DECORATE LIKE A PRO

Four design professionals show you how to create show-stopping holiday displays without breaking the bank.

Do your holiday displays look just like they did last year? Or just like the displays of every other store on the block? Is there so much to see that fresh new products get lost or overlooked? Then it's time to learn to fine-tune your holiday look with tips from the experts.
SET YOUR FOCUS

The first step in the creation of an effective holiday display is deciding what you want to sell. Matthew Goodman, exhibit design project manager for White Plains, New York-based George Little Management, recommends taking stock of your inventory, then selecting a single product that you want to push. For Sarah Schlegel, design coordinator of Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan, the process starts even before the inventory is ordered: She chooses her themes for the year's trees at the Atlanta gift show.
KEEP IT SIMPLE

According to Goodman, the over-the-top "retail-tainment" theory has had its day. "When the economy's up, the displays are more plentiful. If it's softer, the propping is going to be a little less," he explains. In today's leaner economic times, a simple display cuts costs for the retailer and speaks to the customers' desire to get more for their money. Goodman's recommendation? "This year, the independent retailer would be wise to invest in display garlands, decorate them in simple styles, swag them in the window, and repeat them in key areas in the store. That is enough to say 'holiday.' I don't think that their money would be well spent on a really extravagant holiday display. I'd rather see a few holiday props done really well than many done haphazardly." One very simple technique is impact merchandising -- repeating the same item in a clean, fashion-forward way. For example, display the identical products atop wrapped boxes or hanging from ribbons. Alternatively, take a cross-merchandising approach, displaying your favorite item with coordinating pieces to increase sales per transaction. Or combine the two strategies: Use one method in the window, and the other inside.

Schlegel believes that simplicity makes a display more striking in any economy. "One common design mistake is putting too much on a tree," she says. "Go with just a certain color or theme rather than adding a whole combination of different kinds of merchandise. You don't see the beauty of any one type of ornament if there is too much to look at."
STARS AND EXTRAS

Designer Bob Prenga is also known as Dr. Christmas. He and his partner, Debi Staron, are best known for their work as "holiday stylists to the stars," with celebrity clients ranging from Candice Bergen to Teri Garr. But Prenga got his start doing retail displays, and he still works for retail stores across the country. Prenga's design philosophy is inspired by his Hollywood base: "I design Christmas trees like casting a movie. You have your stars and your supporting players. Supporting players are simpler ornaments and ribbon. I'm a big fan of elaborate ribbon designs. Stars are nicer ornaments that you like to show off." According to Prenga, the first misconception people have is that creating Hollywood glamour will be prohibitively expensive. You can give your store "a little showbiz glitter" and still stay within your budget, he notes. "Fill your tree up with basic red glass, and then buy your special pieces."

In holiday decorating, as in movie producing, you only need a few stars and a lot of extras. So don't overbuy. "One of the injustices of the '80s was that wholesalers told retailers that everything had to be a theme tree and the theme had to be adhered to. They would say you needed to buy all 18 ornaments in a collection, some of which were duds," Prenga recalls. Instead, decorate your tree with an eye for feel and color, and then add a few special focal points to create a theme. Often those special pieces aren't product at all, but props like a celebrity photo or a children's book. Prenga cautions retailers to resist the temptation to sell props off the tree, since this will compromise the display's effectiveness. "If somebody really wants the prop, sell it to them and arrange for a later time to pick it up."

The showrooms of holiday product manufacturer Midwest of Cannon Falls in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, have used unusual props ranging from chairs and footballs to dried flowers and hats. The company's visual manager, Chris Tkachuck, suggests an extra: Use filler -- anything from ribbons, garlands, or mirrors to cards or pinecones -- to fill the inside spaces of a tree.
COLOR IS KEY

Everyone knows what the Christmas colors are. However, Prenga points out, "very few people decorate with red and green; make sure the tree flows with the decor." If your store is lavender and white, you may want to choose an unconventional color scheme. Bring your swatches with you when you shop for decorations. If you want to stick with traditional colors, there are still ways to dress them up or tone them down. Prenga recommends a bluish or brick red and sage green. Then there are the fashion colors. Says Schlegel, "This year's popular color scheme is periwinkle, blue, purple, and lavender with silver accents." Tkachuck sees an emphasis on lush rich jewel tones such as reds, cranberries, burgundies, blues, and greens, and on green-heavy traditional red-and-green combos.
TIE IT TOGETHER

Whatever design scheme you choose, make sure it coordinates, not only within each tree, but with the rest of your store. That means more than matching paint. "You could lay out your floor by color or by theme or lifestyle statement," Tkachuck says. Your theme can be anything from an old favorite like nautical or golf merchandise to Schlegel's hot pick for 2001: Harry Potter. A lifestyle statement, however, is broader, and can include a combination of several compatible themes. For example, Tkachuck decorated Midwest's showrooms this year with the Stag's Head Inn collection, which taps into the antique and lodge look trends in home decor. The line contains not only ornaments and decorative tabletop pieces, but also accent furniture marketed as seasonal decor. Tkachuck showcased the line by placing vintage furniture draped with garland adjacent to a tree, and adding props such as Oriental rugs. Not only does this technique cross-merchandise holiday product with regular home decor inventory, it also shows customers how the product can fit into their homes, and gives a store a harmonious overall feel. Another Midwest lifestyle statement, Thoroughbred, pulled together cream, white, yellow, and gold tabletop pieces, decorative items, furniture pieces, garlands, and ornaments for a Southern formal Christmas look. A third statement, Nutcracker Suite, used theater seats, music stands, mirrors, antique trunks, and fabrics to "set the stage."

Whatever statement you decide to make, ensure that your Christmas displays are harmonious, within themselves and with the rest of your offerings. Soon you'll be a display pro yourself.