Don’t worry if you have no time to shop for unique holiday decor, decorate Christmas trees, make garlands and untangle and hang the outside lights. Spectrum Interior Design can do it all.
As an offshoot of their year-round design services, Amy Fischer and her staff at Spectrum Interior Design in Los Altos offer full holiday installations. After a preliminary consultation, Fischer arrives to transform the home from everyday comfort to seasonal splendor.
She likes to send the clients off for a few hours while she and her crew work their magic. The homeowners return to a decorated house, with lights on remotes and timers.
“Basically, you can walk in the door and everything illuminates,” Fischer explained. “It’s a really exciting reveal. Clients describe it as a magical winter transformation, a holiday wonderland.”
Repeat customer Katie Beers was delighted with the process.
“Amy came over and sent me on my way,” said Beers, a Los Altos resident. “I came back a few hours later and she had put up a beautiful tree. … All the ornaments are beautiful, in the same color palette as the rest of the house.”
In addition to the tree, Fischer had decorated multiple rooms. The finishing touches, Beers said, were “a new wreath, a new doormat – she just made everything look new.”
With a 20-year background in high-end new construction, including 15 years as in-house interior designer for Owen Signature Homes, Fischer is familiar with the ins and outs of designing and building a new home – and decorating it.
“This has been a growing extension of the services,” she said. “The holiday (design) developed as the icing on the cake – the seasonal decor. It came about by request – clients wanted to have the vision carried through.”
Fischer said her company is involved in home design at all stages, beginning with the blueprints. Teaming with architects and builders, she tries to ensure that the house will work for the client in every way, and in every season. She is thinking ahead to where the Christmas tree will be, and has the required outlets worked into the electrical plan.
“Whether we do the holiday decor or not, we’re thinking about the holidays in our blueprint stage,” she said.
Full-spectrum services
Holiday services can range from the simple, such as one tree and garlands on the staircase and mantel, to the elaborate – several rooms, multiple trees, indoor and outdoor lighting, and even outdoor living areas.
Fischer often does the entry, living room and family room and frequently “some sort of tie-in to the kitchen.”
On the elaborate end of the spectrum, one recent home had two trees, several fireplace mantels, the entire exterior, runners, tree skirts and fabrics.
“(There was) custom decor in every bathroom, niches, accents on tables,” Fischer said.
She has also done customized trees for kids’ bedrooms, with a whimsical playful theme, color-matched to the decor.
Before arriving on decorating day, Fischer has done her homework. During the preliminary consultation at her client’s home, she photographs their artwork, area rugs, furniture and draperies to use as style inspiration.
“Then the tree perfectly complements their decor,” she said. “I take into account their personality and style and color match everything.”
Los Altos client Kristina Detter said Fischer worked in the color scheme of their new home.
“The colors in my house are gray, plum, orange,” Detter said. “I was wondering how she’d use them and make them seem Christmasy, but she did it.”
Detter marveled that the holiday decor was “all coordinated but unique, all drawing on the color themes of the house.”
Incorporating personal traditions
While clients appreciate coming home to a meticulously decorated home, they also frequently have their own special pieces that must be incorporated in the design. Fischer explained the process for when clients want to use their own Christmas ornaments.
“We’ll take out their home inventory and lay that out – look at the color schemes, the styles. … We provide the interior/core of the tree – the layers, textures, lighting, and dress the outside of the tree with their ornaments.”
And often there are two trees involved: a formal tree in the entry or living room – “more of a showcase tree,” she said – and a more personalized family room tree.
“She asked me to bring out the decorations I had and anything that was important to me – she would respect and find a place for it,” Beers said of Fischer’s services.
In Beers’ case, it was a pair of red nutcrackers her parents had brought back from Austria. The color didn’t match the living room decor, but Fischer had a solution.
“She put them in a different room, where they really pop out and look much nicer than they ever had before,” Beers said.
Fischer also incorporated some of Detter’s personal favorites with the new holiday decor.
“(Fischer) made it seem like it all tied together,” Detter said.
Shopping for the seasonal
The items placed in clients’ homes are theirs to keep. They’re “for their home and for their collection,” Fischer said.
Clients seem happy with that arrangement.
“Everything she brings I fall in love with and never would have found myself,” Beers said.
Los Altos client Ana Eschenbach said the items were “so beautiful” that she wouldn’t want to part with them.
Fischer does her major shopping for holiday decor in January for the following year.
“There are multiple design markets across the country,” she said, and she’s already booked for two of them.
In August or September, the products Fischer purchased in January begin to arrive.
“We start sorting and customizing the tree designs by October,” she said. “The installation schedule is well booked by November.”
Most clients request their holiday decorating done right after Thanksgiving, or even before.
“We’re thinking about the holidays all year long,” Fischer said.
Eschenbach appreciates the personal touch Fischer provides.
“She shops throughout the year, so when she sees something that specifically will go with my house, she’ll send me a message and see if I approve and have it shipped,” she said. “She makes you feel like you’re her only client.”
Appreciative clientele
According to Fischer, her clientele usually comprises “people who have a real appreciation for custom decor and also an appreciation for the craft and the time that it takes to create and install all of it.”
And, she said, some homeowners may not physically be up for the decorating challenge.
“There’s a lot of physical work – it sometimes takes a team to set up the trees and the garlands,” she added.
Convenience is another big attraction: “A lot of clients love going out for a spa day and they come home and it’s done,” Fischer said, ready for a season of entertaining family and friends.
Beers enjoys the ease of working with Fischer.
“She’s very easy to work with,” she said of Fischer. “She can work with anybody in any style home. She could walk in and see that I’m a traditional type person, and she already knows (what I’ll like).”
Detter praised Fischer’s decorating skills.
“Amy magically touches everything in the house,” she said. “She’s so amazing and talented – she has such a gift.”
Eschenbach has used Fischer’s services on multiple occasions, including a full array of holiday decor, inside and out.
“This year, she’ll be using what I already have and adding her own touches to that – refreshing everything,” she said.
Detter looks forward to seeing Fischer’s handiwork again this year.
“I’m sure she’ll incorporate different pieces to make it fresh,” she said.
In addition to Christmas decor, Fischer offers decorating for other seasons, parties and special occasions. There is an optional takedown service as well as organizational assistance, including storage bins and labels. Fees vary, depending on the extent of the decor.
“Really, the intention is to provide the full spectrum of services,” she said.
For more information, call 948-1913 or visit spectruminteriordesign.com.
