Category Archives: decorating

Patriotic Exterior Decorations

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Every Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day I plan to bring out the patriotic decorations and decorate the house, but those holidays are normally very busy times at client’s homes and I never quite get the decorations up.  I am hoping this year is different, but we will see.

To get you inspired, there are lots of great images floating around pintrest for patriotic decorating.  Here are a few that I found and liked. We have a 48 star flag that I plan on hanging from the front porch of the house like the images below. Due to the location over the front door, this is something you can really only due on the day of celebration.

Image Sources: 1,2,3,4

There are a lot of alternatives to hanging the standard flag on the flag pole or stand. The great thing about american holidays that you can use the same decorations for at least 3-4 holidays and can leave out all summer long if you wish.

Image Sources: 1,2,3,4,5,6

Here are some great products to recreate the looks above. I personally love the “Don’t Give Up the Ship” flag that was flown  by Commodore Perry during the Battle of Lake Erie. It has personally connection to Lake Erie and Perrysburg, OH (named after Perry) and is a different take on patriotic celebration.

Image Sources: Flags from The Flag Lady located here in Columbus Ohio. Bunting from Grandin Road and Vintage 50 star flag from Etsy.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Fourth of July, that includes getting your power fully restored to get out of the heat.

How to Wrap a Tree in Lights

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decorating, Holiday
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I am glad I warned it was going to be a busy week, because this is the first time I have been able to get on the computer all week and still don’t have much to share. We have been busy decorating client’s homes, gutting our design office for a redesign and sourcing special items for clients. Which means next week I will have a lot to share, but today I am a bit behind.

In the mean time has anyone else seen the tree on the cover of the December Martha Stewart? Amazing! See below for how to get the look:

Tricks to get the same look:

  • Use different sized bulbs – C9, C6, and minis. This gives the different clusters of light. 
  • Wrap the major branches- go out then back down. This will help give the tree structure. After the major branches, do the smaller ones. 
  • Use lots of lights - think like 5,000 lights (yes that many). However covering one tree will make a great impact compared to a few strains across multiple trees. Those trees you admire in public spaces can have up to 10,000 lights on them. 
  • Use LEDs – they are more expensive up front, however cost lots less to run and will not pop the breaker each time you turn the lights on.  
A qualifier on the LED lights. They now make LED lights that have the same warm glow as the traditional white twinkle lights, not the strange blue light. I don’t know if these are available yet on the market to the public, but we have a commercial supplier we have been using on all our clients this year. Next week I will share photos so you can see the difference and judge for yourself. If you are interested in changing to LED lights, call your local landscape company and ask. Odd’s are they will be able to supply you the commercial grade lights.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. We are planning on decorating at home this weekend. Also I will have a few client projects to share too!