Vicki Lord, owner of Simply Home, provides tips and tricks for show stopping holiday decor

It’s a pretty sure bet that when you walk into a store like Target, Walmart, Hobby Lobby or any other similar retailer in late July, that you can expect to see the beginnings of the holiday trifecta décor displays — Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Seeing these early displays of wreaths, ornaments, lights, window clings and other decorations can be overwhelming to folks that lack super savvy decorating skills, not to mention the show stopping Christmas tree displays with elegantly placed ribbon, mixes of large and small ornaments and continuity of colors and themes.

Don’t let your lack of decorating knowledge suck the “happy” out of your holiday season by turning to a decorating pro for some tips and tricks.

Vicki Lord, owner of Simply Home, helps homeowners turn their homes into a festive scene using a variety of different decorations.

Lord has been specializing in helping homeowners with their holiday décor and special events for a majority of her life.

“I started in the fresh flower industry when I was a young girl and it just kind of evolved,” she explained. “I used to do weddings and stuff in big hotel lobbies.”

As with anything, holiday décor has certain new trends that pop up each year.

This year, Lord has noticed a return to classic holiday colors like gold, green, white and reds.

“Last year we had a lot of black and that was pretty trendy,” she said. “There’s a lot of weird when you go to these markets. We tend to stick with what I know our customers would like.”

In addition to the store, Lord decorates about 34 local homes for the holidays.

“A lot of my customers want their trees to be pretty, but they don’t want to do it or don’t know how to do it,” Lord said. “So we go in and do it within two to three hours and their house it beautiful. We decorate their Christmas trees, mantles, trays, stairways — all kinds of fun stuff.”

While she is already fully booked for her in-home decorating services, community members are more than welcome to swing by the store to pick her brain and get some suggestions to help with their own decorating adventure.

“We can put together things, like wreaths for the front door, we can do that and if they want a really pretty tray or garlands with ribbons entwined through it, we can do those as well,” Lord said. “I also do fresh flowers for the holidays as well. Fresh evergreens and that type of stuff.”

Lord suggests starting off your holiday decorating process with determining what colors you want to go with is the first step.

“A lot of times you can start with the rug in the living room because that sets your whole tone,” Lord said. “If your rug is black and white for instance, you’d want to pull from that.”

Check out websites like Pinterest or other home decorating sites to see what strikes your fancy when it comes to different holiday decorating styles and themes.

To get more “bang for your buck” mix higher priced, more unique ornaments with less expensive pieces like bulbs to help fill out your tree.

Don’t be afraid to incorporate a mix of large and small ornaments and decorating “deeper” into your tree will make it look more full.

“Trees are now more multidimensional. People want their trees to be really plush and full,” Lord said.

And when it comes to the debate of real versus faux trees, despite growing up in Oregon, Lord prefers faux trees.

“I love real trees but they don’t live here very long and most of my clients want to put their Christmas trees up early and enjoy it for a long time,” she said. “And, they may have multiple trees in their homes. So, I love a faux tree.”

Faux trees tend to support larger ornaments better and they are much more easy to manipulate.

Also, if you’re looking for a certain style, height or color, faux trees are the way to go.

Many faux trees come with lights already strung and often offer the ability to switch from clear to colored lights as well as the twinkle rhythm.

“I won’t light peoples’ trees anymore because it’s just too labor intensive,” Lord said.

When it comes to being a small business owner, Lord really appreciates the support she receives from the community.

Many of her customers have been coming to her for over 20 years and have become friends.

“They love shopping small and they are just nice people,” Lord said.

This article is written by Tamara Markard from Greeley Tribune, Colo. and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the DiveMarketplace by Industry Dive. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].