Making a Traditional Fresh Holiday Wreath the Easy Way

Even beginners can follow these simple steps, layering greenery and bright berries to create a beautiful holiday welcome

 

By Rikki Snyder - Houzz Contributor

 

Whether on a front door or above a mantel, few things convey the holidays better than a fresh wreath. Tracy Goldman of Sabellico’s Florist breaks down the process of making a wreath of mixed greenery into eight simple steps, perfect for beginners. Follow along to create your own fresh front door adornment.

Rikki Snyder

Mixing common lemon leaves, available year round, with seasonal greens like huckleberry, incense cedar and boxwood creates a textured look that's just right for this time of year. Bright red Ilex berries add just the right pinch of color.

Rikki Snyder

To create this wreath, you will need greens and berries such as:

• Lemon leaves
• Huckleberry
• Incense cedar
• Boxwood
• Ilex berries

You can find these at your local florist; five to 10 stems of each should be enough for one wreath.

Additional materials and tools:

• 8-inch metal wire wreath, clamp-style form (available at a crafts store or florist)
• Stapler
• 1 1/2 yards of 2-inch-wide ribbon
• Scissors
• Pruning shears
• Gardening gloves
• Hammer

Rikki Snyder

1. Lay your metal wreath form flat and layer the lemon leaf stems in first for a sturdy base. Trim the ends of each piece.

Rikki Snyder

Layer the greens between the built-in clamps, using a generous quantity for the base of your wreath, fanning the leaves to the outside around the entire frame.

Rikki Snyder

2. Add a layer of huckleberry greens. Use garden shears to trim the pieces to your desired size.

Rikki Snyder

Use one generous piece of the huckleberry for each clamp. This will add some nice texture without overpowering your design. Continue all the way around the wreath.

Rikki Snyder

3. Cedar is prickly, so you may want to wear gardening gloves for this step. Trim the cedar into pieces and place the pieces around the wreath inside each clamp. Feel free to play with quantities to get your desired look. Cedar adds a nice seasonal look, and the fragrance is wonderful.

Rikki Snyder

4. Break the boxwood nto pieces, starting with larger tufts and then moving on to smaller ones.

Rikki Snyder

Tuck the boxwood more toward the center of the wreath form to fill it in. Use the larger tufts first, then use the smaller pieces to fill in any gaps.

Rikki Snyder

5. Choose your red Ilex berries for long-lasting, festive color.

Rikki Snyder

Trim the berries and twigs to about the length shown here.

Rikki Snyder

6. Carefully place a small branch of berries in each clamp. They can be fragile, so take extra care when working with them.

Rikki Snyder

Your wreath should start to take shape and look like this as you add all the greens and berries.

Rikki Snyder

7. Feel through the greens to find each clamp and bend both pieces together. Use a hammer for any clamps that are more difficult to close. Make sure all of the greens are in place before closing the clamps, so nothing falls out. Tuck in additional greenery as needed to cover the clamps.

Rikki Snyder

8. Cut about 1 1/2 yards of ribbon for the hanger.

Rikki Snyder

Wrap the two ends of the ribbon around the frame a few inches away from each other.

Rikki Snyder

Staple each individual ribbon end together to secure the ribbon to the frame.

Rikki Snyder

Cut the ribbon in half at the top of the loop and tie a bow with the two ends. (See the first image for the final result.)

Rikki Snyder

This wreath will make the perfect greeting on a front door. Be sure to take it inside during any storms to keep it in good shape through the holidays.

Make Your Checklist for the Entertaining Season

Tailor this master list to help you set the scene — and table — for the holidays

By Laura Gaskill - Houzz Contributor 

 

Fall and winter offer ample opportunities to entertain, not only on holidays (of which there are plenty!) but also with more casual gatherings. And whether you entertain a lot or a little, having a well-stocked home can take a lot of the stress out of party planning. From setting the scene to setting the table, cooking to cleanup, pick and choose from the items on our checklists to create your own master list of party-planning essentials.

Valerie Wilcox: Photographer

Getting Ready

Accept your strengths and weaknesses as a host. No one can do it all! The key to a low-stress event is to play up your strengths and outsource your not-so-favorite parts of entertaining. For instance, finish a homemade meal with a lovely dessert from a local bakery or throw a potluck buffet or cocktail party instead of having a formal sit-down meal.

Keep things real. Your guests are there to enjoy your company, not judge your home or your cooking. If you’re not “done” getting things ready before your guests arrive, ask for help. Most guests are more than happy to pitch in lighting candles, setting the table, stirring a pot or pouring wine. And before reading the checklists that follow, remember that you can always rent party gear rather than buy rarely used items.

Caitlin & Caitlin Design Co.

Set the scene with:

• Vases and floral arranging supplies
• A go-to flower arrangement that you’ve had a chance to practice
• Low-watt lightbulbs or dimmer switches
• Tea light or pillar candles (real or battery operated) for ambience
• A few different music playlists — mellow for during dinner and something livelier for before and after
• Fresh soap, hand towels and a stain-removal stick in the powder room

The bar:

• Wineglasses and cocktail glasses for a crowd, if using
• Set of cocktail tools
• Ice bucket and tongs
• A console or side table for the bar, with bottles, openers and glassware gathered there

Branca, Inc.

For the table:

• Enough flatware and dishes for the number of guests
• Enough chairs (and table space) for the number of guests
• Chargers, if using
• Glassware, including water glasses for the table and extra wineglasses
• Tablecloth and backup tablecloth in case of spills
• Cloth napkins — one set each of cocktail napkins, dinner napkins and dessert napkins
• Napkin rings, if using
• Candleholders with unscented candles for the table
• Low floral arrangement for the table — try bud vases clustered on a tray, or a soup tureen filled with one type of flower cut short

Lorin Hill, Architect

The well-stocked pantry and freezer:

• No-cook nibbles, such as crackers, olives, nuts and jarred artichoke hearts
• Birthday essentials, including birthday candles and matches, balloons and a few emergency cards and gifts
• Basic baking ingredients
• Spices that are still fresh — be sure to give them a sniff, as spices lose potency over time
• Frozen puff pastry, pie dough and gelato or quality ice cream

Michelle Pattee

Cooking:

• A cooking schedule, especially important on big cooking days like Thanksgiving — that way you know you will have room in the oven when you need it, and everything should come out at the right time
• Any specialty cookware needed to cook the meal you have planned, from a roasting pan to a turkey baster
• A few spare cutting boards, so you don’t need to worry about washing one before prepping the next dish (also so several cooks can work at once)
• Knives that have been recently sharpened
• Two or more timers, depending on how many dishes you plan to cook at once
• Cookbook holder or tablet stand
• Aprons to protect your party clothes

stephane chamard

Serving:

• Boards, platters and trays — these workhorses can be used for everything from cheese plates to dessert
• Serving bowls in various sizes
• Large serving spoons
• Lidded soup tureen and ladle
• Large salad bowl and tongs
• Several trivets, to protect your table
• A nesting set of classic white oven-to-table casserole dishes
• Cake stands — for cake and other desserts, fruit or appetizers

Dalgleish Construction Company

Entertainment ideas:

• An activity that gets guests participating, like a Dream Tree for Thanksgiving or a smile booth
• For a casual party, an assortment of games and cards … and a rule book for common games, because no one can ever remember the rules when you want to play
• Show a classic movie (without the sound) or project it onto a blank wall — Hitchcock for a Halloween party, A Christmas Story for a holiday open house and so on
• A roll of butcher paper to cover the kids’ table — put a sheet of stickers and a cup of crayons at each place

Lovejoy Designs

Barbara Purdy Design Inc.

Cleanup and storage:

• Silver polish and soft cloths for cleaning silver, if needed
• Empty wrapping paper rolls for storing laundered and ironed linens without creating fold lines
• Stain-removing kit for treating stains after the party
• Specialty storage boxes for stowing extra glassware and dishes after the holidays

Start an entertaining journal. A simple notebook where you jot down what went well (and what didn’t) can become an invaluable tool over time.

9 Fun Ceiling Colours to Try Right Now

Jennifer Ott -Houzz Contributor

Go Bold Overhead for a touch of intimacy or a punch of energy.

I’m always on the lookout for creative ways to sneak fun color into a client’s home. It can be tough to pull off an intense color on all four walls of a room without making the space feel small, dark and claustrophobic, so I tend to prefer injecting high-voltage hues in smaller bits and pieces, or in unexpected ways. It’s no secret now that a bold ceiling color is a great way to set the tone in a room and draw the eye upward and around the space. But choosing the right bold color is crucial. Here are some of my favorite bold ceiling colors right now along with suggestions for how to make them work in your home.

Romanza Interior Design

Jennifer Ott Design

Blue is a smart choice for ceiling color because it mimics the sky, which can bring a tranquil feeling to a space.

Note how the ceiling paint used here has a glossy sheen. Normally I recommend using flat paint for ceilings, as it’s best for hiding imperfections, but if your ceiling surface is in good shape, then a glossy sheen is a nice choice to help bounce light around a space.

This is particularly beneficial if you are using a deeper, darker hue on the ceiling. A flat sheen won’t reflect light back into the space, so, depending on the color used, it can appear heavy and dull. A glossy sheen will reflect light and break up the expanse of strong color.

Get a similar look with Blue Jewel from Behr.

Robin Gonzales Interiors

Jennifer Ott Design

This is a lovely leafy-green color, but one that would undoubtedly overwhelm the space if painted on all four walls. If you’ve got ceiling joists, leave them exposed to help break up the large expanse of green and highlight an interesting architectural element.

Get a similar look with Perennial from Benjamin Moore.

Patrick Brickman

Jennifer Ott Design

Painting the joists can also help create texture. A blue porch ceiling is fairly common, especially in the southern United States, but you’ll see a soft, sky blue used more often than not. Try amping up the intensity with a deeper, watery blue such as the one in the room seen here.

Get a similar look with Surfer from Sherwin-Williams.

Bold colors should be limited to the items or features of your home that you want to highlight, such as the dramatic ceiling line here. If you go with a dramatic ceiling color, such as an intense blue like this one, try keeping the overall color palette simple, with no more than two bold colors paired with one or two neutrals. I also recommend selecting a white or light neutral wall color, which allows the ceiling to take center stage.

Jennifer Ott Design

Get a similar look with Vivid Blue from Pratt & Lambert Paints.

Here’s an example of a softer approach, for those who are interested in moving beyond a ceiling but don’t necessarily want an intense hue overhead.

Just keep in mind that colors almost always appear darker on the ceiling than on the wall, due to how light hits the differing planes. So if you are testing ceiling color samples, be sure to put them up on the actual ceiling — or, better yet, paint your sample on lightweight poster board or foam core and then securely attach the board to the ceiling with painter’s tape.

Jennifer Ott Design

Move your sample around different areas of the ceiling and check it out during different times of the day to get a sense of how the color appears in a variety of real-life light conditions.

Get a similar look with Aged Gold from Mythic Paint.

ZDesign At Home

Jennifer Ott Design

Many homeowners are understandably hesitant to paint a vibrant color on the ceiling, because it can be a literal pain in the neck to repaint down the road should they get tired of the hue. If you want to try a fun color overhead but are concerned about the amount of work involved, consider painting a ceiling accent band only, whether you have ceiling moldings or not. It’s a great way to draw the eye up and tie in a bold color you are using elsewhere in the room.

Get the look with Buttered Yam from Benjamin Moore.

David Kaplan Interior Design LLC

Jennifer Ott Design

These intricate decorative moldings deserve to take center stage in this room, and the best way to help them do that was with color — in this case a crisp chartreuse. The color also keeps the room from having an overly formal and stuffy feel. Instead it feels youthful and welcoming.

Get a similar look with Neon Lights from Kelly-Moore Paints.

Foursquare Builders

Jennifer Ott Design

I love the unexpected chunk of color in this otherwise neutral and minimalist space. It does a great job of warming up the cool, concrete-clad room.

Again, painting all four walls, or the entire ceiling, in this bold hue might be too much for most folks, but using it to highlight the tray ceiling is a great use of — and amount of — the strong color.

Get a similar look with Maple Taffy from Valspar.

Hilger Architekten

For those apprehensive about painting their bedroom or living room ceiling a vibrant hue, think about using a bold ceiling color in “occasional” spaces, those areas of your home that you don’t spend large amounts of time in.

Jennifer Ott Design

If you think this particular deep orange hue might drive you nutty in your kitchen or living room, try it on the ceiling of a small deck overhang instead, or in a guest bathroom or powder room. It would add a nice punch of color in an unexpected area of the home.

Get a similar look with Field Poppy from Pittsburgh Paints.

Grow a Beautiful Fall Garden in a Pot

Welcome autumn with 7 gorgeous plants that thrive in containers and enliven your porch or patio throughout the cooler season

 

By Kim Gamel - Houzz Contributor 

 

I don’t know about you, but where I live (USDA zone 6) it’s been a long, hot, dry summer. With triple-digit temperatures for most of the summer, my containers look worse for the wear.

I'm starting to dream of cooler temperatures, autumn colors and falling leaves. I’ve already started thinking about revamping my container gardens for the coming season, and I can’t wait to get my hands on some cool-weather plants to refresh the look (and my mood). 

 

TruexCullins Architecture + Interior Design

So what makes a plant appropriate for fall? Typically you’re looking for rich, warm colors and the ability to tolerate cool nights. Mums and pansies are quintessential fall plants, but there are many noteworthy foliage-focused plants whose colors evoke fall.

Here are seven great options for your fall containers.

Banyon Tree Design Studio

Coral Bells
(Heuchera)

Coral Bells (shown here in front), comes in a wide variety of color options, and as perennials in zones 4 to 9, they can tolerate temperatures well below freezing.

USDA zones: 4 to 9 (find your zone)
Water requirement: Medium moisture; well-drained soil
Light requirement: Full sun to light shade
Mature size: 1 to 2 feet tall and 1 to 1 1/2 feet wide

Missouri Botanical Garden

A few varieties of Huechera particularly suited for fall designs include Amber Waves (shown), which has striking amber and orange leaves, and Chocolate Ruffles, with deep burgundy to purple leaves. Heuchera works nicely with strappy grasses and finely textured plants like Solidago or asparagus fern.

Kim Gamel

Ornamental Cabbage or Kale
(Brassica oleracea)

Ornamental cabbage is another fall favorite. It’s an annual that when planted in late summer will last well into fall, even through a few frosts. While it can flower, it’s prized for its beautiful (and edible!) foliage (shown in the front of this fall arrangement). Ranging from frosty blues to sage greens with purple and white accents, ornamental cabbage has a nice mounding habit that should put it front and center in your arrangements.

USDA zones: Grows everywhere as an annual
Water requirement: Medium moisture; well-drained soil
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 1 to 1 1/2 feet tall and wide

Kenneth Philp Landscape Architects

Japanese Sedge
(Carex hachijoensis ‘Evergold’)

Japanese Sedge is a mounding Japanese short grass with evergreen leaves highlighted by golden-striped centers. Here, it gracefully cascades over the pot's edge on either side, creating airiness in the arrangement.

USDA zones: 5 to 10
Water requirement: Medium to wet soil
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: 1 to 1 1/2 feet tall and wide

Kim Gamel

Chinese Mustard
(Brassica juncea)

Chinese mustard, seen here in the center, has a broad, crinkly leaf whose colors range from bright green to deep russet. It pairs well with wispy grasses and deep purple pansies.

USDA zones: Not applicable; grow as an annual
Water requirement: Medium moisture; well-drained soil
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 1 to 1 1/2 feet tall and wide

Kim Gamel

Ornamental Pearl Millet
(Pennisetum glaucum)

Ornamental pearl millet is striking in autumnal arrangements. Though it’s an annual, it remains a focal point even as it dries. With its lime-green foliage, the Jade Princess variety contrasts nicely with both finely textured plants and those with broad leaves, and its cylindrical purple-brown seed plumes appeal to birds.

USDA zones: Not applicable; grow as an annual
Water requirement: Dry to medium moisture; well-drained soil
Light requirement: Full sun to light shade
Mature size: 3 to 4 feet tall and 1 1/2 to 2 feet wide

Linda Daley

Creeping Jenny
(Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’)

Creeping Jenny will keep its bright chartreuse color for several frosts. It makes a terrific “spiller” plant in containers, dripping down the sides and accenting richly hued flowers and foliage, including asters and Red Star spike.

USDA zones: 3 to 9
Water requirement: Medium moisture to wet; well-drained soil
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: 3 inches tall and 1 to 1 1/2 feet wide

Michelle Jacoby, Changing Spaces

Purple Fountain Grass
(Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’)

Purple fountain grass has exceptional dark purple foliage with fluffy, bottlebrush-like spikes. Its overall shape is reminiscent of a fountain, which is how it gets its common name. Although an annual in colder zones, it will continue to look striking throughout fall.

USDA zones: 8 to 10 (grow as an annual elsewhere)
Water requirement: Medium moisture; well-drained soil
Light requirement: Full sun to light shade
Mature size: 3 to 5 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide

Kim Gamel

By adding these beautiful plants to a container and throwing in a pumpkin or two, you can have a lovely display to take you through autumn.

Are you ready for fall? What are you planning to plant when the colder weather hits?