you won’t want to miss!

Nov. 7 Stop by and see me at the Adopt Shoppe Christmas Market  while you shop to support a local family’s adoption efforts! 9am-6pm, Quail Springs Church of Christ (On May between 150th and Memorial). Unique local vendors, door prizes, Santa photos, bake sale and more! A portion of the proceeds benefit the Crum Family Adoption Fund.

Nov. 5-7 Check out Yukon’s Main St. Holiday Open House and shop at Designing Diva’s favorite local boutiques for that perfect present.

PotteryBarn.com is offering free shipping on tree skirts, stockings, ornaments and other holiday decor staples! Do your own shopping or allow Designing Diva Interiors, LLC to create a new look just for you. Save yourself even more time with our Holiday Decorating Service. Using the decor you already own or your brand spankin’ new Pottery Barn goodies, DDI will design the look your family craves just in time for your guests to begin arriving (but don’t wait until the last minute– book by Nov. 15 and receive $20 off your first hour)!