Designers help harried homeowners decorate for the holidays

Decorated trees, garlands, wreaths, angels, Santas and stars all proclaim the Christmas holiday in homes all over the area each year.

While most homeowners do the decorating themselves, making multiple trips to the attic or basement and hauling out their holiday finery, a fortunate few pick up the phone and call a designer to come and do all the lifting, toting, hanging and even purchasing of new items for them.

Decorating homes for Christmas has become a sideline for interior decorators all over Chicago and the suburbs.

"I started doing my clients' homes for Christmas about 15 years ago when one of my clients was having a holiday party and asked for my help," recalled Gayle Veach Davis of Accumulations Inc. in West Dundee.

"I started offering it to my clients and have a list of regulars that I do every year," she said. "I love it because it's instant gratification. I don't have to wait for delivery of furniture or window treatments. I can go into a home and in a day or two completely transform it into something magical."

Teri Leach of Schaumburg loves Christmas and since she and her husband own two homes, one here and the old family home in Oshkosh, Wis., they only have time to decorate one.

So three years ago Leach hired Davis to create Christmas décor for her Schaumburg townhouse. Since the home is decorated in earth tones, Davis uses burgundy, forest green and gold in the holiday décor here.

"I recommend that you decorate for the holiday to coordinate with your existing furnishings," Davis said. "Use the formal decorations in the more formal spaces and the casual fun décor in the less formal spaces. Instead of the traditional Christmas red and green, other shades of red, even purple, can work beautifully for the holidays and may look better with your existing colors."

"Lime green is a fresh take on an old classic and can be paired with blue and turquoise for the holidays," she added. "I like to use lime green with bronze and copper, as well."

"You don't have to spend a lot of money," Davis continued. "I like to work with what a client has and just add to it. Any existing silver trays or containers are a wonderful beginning. Adding ornaments that pick up or contrast the color of the room, along with a sprig of greenery and some candles make fabulous arrangements."

"Think outside the box. Tuck twigs, berries, florals or even small toys in your Christmas tree," she added. "For a topper, try using something other than the traditional star or angel. For the top of my own tree I found a large 20-inch snowflake that I wire on and add ribbon and berry twigs to fill out the arrangement."

Davis decorated the entire first floor of the Leach home, which includes the living room, dining room, entry hall and kitchen. There are garlands, mantle arrangements, centerpieces, Christmas fairies and a tree covered with angels, mirrors and ribbon.

Marta Cullen of Dream Interiors in Downers Grove admitted that she has had a passion for holiday decorating since she was a young girl.

"My mother absolutely hates to decorate anything and named herself the Scrooge," she recalled. "I have a love for stuff and putting it together, so my mom gave me free rein of the house and I experimented for many years.

"Today I consider myself a holiday decorating diva and my staff assists me in recreating the wonderful displays in my store and in our clients' homes each year," Cullen said. "I have clients who love to showcase their homes and all the many collectibles, especially at the holidays."

Cullen has been decorating her clients' homes for Christmas for 13 years. In fact, this year she decorated 28 homes in Hinsdale, Oak Brook, Glen Ellyn, Downers Grove and Elmhurst. She even removes the decorations and stores them away after the holiday.

"People are still doing Christmas, even with the poor economy," Cullen said. "It is a tradition that makes them feel good."

"It is a great help to have Marta and her staff," explained Debra Murray, one of Cullen's Downers Grove clients. "I love what they do and it is a big timesaver for me. Besides, they have a much better design sense than I do."

"When someone hires me, I go in with my floral designer and ask the homeowner what they would like us to concentrate on," Cullen said. "I also ask to see the items they already have and use what I can.

"Some clients allow me to do whatever I want," Cullen continued. "Others have specific things that they want placed in specific spaces."

After a job, Cullen and her staff of 20 take careful photos of what they have done and file them away for the next year so that they can create it again and again.

Cullen even offers holiday decorating seminars at her store at 5122 Main St. in Downers Grove during October, November and December for people who want advice from decorators, but still want to do the decorating themselves. For $20 a person learns how to decorate mantels, countertops, trees and tabletops. This year Cullen held six such workshops that attracted between 35 and 45 people each.

"People do a lot of entertaining during this time of year," added Nancy Folkers of Interiors Classique of Arlington Heights. "They want their homes to look their best. So I offer a Christmas decorating service to clients for whom I have done a major decorating project the previous year."

Unlike Davis and Cullen, Folkers seldom returns to a client year after year to decorate for Christmas. She creates a Christmas scenario once and then it is up to the client to recreate it in succeeding years.

"I take into account the character of the house, the architecture, color scheme and ambience, as well as the personality and interests of the homeowners, to determine a theme that augments the design of the home," Folkers said.

For instance, several years ago she created a Christmas theme for a South Barrington client who is a talented pianist and works for various musical organizations as a fundraiser. It features musical instruments and notes throughout for a unified, striking impression.

There is a children's violin in the middle of one centerpiece, for instance, as well as ribbon featuring musical notes entwined in the banister garland and a wreath featuring brass horns on the front door.

"I have no talent in this area," explained Cathy Wloch, Folkers' musician client. "To hire Nancy saves me time and money, headaches and hassles. She knows where to buy things and what looks good where."

Folkers has made an exception in Wloch's case, returning to the home at least a time or two after creating the Christmas scenario eight years ago.

"I have tried to put up the decorations every year and they never look the same," Wloch admitted. "They need Nancy's touch."

When she creates a design, Folkers asks the homeowners to show her the holiday items they already own and then, if they will work with the new scheme, she uses them. Otherwise, she purchases new items.

"So many people throw up a mishmash of decorations," Folkers said. "I try to use the same colors throughout, along with a theme, so that the decorations look like they were meant to be."