Holiday decor is more than seasonal for some people
Each January, when the rest of us have put Christmas well behind us, Mitchell Conklin and Jeff Ketterhagen are hip deep in holiday décor.
Then, the men travel to Dallas and Atlanta to attend trade shows where they get ideas on decorating for the next holiday season.
Conklin, the owner of Luce Lighting & Luxuries, a lighting and luxury gift store at 5401 W. Vliet St. in Milwaukee, looks for pieces for the store.
Ketterhagen looks for pieces for the store, too, as he is head of visuals there. But he also looks for holiday décor for the homes of his clients. He is owner of Jeff Ketterhagen, a firm through which he does event planning, residential and commercial decorating, and floral design.
In their spare time, the men, who have been friends for about 25 years, also look for holiday pieces for their homes, which are in the same apartment building but on different floors in Milwaukee’s Martin Drive neighborhood.
There, the ways they decorate this time of year are stunning, but they couldn’t be more different.
Conklin decorates his living and dining rooms traditionally, with rich colors and lots of sparkle.
“My tree is a canvas for my collection of Christopher Radko ornaments. It’s eclectic. There is no overall color scheme on the tree. You don’t see any one particular color because the ornaments are so varied, but there is a lot of sparkle,” he said.
The fireplace mantel is decorated with a white-flocked garland that has lots of small white lights, brightly colored ornaments, and a thin vintage-style glass garland. Above that is a white-flocked wreath with more lights and ornaments.
In the dining room are twig birch twinkle trees, and a collection of Christmas trees inside a large white wire wreath.
In Ketterhagen’s home, there’s a modern vibe in the living room, dining room, and a bar area off the kitchen.
“This is the first year I have decorated this apartment. I just moved here in August. I did a modern look with some sparkle. I put up two trees.
“One of them is in the living room. It’s a white-flocked Alberta pine with long needles. There are ribbons in it, large metallic and white ornaments, burgundy and blue magnolias made of velvet, and pinecones that are frosted or have glitter. It also has large vintage inspired white lights.
“I put a second tree in the dining room. It’s a more natural look. It has two kinds of gold ribbon, small white lights and large and small hand-blown large glass ornaments that have feathers inside them.
“I also put a flocked garland with decorations and lights on the fireplace mantel in the living room. It’s not the same as the tree but it’s similar,” he said.
The men also differ in how often they change their holiday décor.
Conklin said he now uses some of the same pieces every year at home.
“When I used to have holiday parties at home, I changed it up every year. Now I have my holiday party at the store for friends and clients, so I just do my house for myself.
“The ornaments don’t change, but I will update the décor. I might update things like the pillows and throws, and sometimes I’ll add new things we get at the markets. … I don’t always do a wreath above the fireplace. I’m not sure if I love it or not,” he said.
Ketterhagen said the decorations differ every year at his home as well as at the homes of most of his clients.
“Every year when we go to the markets, I find ornaments that I love and I build looks around them.
“I like to incorporate large-scale pieces into my trees. I like to play with scale and size. I also like to reinvent the wheel with different decorations. I like to see how I can use stuff I already have, or modify things slightly to make them work,” he said.
The men recently talked about decorating for the holidays.
Question: How would you describe your style of holiday decorating?
Ketterhagen: My style is more modern. It’s a little bit more minimal. Mitch likes his trees dripping with ornaments.
Q: What is your preference in trees?
Conklin: I have a white-flocked tree with longer needles. I love the look, but it can be difficult to hang a lot of the ornaments on it. Having that white background sets off my ornament collection. I always use an artificial tree. I have a white shag rug, so I don’t want needles stuck in it.
My tree is a 9 feet tall, but I only have an 8½ foot ceiling, so I have to bend the top down. I don’t really put filler in it. Jeff will put picks in his. I really keep my tree quit simple.
Ketterhagen: Faux trees for me. I’m decorating early, so I don’t want to have needles that are a mess, and I don’t want to have fire worries. ....
A lot of people want real trees because of the smell. But you can get candles and diffusers. There are some really great scent diffusers you can get that scent without the mess. Faux trees have come a long way. You won’t find the nice ones at big box stores, but there are avenues to get nice trees that look real.
Q: What kind of lights do you put on your trees?
Conklin: I decorate my tree with several different kinds of lights. I use different sizes of white bulbs to create contrast. I have also used colored vintage bulbs.
Ketterhagen: I do decorate with colored lights sometimes, but I prefer white lights for a warm versus a cool look for my home.
I had a tree with all red lights growing up but I wouldn’t do that again.
Q: Do you have any holiday collections?
Ketterhagen: I do a little bit of Mark Roberts.
Conklin: In addition to the Radko, I also collect Shiny Brite ornaments because Christopher Radko bought that line a few years ago. I have a big collection. I also have a collection of Swarovski ornaments.
Q: Do you have any favorite holiday pieces?
Conklin: I have some Radko ornaments that are favorites because they have a special meaning for me. When my mother and I would go on our annual vacations to Door County, she would buy me several ornaments. She has passed away now, so they are great remembrances.
Ketterhagen: I have a couple of things. They’re Mark Roberts pieces. But my favorites are changing all the time.
Q: Do you hang all your Radko ornaments on your tree each year?
Conklin: No. I can’t fit them all on. I put the ones I can’t use in glass bowls throughout the house.
Q: How do you keep your ornaments secure when you hang them?
Conklin: I use floral wire. They are all wrapped around and around, so they are secure.
Q: You said you like to incorporate large pieces in your trees. Can you give me an example?
Ketterhagen: This year I did a tree with a large peacock in it. It’s a Mark Roberts peacock that is about 28 inches tall, and the tail of the peacock is about 3 feet long. I wedge it in the tree and I wire it in. Last year it was polar bears.
Q: How long have you been decorating for the holidays?
Ketterhagen: My mom is an interior decorator and my dad is in residential building, so I have been dabbling in it since I was a little kid. My mom taught me a lot, and now my mom helps me decorate clients’ homes. She says I have now far exceeded her level of talents in decorating.
Q: Do you use color schemes when you decorate for the holidays?
Ketterhagen: Sometimes. Maybe I love a ribbon or a certain ornament and I will go with that. Sometimes I will do all jewel tones on a tree and then do the same look in the rest of the house.
Conklin: There is no color scheme on my tree, but in other areas of my home it’s blush pink, cream and gray with brass and wood. It’s a masculine look.
Q: Where do you start if you want to make a beautiful Christmas display?
Ketterhagen: I would start with the tree. It’s the centerpiece for a lot of people. Find something you love, like a ribbon, or a peacock and then use the colors in that piece.
Conklin: Look for an object you are particularly drawn to, for example an ornament you love. Concentrate on one thing. Then see what your overall look is; is it vintage look, a country look?
Q: Where did you live before you moved here?
Ketterhagen: In Chicago. I still have my apartment there because I work in both cities.
Q: Where do you store all your holiday decorations?
Ketterhagen: I have storage at both my apartments and I have space in Luce. I personally own 30 faux trees that I use at the store, for clients, or for my personal use. I have a lot of inventory I can pull from.
Q: How long have you been collecting Radko ornaments?
Conklin: For 30 years. I couldn’t even tell you how many I have. I have hundreds. I buy them all over. I get them when I go on vacations, but also at stores here. They are all blown glass and are all figural ornaments. I have things like a Santa shape, a snowman shape, or a cottage. They are all hand painted and have a lot of glitter and lots of sparkle.
Q: How many Christmas clients do you have?
Ketterhagen: I have 15 to 20 clients. Sometimes the clients want me to take full control when I decorate for the holiday. Some of them want the full experience with trees dripping with ornaments. They are looking for that professionally finished Christmas. One of my clients had nine trees in his house.
Sometimes they want to build on their decorations from year to year; and sometimes they just want consults on holiday options. Most of my clients are here, in Madison, in Chicago, and Texas.
Q: Have you decorated the home of anyone famous?
Ketterhagen: I have decorated the home of Terry Bradshaw for about the past six years. He flies me out to his home in Texas and I decorate his home and guesthouse. In the main house I usually do a winter wonderland look with more whites. I usually do four different trees. And then in the guesthouse it’s more true reds, candied fruits, and candles on the trees.
Q: What does Luce mean?
Conklin: It’s pronounced loo chay, and it means light in Italian. It’s a word used a lot in the lighting industry. I picked it because the Italians make some of the most gorgeous blown-glass lighting fixtures. Those pieces were my inspiration years ago when I started my business.
Q. How many trees do you decorate at Luce?
Ketterhagen: This year we have 13 to 15 trees in the store. It becomes this winter wonderland of trees and gifts. This year the theme is animatronics; most of the trees feature movement.
Each year we try to do a theme. Christmas is usually up by the first week in November each year.
Q: Do you sell holiday pieces at your store?
Conklin: I sell some specialty lights at the store, but not the regular kind of Christmas lights. I also have holiday décor like ornaments, twig birch twinkle trees, candles, hot cocoa items, and gifts.
Q: What are the most popular holiday decorations right now?
Conklin: A couple years ago it was the twig birch twinkle trees, but that’s died down now. Crystal ornaments are very popular, and people really like anything with cardinals on it.
Q: What is the style of the building you live in?
Conklin: It’s a 1928 red brick building with carved stone accents. During that period in Milwaukee the architecture was quite formal. Inside it has a lot of natural woods. It’s very comfortable. We have ornamental plaster moldings, Spanish plaster walls, quart-sawn oak built-ins, and fireplaces.
Q: In what styles did you furnish your homes?
Conklin: How each of us has chosen to decorate our interiors is our reactions to the architecture. Jeff’s space is very different than mine. It’s very white. It’s very light and bright. Mine is very cozy and warm. It’s almost moody. In mine you want to sit down with a scotch. His is more like you want a crisp glass of wine.
Because of Luce we also both have lots of interesting lighting. We have both put contemporary lighting in our spaces, which is a contrast to the architecture. We both furnish in more contemporary furniture, but it’s still very warm and comfortable feeling. It feels contemporary but with respect to the architecture.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Holiday decor is more than seasonal for some people
