Christmas tree themes needn't be 'Christmasy'

Dear Sandi: The kids are gone, and my husband and I still want to decorate for Christmas, but I really want to do something entirely different and not try to re-create our past holidays when the kids were little. I know that your comny likes to do theme decorating. Any ideas I could use for changing my look this season? -Laura Ann P., Silverton

Hi Laura Ann: In my opinion, you are very wise to think about changing some of the things that you always have done in the past. If your children no longer are at home during the holidays and you try to re-create the same ambiance that you experienced during their at home years, it often is a bittersweet mood that happens. You can't help but make comparisons to timesto times the house was full of little folks, etc. Many people find that doing something entirely different yet still festive is a good solution.

The trick to theme decorating and doing something thats realy terrific vs. "hohum" is to find someting tht gets your creative juices flowing. Are you nuts about some particular color combination? Do you have an special inerets in specific places or cultures? Is rusic, "straight out of the woods" a look that works for you, or do bright, shiny goodies catch your eye? Do you collect anything? Collectors have leg up on this since they use their paticular passion as a starting point for their decorating endeavors. We know one lady that has been accumulating dragonflies and honeybees for years. Two years ago, she decided to bring them all out and use them on her Christams tree. It was, to say the least, unusual and impressive with delicate glass, porcelain and jeweled insects lighting the branche of a 7-foot blue spruce.

Whether you're looking for handmade paper, furniture, fabric or accessories, you will find it at loose ends. If it is unusual, organic and fabulous, then loose ends is the place. Showroom hours are 8 am to 5 pm weekdays and the first Saturday of each month 10 am - 3pm at 2065 Madrona Ave. SE, Salem, or visit us online at www.looseends.com Questions? Give us a call at (503) 390-2348.

One pitfall of theme dcorating, however, is having too many ideas, passions, proclivities or inspirations. Last year, we got so carried away that we ended up with eight different trees at loose ends, and as those of you who have been here know, we DON'T ave a very large showroom. We even ended up with a "Bouillabaisse Tree," complete with lobter, shrimp and assorted fish peeking out of the reenery (fake, of course). This year, we vowed to keep it to two, so we feel pretty ood about ending up with only three! I personally love the whole mystique of New Orleans, the crumbling old mansions, the French Quarter, Cajun music and the over-the-top, "too much of too much." So our signature tree is a frothy fantay of a tree loaded with gilded fruit ornaments, silk pouches for putting tiny treasures in, ribbon, cords and brais of gold and copper, and tassels of beaded glass. Dazzlin with a pheasant and peacock feather head-dress, this 8-foot pine has tiny embroidered "pillows" nestled alonside real leaves, gilded in gold. Natually, we had to do a coastal tree. If you love the beach, this is really a fun theme to go with. We have so much natural material at our fingertips here. We have done variations on this idea over the years. If you are a driftwood and/or seaweed collector, try ilding some of these with the various products that now are available at the local craft stores. A bit of gilding on shells you have picked up will add a seasonal spirit to your finds, or you can go all out and really gold gold leaf your more dramatic shells.

Sandi Reinke is an author, frequent television guest and lead designer for loose ends (www.loosends.com), a Salem-based interior décor, garden, and casual lifestyle company. To ask Reinke a decorating question, e-mail info@looseends.com or mail her at the showroom address, 2065 Madrona Ave. SE, Salem, OR 97302. Phone: 503-390-2348.

We decided to work with only white shells and material for our coastal tree this year. This is a wonderful, "winter wonderland" look if you are doing it on a semi-flocked tree. We used not only white shells, but also Capiz "rounds" and "portholes," white sand dollars, starfish, etc., then finished off the look with a white organza fabric, studded with white shells for the tree skirt. We really were going to stop at two, but when we found some burundy, deep blue and royal purple Siberian Iris faux flowers tucked away in the warehouse, we just had to do one more tree with tiny blue lights! A word of warning-you may find this so much fun that you end up with a different tree in every room!