Grin & Bear It.....

Yes, that IS what you think it is: A Christmas Tree.

(One of my favorites, actually....located in my fave residential client's family room, you can get a peek of it thru this oval window overlooking the front porch. So one of the three dozen stuffed bears that inhabit the tree is always placed so that he is peeking out the window. See his friend hanging upside down behind him? The boys LOVE those upside down, cartwheeling bears. And the 'boys' are taller than I am now.)

Yep, it may be summer (here in Seattle, that would be a relative term that we read on the calendar but don't experience until after the 4th of July) but here at Diva central, I am in the thick of preparing bids and writing letters of intent and booking my holiday decorating season. It's all part and parcel for working with resorts & retail establishments - we work two seasons ahead for the most part. While I won't be installing any of my clients' decor until at least mid-October, all of the preliminary paperwork gets handled now.

I'm also busy looking at lists and photos of what merchandise will be appearing for holiday displays in my client's shops, so that I can keep my eyes open for fixtures & props that set off those product lines to their best advantage. I've got some big garage sales, antique shows, and markets to visit this summer, and I want to have a list of things to keep a lookout for.

Do you do this? Planning ahead for a season - especially Holiday/4th quarter - can make a big difference in your store's appearance. When you wait until the week before you install new merchandise to think about displays, you are limiting yourself AND your money. By watching all year for things you can use to create wonderful focal point displays, you can find bargains and amazing one-of-a-kind props to use. And summer is the perfect time to hit all of the garage sales and thrift shops, so make your list and get out there.

O I know you are busy - we all are! - but you can take five minutes and pull over to that garage sale you pass on the way home on Friday. And look - there's a kid's wooden high chair for five bucks! Paint it baby blue, stick a fake four foot tree in the seat, and hang all of your pastel pink n' blue 'Baby's First Christmas' ornaments on it. Add a few soft snuggly teddy bears (upside down, of course!) and TAH DAH! Way more impact than pegging them on slatwall. You've invested five bucks and a can of paint, and your customers will OOOhhhhh and AAAwwwww over it. Sales will soar. You'll become a recycle-redesign-reuse addict like me! (Which is a very good reason to thrift, ya know...but that's another post).

I know, I know - "Deb! Don't talk to me about the Holiday season yet!!!" (Which was actually a response I got from a prospective client!) It's enough to make your head swim....tho I guess I could count our ugly gray June Gloom as a better atmosphere in which to focus on winter holidays than if the sun was shining and we had temps in the 80's. But OH would I love to have some 80 degree days so I can sit on the beach while making my lists and checking them twice! (I've heard that's what Santa does.....)

ps: Blogger is apparently having issues with the spacebar this morning.....

Hittin' the Bottle....

I've just recently hauled out all of my summer decor at home, turning my Cottage into a beachhouse for the summer season. One of my vignettes features a collection of old apothecary bottles gathered together on a pedestal - and inside those bottles, you'll find various sand, shells, rocks, sea glass, and other tiny little bits that I collect on my travels. I label them with a dated tag and tie it on with a twist of raffia. I've done this for several years. I was surfin' the web recently and found this photo from HGTV's new show, 'Red Hot & Green': contributing eco-designer Danny Seo (love his blog, 'Simple Green') pulled together some elements that the homeowners have collected, and placed them in jars...

Check out that jar second from the left. What's in it?
Two old apothecary bottles filled with sand, and tied with raffia!
Who knew I was so ahead of trendy eco-design?!
(PS: I don't take anything but sea glass from marine sanctuaries or protected beaches, BTW).

I caught the new HGTV show, which features Danny Seo and cohort Carter Oosterhouse (formerly carpenter on Trading Spaces & While You Were Out - I think), and was really impressed with the great ideas & techniques for incorporating green thinking into design. Check out the website for much of the info in features, photos, & video clips: Red Hot & Green
I have to say that I enjoyed the show EXCEPT for the fact that the kitchen they demo-ed looked exactly like my vintage kitchen here at my Cottage! Same old white cabinets, same black & white checkered floor, same green walls (ok, mine are a bit more olive and less lime). I was astounded that they'd rip all that charm out! Also that they put grasscloth wallpaper up in a kitchen - it may be eco-friendly, but it's kinda' hard to clean, guys. Ah well.

And on a related note, I found these lovely bottles on the Rosanna Inc. web site. These are ceramic, made from molds patterned after vintage bottles that designer Rosanna found in Oregon. I just LOVE these colors!

I was thinking that for a really eco-friendly twist on this idea, you could take a bunch of any old glass bottles - apothecary, canning, even Coke bottles - and put a spoonful of acrylic or latex paint inside, then swirl & shake it around so it covers the whole interior of the bottle. Flip it upside down and let the excess drip out onto a bit of newspaper, then sit on it's side to let it dry. Once dry (I'd say wait 48 hours at least) arrange your bottles on a shelf or mantel or tabletop, and add a few accents - twigs, reeds, grasses, single flowers, whatever. They would be stunning on a table as placemarkers, with a simple tag hung around the neck with each guest's name on it.

You know me, I'm all for 'Fast, Cheap, & Easy' (TM) decorating ideas....and if you can add 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, & Reinvent' to that, I'm even happier!

Photo Credits:
Top: Debi Ward Kennedy
Middle: HGTV' Red Hot & Green'
Bottom: Rosanna, Inc.