Tips and home decorating ideas from three top Tampa Bay area interior designers.
Mary McKell (left), Karen Post (center), and Lisa Gilmore (right)
Holiday home decor. Tis the season again. It’s hard to believe it’s Christmas time. Where did the year go? While the year had no shortage of crazy times while getting back to normal amidst the pandemic, 2021 was exciting and there is plenty to be grateful for. One of our highlights was contributing to a three-part series on the local FOX 13 Good Day show about Holiday decorating.
This is the second time Home Frosting has been invited to be featured on the network. Last year we did a three-part segment on home offices. If you missed it, the clips can all be watched here.
This year the home decorating topic was “decorating for the holidays”. The producer wanted three unique styles to share with their viewers. We were thrilled to get the invitation, but we were also beyond buried with projects and did not want to jump in with any half-baked cupcakes. So we reached out to fellow St. Pete interior designer (who we adore), Lisa Gilmore, and she agreed to be a part of the production.
If you missed the holiday decorating shows, you can click below to watch each segment.
Segment 1 – Home Frosting’s Karen Post: Holiday for champs, tribute to Tampa Bay Lightning
Watch segmentSegment 2 – Home Frosting’s Mary McKell: Tampa Treasures. Everything local holiday décor
Watch segment | See full story details hereSegment 3 – Lisa Gilmore with Lisa Gilmore Design: Whimsy and wonderful, a colorful holiday home.
See full story details here
Here’s a recap of the holiday ideas from the Tampa Bay and St. Pete interior designers.
Holiday for champs, tribute to Tampa Bay Lightning
The first home is in Apollo Beach, FL. Home Frosting recently updated this 25+ year old coastal waterfront property. The homeowners have a casual lifestyle…they own a boat and wanted their home updated and to feel fresh & very Florida. They are also big sports fans. So, updating their home with lots of blue & coastal accents, and now decorating for the holidays with a Tampa Bay Lightning holiday theme was an easy choice.
The holiday decorating plan focused on 5 areas of the home.
The entryway, the formal dining room, the Christmas tree, the fireplace/entertaining space, and the dog’s eating area.
Since we were highlighting their love for the local hockey team (and because I’m a super fan as well), the first step we took was reaching out to the Tampa Bay Lightning to see what cool branded items they had at the Tampa Bay Sports store located inside Amelia Area. My Lightning garb is all from the Lightning Store too.
The Tampa Bay Lightning team colors are shades of blue, black, and white. That was our design story foundation. We designed all the pieces around a focal point, which was the 7.5 foot white Christmas tree, then we added sparkles, glitter, icicles, ribbons, lights, and lots of signature Tampa Bay Lightning official NHL merchandise items.
Holiday decorating details
The holiday décor started at the entryway, with two outdoor Tampa Bay Lightning wreaths gracing the home’s double doors. These wreaths were made by local artisan Tara Reinhart of Front Door Designs.
The formal dining area continues the Tampa Bay Lightning theme for entertaining on a large dining table. We created an elegant tablescape with a natural coastal table runner, miniature white Christmas trees, and silver & natural root garland. Next, we added traditional white dinnerware and crystal stemware. The holiday look was completed with Tampa Bay Lightning wine glasses that became candle votives and as a final touch, we used Tampa Bay Lightning playing cards as guest name place cards.
The Christmas tree is full of classic silver, blue, white, clear, and black ornaments along with many special handmade ones too. We featured the team’s starting lineup with their faces in custom clear globes. Next, we mixed in some official NHL collection Lightning branded ornaments, a few miniature hockey figures, a Zamboni ice cleaner ornament, and lots of icicles & sheer blue ribbon garland. And of course, the tree was topped off with a replica Stanley Cup trophy, along with lots of Lightning-themed decorated gift packages.
The fireplace is accented with more sparkle, accents of blues & silvers, a “back 2 back” Stanley Cup banner, two cozy stockings, and icicle lights. The homeowners recently got a Sony Frame TV, so they can freeze the screen (no pun intended) with a shot of blue lightning as their living room art during the holidays. In front of the fireplace is a curated coffee table with adult liquid cheer (Stanley Cup limited edition wine), blue glasses, a Tampa Bay Lightning serving board, branded facial tissues (for when you cry from winning!), drink coasters, throw blankets, a good luck piece of actual rink glass from the champion arena; and of course, no holiday is complete without a goofy “elf on the shelf”, which was dressed in Tampa Bay Lightning holiday garb.
The homeowners have two precious dogs (Charlie and Lola), so we couldn’t complete the Christmas decoration plans before curating their eating area. Here, we coordinated their bowls & mats and added a play sign that warned guests that these pups were Lightning fans too.
Christmas decorating tips and 5 takeaways
- Start planning your next year’s holiday theme right after Christmas. The after-holiday discounts will save you a ton of money.
- Select a color story that compliments your current home décor.
- Keep things bold and simple. Your look will be polished and you’ll have less to take down and clean up after the season.
- Get creative. Invest in some higher-end items, while upcycling, crafting, and making the others.
- Need your tree to be taller? Setting it on a platform stand is an easy fix.
Special thanks to Sonya and Dave Lawrence who let us showcase their beautiful home, as well as the Tampa Bay Lightning, Lisa Gilmore Design, and the entire Home Frosting team for bringing this together.
