Decking Your Holiday Halls

When the holiday season arrives in this sunny paradise we call home, Southwest Floridians, longing for the crisp wintry bliss of the north, embrace the traditions of decorating their homes with such unabashed passion as to create virtual winter wonderlands, sans snow.

What better way to truly enjoy the holidays than to hire a professional to do the job for you? For the past four years, Merida Hines-Tyler, proprietor of Deck The Halls in Naples has combined her love of Christmastime with her venerable design background to create a unique decorating niche.

Either using the clients’ own ornaments and trees or starting from scratch and ordering the “works,” Deck The Halls charges an hourly fee, plus materials, which includes installation and breakdown. At the end of the season, items are boxed, labeled and inventoried, and for an additional fee, stored in one of several climate-controlled warehouses. They do it all – making the experience of setting-up and tearing the holiday décor down a painless experience.

Catering to corporate offices, restaurants and shops, private homeowners and both commercial and residential builders, they offer other services, including event planning and floral artistry. But 50 percent of the business comes from what the company aptly calls its “holiday décor services”. Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter and Halloween – you name it, and they’ll create it.

During her peak season, Hines-Tyler relies on the help of six “elves” to create sugarplum fantasies. “From October first to mid-January, I’m covered with a sprinkling of glitter,” says Hines-Tyler. “It’s my signature look for three months, but I know that when my clients walk into their homes after we’re done, they’ll be absolutely awestruck.”

The challenge? To transform one of the elegant homes designed and built by McGarvey Custom Homes of Naples into a traditional holiday wonderland. The canvas? The Viscaya at Mediterra. The artist? Deck The Halls.

For this particular project, a stunning Mediterranean-inspired home, Hines-Tyler chose to use traditional jewel-toned colors and varying shades of gold to enhance the soft earth tones and underlying, buttery hues of the home. Gold, amber and bronze were combined with brilliant shades of red, burgundy and green to create a holiday theme that would make the home come to life without taking away from the beauty of the home itself.

According to Dan Gerner, executive vice president of McGarvey Custom Homes, “Everywhere you look, the home absolutely sparkles with holiday cheer. The colors, textures and subtle nuances of the décor definitely enhance the home, but without detracting from its design and construction.”

The ambient grand salon is spectacularly designed with a three-piece mitered glass window, which offers crystal-clear views of the pool, spa and ensuing lake. A cast stone fireplace, which acts as a open “wall” separating the living and dining areas, creates an airy, open feeling, as well as ensuring natural flow from the formal living and dining rooms into the more casual kitchen and family room. Elegantly understated traditional holiday decorations, which include a large wreath adorned with beaded and sugared fruit, intertwining burgundy ribbon and an equally decorative garland, dress the fireplace mantle and hand-forged wrought iron inset. A host of scarlet candles sit atop tall golden candlesticks lifting the eye and the spirit.

“Garland pulls it all together,” says Hines-Tyler. “To carry the traditional theme throughout a home, garland may be draped over many a mantle, armoire, bookcase and valance. Once in place, the garland can be accessorized with anything from sugared and beaded fruit to musical instruments, angels and personal memorabilia.”

The dining room décor includes a tall burgundy vase overflowing with a sprigs of evergreen and punctuated with poinsettias and artichokes. These embellishments carry over into the wreath and garland, which adorn the room’s fireplace and mantle. The festive table setting includes burgundy fabrics and gold accents.

The fully-integrated, professional style kitchen, with its expansive array of raised panel, glazed and antiqued maple cabinets and large picture window, is brought to life with an explosion of garland and gold accents on top of all the cabinets. A large wreath, embellished with ribbon, berries and florals, is hung above the six-burner Viking gas cook top. A trio of delicate gold filament trees adds interest to the granite counter.

In the family room, Hines-Tyler created a holiday scene right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. The large room comes to life with the traditional holiday décor. Garland, decorated with bright red poinsettias and sprigs of golden berries, adorns the top of the custom-designed entertainment center. Behind the sofa, on a narrow console, a golden doe is nestled in a spray of evergreen and golden twigs.

In addition to the brilliantly-decorated 12-foot tall tree, which boasts huge, jewel encrusted balls, numerous ornaments and a continuous, spiraling gold ribbon, there’s a large centerpiece on the coffee table composed of miniature bronzed cattails, golden poinsettias, several large green filament balls and twigs covered with dew drops and icicles.

The handsomely designed, octagonal shaped library comes to life with a plethora of golden-toned and green holiday accents. Swags of holiday garland complete the elegant room, which is clothed in a natural grass cloth. The room, with its wide planked Brazilian cherry wood flooring, custom designed wood built-in and double-tiered tray ceiling is the perfect setting for the graceful displays. On the desk is an oversized arrangement of poinsettia and glass branches in a tall crystal vase layered with red berries and tightly wound citrus green garland.

In the master bedroom, varying shades of cream are enhanced with shocks of espresso and russet. The spacious room, which opens up to the pool deck, also includes a large sitting area that radiates an ethereal glow from the profusion of sunlight. The décor consists of a small evergreen tree on a pedestal that is adorned with golden ribbons and balls and several delicate vignettes placed on side tables and bureaus.

“Using a professional holiday design service, such as Deck The Halls, makes perfect sense,” says Gerner. “Merida and her staff created a virtual winter wonderland using traditional-themed decorations to add splendor to our home. The effect is masterful and the response has been beyond our wildest expectations. We can’t wait to start planning our 2007 holiday home.”

Courtesy of
McGARVEY CUSTOM HOMES
239 992-8940
www.mcgarveycustomhomes.com

DECK THE HALLS, INC.
239 594-9358
www.deckthehallsnaples.com

Accessories courtesy of DESIGNER'S MART

Written by Marla J. Ottenstein

Photography by Tom Harper Photography