A Designer's look at Decking the Halls

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Today’s guest is Jessica Nixon of Jessica Nixon Interior Design, the company she founded in 1994. Jessica is a registered American Society of Interior Designers member and has earned the National Council for Interior Design Qualification certification. In addition to her tenure as president of Austin’s ASID, she has held past positions with the association including Programs Chairman and Design Excellence Chairman. Recently, she was featured as the winning Designer on the hit TV show, “Designer’s Choice”. Today, she talks about decorating for the Holidays.

To create a beautiful sophisticated Christmas tree here are some helpful hints:

1. There is no better way to exude elegance than to decorate the Christmas tree with white lights.

2. To make the white light even more angelic try purchasing some white tulle (wedding netting). Cut into 1 yard pieces scrunch together and fill in any empty spaces between the tips of the branch and the trunk with the tulle. This not only helps the tree look fuller but gives an extra twinkle. It also looks great if you wrap the base of the tree with the tulle. The tulle comes in many different colors. Another sophisticated color to use would be silver or gold.

3. Many pre-made tree skirts barely cover the tree stand. One method that I have used is to purchase two to three yards of a beautiful fabric from the fabric store, just wrap around the base of the tree, fold under any exposed rough edges, puff and scrunch until it gives the soft, billowy look. This is a custom, no-sew method tree skirt for less.

4. As for tree topper, what I think always looks beautiful is a glass finial, but if budget is an issue you can do a bow on top of the tree. For the bow, I always say “bigger is better.” If you can not make bows, you can go down to your local craft store or florist shop, and they can make them for you out of the ribbon you chose for a small fee. Also, I recommend having streams of the same ribbon that cascade down the tree. Just cut the ribbon that will be showing at an angle to have clean, finished edge.

5. If you want a sophisticated look and you have children, my suggestion to you is have a separate tree for the kids to put their collection of ornaments on. This can be in the family room or even play room. That way, you do not have Mickey Mouse on your formal tree. My friend has a mini tree in each of her boys’ rooms, and they have fun picking their favorite ornaments to go on their own mini tree.

6. If you cannot get around having only one tree—make it over the top! One way to achieve this is to use a fun, hip colored garland. Another way is to choose a tree skirt that has a lot of color. You could also try the same no-sew method tree skirt here again, but make the color something that is bright and festive. A patch work skirt or even a patch work quilt could be a very unique tree skirt. And lastly, do everything multi-colored. Instead of using one color of ornaments, use red, purple, blue, and green and definitely go with multi-colored lights. By using all these elements together you can create a tree that whimsical and fun for everyone.

Look for us again when we discuss swags, wreaths, and centerpieces.

Jessica Nixon, ASID

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