honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Tuesday, December 17, 2002

Decked out for Christmas

By Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writer

Howard Peralta checks out his Christmas tree, courtesy of an interior design team. Star ornaments and red ribbon with gold stars highlight the tree.

Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

. . .

Meet the designers

These interior designers agreed to Deck the Halls free of charge and with a budget of $50 for each home. They were allowed to use the family's decorations and asked to add their own touches.

• Renee Oyama, an allied member of the American Society of Interior Designers, paired with colleague Sharon Hughes to decorate Star-nani and Howard Peralta's tree in Kane'ohe.

Oyama and Hughes work at Wayne Parker Partners in Design Inc., based in Kailua. To reach them, call 261-5681 or visit the Web site designfinder.com/parker.

• Suzanne Watkins, a licensed interior designer who has a business called Elements: Earth Friendly Interior Design, took on the Christmas mantel project at the Moore family home in Wai'alae Iki. Watkins, an artist and former director of the interior design program at Chaminade University, is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers, the International Interior Design Association and the Interior Design Education Council. Her Web site is www.elements-id.com, and she can be reached at 988-1774.

'Twas the week before Christmas, and a lot of you out there with sugar plums dancing in your heads are still dreaming of little elves to come and help you deck the halls.

When we asked for volunteers for a holiday decorating story, more than 100 sent applications, e-mailed photos and wrote us on your finest holiday stationery. You told us about your problems climbing ladders, your lack of creativity and even your views of mankind.

You talked about sickness and health, better Christmases and worse, and about how holiday decorating can be a strain on a marriage.

Lots of people wanted the help of an interior designer. You promised them eggnog and cookies. You sent pictures of your termite-damaged tree trimmings. You wrote about your wishes for winter wonderlands.

We read your pleas and took your calls and decided on two houses — one large and one small.

Santa's way inside

Robin Moore volunteered her spacious, Spanish-Mediterranean-style home in Wai'alae Iki with a story about life being a series of transitions.

The mother of four talked about leaving memories of an old house behind and starting fresh in a new neighborhood. She thought a designer could bring a different perspective and ease the preparation for a housewarming party. Her eloquent essay was touching.

But it made for an emergency family meeting when the Moores were selected to have their halls decked. The four kids, ages 4 to 10, didn't want some stranger trimming their tree. They didn't want to give up singing carols and hanging ornaments themselves. The youngsters were already set on their ideas about tradition. Instead, they wanted a designer to brighten up an entrance for Santa.

"I didn't realize what an important tradition we had," their mom said. "This is the first time we've ever had a fireplace. They're so thrilled that Santa can get in."

Suzanne Watkins, an interior designer with Elements: Earth Friendly Interior Design, studied the fireplace measurements and browsed craft supply stores for just the right accents. She focused on the idea of transition and settled on something that could be incorporated into any future interior design: an earth-toned palette with white and gold accents.

She framed the mantel with a draped pine garland, braided with white and gold ribbons and accented with natural decorations of clove and citrus pomanders, bundles of cinnamon sticks and gift bags of nuts for the children. She picked out white folk-art angels carved in wood and hand-painted. Then she made the focal point an elegant gold star wreath featuring a dove of peace.

The $40 papier-mache reindeer, decorated in pine garlands, cinnamon sticks and ribbon, was a splurge. But it provided an asymmetrical balance to the fireplace, which also includes a holiday candle nestled on a bed of pine cones and nuts.

She also brought in wicker baskets from another room and tied them with gold ribbon, and the Moores added a basket of roses.

"I didn't want to have it too overdone," Watkins said. "It's understated and simple."

Watkins found many of the items she used on sale. But the little things added up — to $150 — quite a bit more than The Advertiser's $50 budget.

But Watkins, who specializes in eco-friendly decorating, has ideas for how do decorate on a shoestring — such as recycling old pieces of fabric, or decorating a tree entirely with CDs, family photographs or old toys.

Robin Moore found a way to incorporate some of those ideas. She collected a pod from a tree in her yard and sprinkled it with glitter to make an ornament. And she used pine cones and leaves, painted with gold and glued to a styrofoam ball, for another homemade touch.

Robin Moore and her husband, Rob, like the way it turned out.

"We can look around and say how we remember the past," Robin said. "We can celebrate new and not lose one for another."

Keeping out the clutter

In a townhouse with no children, Star-nani Peralta had a different decorating issue.

She wanted to add a little Christmas cheer to her small living space in Kane'ohe without making it look too crowded.

Family and friends had been giving her star decorations (to go with her name) for 20 years. She wasn't sure how to use them without cluttering a 15-year-old duplex where even the bathroom has soap shaped like stars. And her husband, Howard, decided to stick with putting up the Christmas lights outside.

Lucky for them, interior designers Renee Oyama and Sharon Hughes entered the picture.

Star-nani, director of sales for Hilo Hattie, was so busy that she wasn't home when Oyama and Hughes, from Wayne Parker Partners in Design, showed up to trim the tree. She was on a business trip to Kaua'i.

Her husband said he didn't think Star-nani would mind if some of her sentimental non-star ornaments stayed in the box. Then again, Howard took a laid-back approach to the whole project. He let the women take care of it. "I'm more concerned with what's under the tree," he joked as he fiddled with a golf club and watched.

The interior designers decided to decorate the tree solely with star ornaments and some red ribbon with gold stars. They continued the star theme by adding garland and stars above the doorway and above a book shelf.

Oyama said the Peraltas needed to stick with simplicity. They had more than 100 stars to choose from, including a gold one Star-nani's mother gave her years ago, and a Santa shaped like a star that Star-nani put in the collection this year.

It was easy for them to stick to the $50 budget because the Peraltas had such a large collection. They added inexpensive touches, such as taking apart a string of stars, adding glitter and hanging them individually. They stuck to a gold and red color scheme in strategic spots around the room.

"Everything's a lot cleaner," Howard said. "There's more of a theme to it."

Star-nani said it was a little weird for people to come and decorate while she was away. Almost like little elves coming in the night. But she loved the result.

Like a kid, Star-nani walked around the tree and looked at each ornament, remembering who gave her which one and admiring each one's place on the tree. She liked the pared-down look the designers gave her house.

And she's taking that box of leftover ornaments to her office, where she'll deck the walls with some of her sentimental favorites that didn't make the cut on the designers' star search.

Reach Tanya Bricking at 525-8026 or tbricking@honoluluadvertiser.com.