Join hosts Eric G and John Dudley on Around the House® Home Improvement for an inspiring episode featuring award-winning luxury interior designer Wendy Glaister! Dive into the hottest holiday decorating trends for 2025, including the resurgence of rich jewel tones (think emerald, sapphire, and ruby for cozy sophistication), a return to traditional details with timeless craftsmanship, and the perfect balance of minimalist yet elegant holiday decor—ditching over-the-top excess for fresh garlands, soft lighting, and meaningful personal touches.

Wendy shares her design journey, from decorating homes as a college student to creating stunning winter wonderlands in grand spaces. Discover the latest from High Point Furniture Market 2025, where quality furniture brands are embracing ornate designs, bespoke pieces, and sustainable elegance. Learn practical holiday decorating tips to keep your home fresh, stylish, and budget-friendly—without turning it into a "tacky Christmas explosion"!

Whether you're upgrading your faux tree or seeking interior design inspiration for a cozy, jewel-toned aesthetic, this masterclass will elevate your holiday game. Grab your favorite seasonal drink and get ready to transform your space into a sophisticated winter wonderland!

Key Takeaways:

• Prioritize quality over quantity for a minimalist elegant holiday approach with emotional, personal touches.
• 2025 trends spotlight jewel tones, traditional resurgence, and detailed craftsmanship from High Point Market.
• Create beautiful holiday decor affordably, even in uncertain times—simplicity is ultimate sophistication.
• Wendy's story highlights the joy of evolving from simple holiday setups to luxury interior design.
• Focus on timeless furniture with brands emphasizing bespoke, ornate details.

Links Referenced:

• aroundthehouseonline.com
• wendyglaisterinteriors.com

Brands & Companies Mentioned:

• Wendy Glaister Interiors
• Hickory Chair
• Stickley Furniture
• Century Furniture
• Simply Amish
• Lee Industries
• Norwalk Furniture
• Curry & Co.
• Suite 52 Living
• Slater's Home Furniture

Cover art features photos by Wendy Glaister Interiors

To Contact Wendy: https://wendyglaisterinteriors.com/

Tune in for expert home decor ideas, Christmas decorating trends 2025, and pro tips to make your home shine this season!

To get your questions answered by Eric G give us a call in the studio at 833-239-4144 24/7 and Eric G will get back to you and answer your question and you might end up in a future episode of Around the House.

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We love comments and we would love reviews on how this information has helped you on your house! Thanks for listening! For more information about the show head to https://aroundthehouseonline.com/

Information given on the Around the House Show should not be considered construction or design advice for your specific project, nor is it intended to replace consulting at your home or jobsite by a building professional. The views and opinions expressed by those interviewed on the podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Around the House Show.

Mentioned in this episode:

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Welcome to around the House with Eric G. Your trusted source for all things home improvement. Whether you're tackling a DIY project, hiring it out, or just trying to keep your home running smoothly, you're in the right place.

With over 30 years of remodeling experience, certified kitchen designer Eric G. Takes you behind the scenes with expert advice, industry trends, and the latest innovations for your home.

Home.

It's everything you need to know without the fluff. Now let's get this show started with our host, Eric G. And John Dudley.

Welcome to the around the House show, your trusted source for everything about your home. Thanks for joining us today. I'm Eric G. We got John Dudley here in the studio. John, good to see you, my friend.

What's happening, brother?

Good to be here. Oh, we got a great guest back on the show again, my dear friend, Wendy Glacier. Wendy Glacier Interiors. Welcome back to around the House.

Thank you. I'm so happy to be here. It's great to see you and to meet your friend. That's awesome.

Oh, man, this is so much fun. You and I always just bounce off each other and have a great time.

Now, we got Dudley here in the conversation, so we're going to have two designers and a contractor talking here, so we're going to have a good time. And maybe, Johnny, you're kind of going to be maybe ganged up on a little bit here, so we'll have some fun.

I'm all for it. My job, my. My job is to heckle. Bring it on. I got plenty of things to say about designers. Flip the switch, buddy.

Flip the switches. We better get ready.

I got the mute button already. So. So, Wendy, you were down at High Point, and. Yes, I have never been to High Point. It's one of the things I've got to get down to.

It seems like the timing has never worked, but I got to make it a priority. But for all the people out there listening that are going, what are you talking about? High Point. What is that?

Let's start from the beginning and kind of break it down. Sure.

Actually, High Point, North Carolina, is the largest furniture market in the country. It happens in October and in April, and it's been going on for, oh, gosh, probably almost 100 years on some level.

Wow.

It's amazing. The reason why it's there is because that is the nucleus of all American furniture manufacturing.

So, like, for example, Hickory Chair, which is one of my favorite furniture brands, started in Hickory, North Carolina, which is about 10 minutes away from High Point. Stickley Furniture, is there Century Furniture is there. All these incredible brands, simply Amish shows there.

All of the big brands in the entire country show at this show. Lee Industries, Norwalk Furniture, everyone. Curry & Co. Lighting. It's beautiful.

A long time ago, way, way back, designers weren't welcome there because it was more for retailers and their reps. And that's when they got their business done. That's where they wrote the sales that made their living.

And it was very difficult for designers to break in because the volume for a designer is not what it is for a stocking dealer, retail showroom. So the evolution of designers being invited has been long arduous, but I'm grateful.

I think a lot of it too is learning what the history is and being respectful of that.

The first time I got to go to High Point, I went with Tom Slater and he owns a third generation fine furniture store here in California, Central Valley, called Slater's Home Furniture. And he has been, they've been there for over 100 years and celebrating.

And he went to his 50th High Point Market this year, and I got to accompany him to some of my favorite showrooms. And the man is such a wealth of knowledge.

But the very first time I got to go, which was three times ago, I sat down to dinner with him and two of the reps he's been working with forever.

And he's sober and doesn't drink, but the two reps do, and they forgot that I was at the table and they started talking about designers and they called us desecrators because we destroy their profitability at High Point Market.

So I was actually very grateful to witness that and understand that because, you know, unless you hear someone, you know, who's trying to make a living, do the right thing, really express their honest feelings, you don't know where you are. So I feel like that was a gift. And so I've approached High Point Market a very different way than I otherwise would have. Probably get it.

That's the long story, I guess.

Of the whole think about it. You know, you're going in there, thinking about, I've got four clients I'm working with. This is great.

And maybe he's walking in, going, I need 12 semi trucks for three locations in the next 365 days. The total difference of.

Scale.

Yes. Looking for volume and quality. And you're looking for details. Bespoke magic for someone's home. Different customer base altogether.

So it makes sense from the, from the manufacturing side, maybe how they could see.

That. Yeah, I mean, they would never make the money that they make on someone like Tom. With me, it's just.

It's more about just being together in the business of design and being appreciative of all opportunities. And I just think that's just taken a little while, while to evolve, I.

Bet. But I guess you get to see all the latest and greatest stuff out there because, you know, furniture trends change, and I'm sure this is the place.

Just like when you and I go down to the kitchen and bath show, we get to see the latest and greatest stuff. You're probably seeing all the latest and greatest of. Okay, here's our new styles for the next six.

Months. Yes, that's the. Honestly, that's the most fun thing. And I get to do a lot of designer. Oh, yeah.

I get to do a lot of writing and I get to do podcasts like this with you, Eric.

And so as a luxury interior designer who also promotes the craft, it's really exciting to see the brand new things and it gets your wheels turning for what might be coming along. And it's also fun for clients to say, I was just at High Point and I saw this and I thought of you.

Because a good interior designer, it is a personal relationship if you're doing residential. And it's just nice to have people know you thought about.

Them. Yeah, it is awesome. And you know, those are all great quality furniture brands.

And I think we're going to see something change in furniture right now.

And I think you're seeing all the younger kids for all the younger audience people out there that are getting to their first apartment, they jump on and buy a couch off Amazon that they have to put together, that comes in with these little sticks and pads and put together that might make it through moving across the living room once.

As an experienced young man who purchased several of those items. Yes. They don't make it through one move. A lot of them see the. They see the dumpster quickly, like that's just broke and it's not fixing.

So. And they don't work. And I've seen this happen. And all of a sudden I think we're seeing.

With people being a little bit more conscious of throwing things away, I think we're going to see a re resurgence of made in America quality stuff because people have been dealing with fast fashion, fast furniture like that. That is exactly what it is. It's fast, it's not amazing. And people are tired of buying things that they throw away in 18 months. And I think we're.

I think we're on A cusp of seeing maybe a generational shift of going back to quality that they can buy and own.

Once. Be nice, but you're not going to afford a Stickly at 20 years old. I'm just saying, to be.

Fair. But it doesn't mean, coming from High Point, that it all has to be massively expensive though, either. There are brand that are solid, American built.

It's not a. All right, That's a beautiful $150,000.

Couch.

No, you and I think what was really great that I was encouraged by both Century Furniture and Norwalk Furniture recognize the need for people who are just entering adulting to have something beautiful that will last, but that is not a $6,000 sofa. And so both of them have evolved these two separate lines. They're under the umbrella of these larger companies.

They're still quality and very nicely done. They have a limited fabric selection and a limited finish selection, so it helps them be more efficient in manufacturing.

But you still have a beautiful product. And it's a lot of fun for me because especially with Norwalk. My friends Sarah and Emma have a retail store here called Sweet 52 Living.

So they have the flagship Norwalk upholstery on their first floor level and then their fabric library and this other line that's much more approachable in terms of price Point is upstairs. And they have beautiful forms and they have great construction. It's a more youthful look.

It's maybe a little more petite because you don't have these sprawling homes when you're just getting going. So, like, the arms are a little more narrow, but the sit and the pitch and the things that really make a piece quality are definitely there.

And it's really exciting because, you know, sometimes you want to specify a beautiful room, but then you add up the contents of what it is and you just. Even for me, you know, I think, oh, gee. So it's nice because I'll be able to offer something really quality and beautiful with a clean conscious as.

Well. No, that's.

Smart. Affordable luxury, I think, is something that's really nice.

And when people are working hard and they want to come home and just relax, you know, that's where you really get. Elevate that. Because they come home, sit down, and they forget they're in a.

That they're in an inexpensive couch and they're going, oh, man, this thing's not comfortable. I wish I would have spent a little bit more. They can get it, enjoy it. It's durable. It's not going to just fall apart on them.

And it's better for the environment. Plus with the tariffs and everything else that's happening out there with furniture, cabinetry, everything.

Else. Oh, he hit the button. He hit the.

Button. What? I'm so.

Sorry. There it.

Is. I know.

It. You guys have been trying to save my clients money for a year. Yeah, since last, no, 13 months. Since last November.

I've been trying to say, tariffs are coming. Tariffs are coming. Tariffs are coming. Tariffs are coming. Can you please buy this? Can you please buy that? Tariffs are coming. Did you know that?

Tariffs are coming. Tariffs are coming. Can we buy all your appliances? Can we please get all your lighting now? Tariffs are coming. Like I aged like 3 years and 13.

Months. It's like Paul Revere. The Paul Revere of designers.

Actually. Yeah, you're totally right. I know there is. It was. Can you tell? Yeah, panic. Sorry. I'm just going to collect myself right off the.

Bat. Wendy, I got you right off the bat.

But that's the thing, you know, and, and I've been claiming it on here as well, going, hey, guys, you know, okay, now we have cabinetry and furniture parts that are doing that out there. And great example.

A few weeks from now, you know, just what, maybe a month ago, the hardwood flooring industry came out and said, hey, can you do the same thing for us? And all of the hardwood floors are being, they're being asked to be put on with all those things that industry is asking for.

It. Oh, that happened in the spring too. That's happened twice this year actually. So we've seen about a 50% increase.

Eric.

Yeah.

Yes. What was that? That was.

The. What's 50amongst.

Friends? Yeah. It's so hard. And I feel bad because, you know, Wendy, you're out there trying to do this with clients and they have a.

And here's the one thing, I want to get this myth out of the way as we're talking High Point. Every project has a budget. Just because it's a five million dollar house absolutely does not mean that it has no budget.

Because these people have $5 million because they've worked with budgets their entire.

Life. And it's a, it's selective. I mean, and I'm sure John can attest to this.

Working with clients for as long as he has and working with you, Eric, as a designer, I know what I feel is a priority to spend your money on because of value over time and what is going to last. Like the investments that will last in a home if you're building it, or the investments that are wasteful.

So I do a lot of high, low, high, low, high, low. And I'm really careful about where I ask to go big in terms of.

Budget. I just did an episode on basically that like don't put zebra tile everywhere just because you.

Can. No, don't do.

That. Oh my gosh. Okay, Wendy, I gotta tell you this story. This was quick story. We're gonna go on a little side rabbit.

Hole. Okay. I'm.

Excited. I want to get back to Wendy.

Because. No, no. I want to hear.

This serious disposition right.

There. Tell a zebra story. That just is funny. So I was with my buddy Ty, we were going through the. In eastern Washington, their parade of homes. Okay.

Beautiful 10 mile view from these homes on the top of the hill here. And the people next door to the parade house had the house up for sale.

And it was like smart to have your open house at the same time as the parade of homes next door. Yeah, it was one of those where you drive around and see the homes.

I walked in and I could see that somebody went to a manufacturer overseas and said, I need a container and a half of the exact Same large format. 30 inch by 30 inch tiles that are black and white zebra.

Striped. Because she thought I was. She thought I was.

Kidding. 6,000 square foot house with the same tile on the floors, the backsplashes, the side of the wall when you walk in the entryway.

And if you were going to ever make a meme or a video of when something is too much, people would have thought this was AI and it was a $4 million house that I looked at and went, I'm going to spend a million dollars just removing tile off of every.

Surface. Was it a slab.

Foundation? No, it was all. I mean this was. This had a basement, it had everything. So it was just so demo.

On a raise foundations really.

Hard. It was, it was on the walls, it was on the. It was all in the shower. It just went.

Everywhere. Was it a spec.

House? No.

These people were living in San Francisco, wanted to live up there, built this custom house and then realized they didn't want to move there when it was done and were.

Selling. Yeah, because it'll make you.

Anxious. You know, it's full of zebras everywhere.

So anyway, it was like somebody took really inexpensive white porcelain tile and then did black stripes in every which way because they didn't align anything up. It was just, man, you needed medication to be in that room, in that house. It was crazy. But it had a great view. So had a.

Great. Directly speaks to the budgeting Issues you were just talking about don't go big on the zebra.

Tile. Yeah. Couldn't you put like a really high quality luxury vinyl plank over the top of the tile?

Like you could float over the tile and then you could put good. Yes. Like the wide plank and then do really beautiful thick baseboards and then you could just demo the backsplashes and the showers and.

Stuff. You could, but it was just.

Because all that tile went.

Whoa. And my buddy who's the contractor went, whoa. And the realtor is there. And the realtor kind of walks off for a second.

He goes, can you imagine what demo's going to be on this place when you have to fix it? And that was the first word out of his face, out of his mouth. And I'm like, you and I are on the same.

Page.

Wow. Needed to hire a designer is what they needed to.

Do. But they may.

Have. Not all designers would say no to that. I mean, it.

Just. That was a very mild heckle I threw in there, but I got agreeance from a top luxury.

Designer. So it.

Depends. I mean, there's some credibility to the.

Heckle.

Yeah. There's a designer for.

Everyone.

Yes. And every.

Aesthetic.

Yep. That's.

Good. Including.

Prince. I would not be a good designer for that particular couple.

Probably. Same, same.

So. But that's.

Okay. Return us back to the conversation now that.

I've. Oh. Oh.

Yeah. High point. That's the thing, you know, putting in quality stuff, design with, you know, we were talking tariffs and all of those challenges.

It has been a tough year for everyone out there, and I think this next year, I hope is going to be a little better, but it's not. There's not a rosy horizon yet. And I'm looking forward to seeing that.

Someday. I think you have to make your own rosy.

Horizon. Yeah, I like this gal. There you go. I spend too much time with.

Him.

I think, honestly, I mean, this year has taught me because people say we don't know what's happening, everything's out of control, but really in life, you don't know what's happening and everything is out of control always. At any moment, anything could change. Anything can uproot an idea or a relationship or a home or a. I mean, day to day, we don't really know.

And I think it kind of has to be a choice to be optimistic and to bring a joyful attitude to your client and to the job site to demonstrate good stewardship. Always, never, ever abandon that. Even in the. Even when everything looks all good and rosy and Shiny. You still want to be responsible.

And responsibility all in the same.

Thing. Yeah.

I mean, it's a privilege to do what you and I do and to be able to do what John does, to work with families and work with individuals who want a beautiful home. And that's not a bad way to make a living. Is it going to be challenging some days more than others? Yes.

But that's just true anyway, so, I mean, I just don't want to live under a dark cloud all the time. I don't think that's sustainable. And you certainly can't be creative that way. It really crushes your creative.

Spirit. So I love everything that you're saying because I really try to stick to my five foot circle that I actually can control.

Whatever I can reach, I can write. I got that. But the main thing I control is my perspective and my attitude. And like you said, we don't know every day is a guess, we don't know plan.

We have ideas of how it should be. But in the stewardship, in providing a beautiful home for people like as a contractor and Eric can attest.

And I'm still the same way with my newer business. I love doing good things with good people for the right reasons.

And when I get some lady dancing in her kitchen and crying, oh, it's so beautiful, that's way bigger payoff than any check you're gonna write me. That agreed is why I did it for 25 years. Like I. You can't beat that. I get goosebumps talking about it. It's it.

Yeah.

Yep.

Yeah. Love what you're saying, Wendy. That's what I'm.

Trying. I love what you're saying. Are you sure you don't want to do more work here.

Wendy? The funny thing is too is you think about it and we go back in history when, when gas prices would all of a sudden blast up.

All of a sudden we had shipping surcharges and things like that. So, you know, every handful of years in this career, I've noticed that there's always been some kind of a challenge.

There's been a shortage of this or there's a shipping strike on the east coast or the west coast and you're trying to get stuff in it, there's always some kind of a challenge out there.

As designers and as builders and remodelers, we all have to in our profession figure out how to deal with it and to be able to navigate the client through those stormy.

Waters. Yes, agreed. I mean, I know when I was little, when my parents Bought their forever home. Interest rates were 14.5% and they were self employed.

You know, that was not easy, but it still happened. I mean, life still goes on. People still need to purchase a sofa, People still need to put a window covering on their windows.

People still need to change out a light fixture. If it's, it's, it, there's always something to.

Do. Yeah, yeah.

And that's funny because, you know, no matter what the economy does over the last 30 plus years, I've been in this industry that you look back, it's like, okay, this was a hard time, but people were remodeling. Maybe they weren't building the new house, but they were making the house that they had livable until they could do a new house.

And then all of a sudden things would open up again. And then all of a sudden they're selling that house that they got done and they're building the new one or buying the new one. So it's.

There's always been this kind of bouncing shift between, you know, right now it seems there's a lot more remodeling the new building in two or three years, it could be the exact.

Opposite.

And again, the experience of years allows you to pull that doomsday scenario out of there and understand that it's going to continue, it's going to go on. It's not going to suddenly stop because of tariffs or because OSB is 20 bucks a sheet. Right. So let's adjust. Yeah, let's recalculate.

Let's navigate the best we can and just turn the rudder, adjust the sail. But yeah, the freakout's not going to serve anybody. Just putting more drama and negativity into the situation is not going to help any of.

Us. I think a lot of us got so used to just being totally overwhelmed during COVID when everyone went home and realized what an ugly home they lived in.

We could not breathe. It was so intense, the work. And I mean, I had three initial consultations with brand new people every single week.

And even that was like people would have to wait for a month and a half to see me. And thankfully they did. But it was insane.

And I think we all kind of adjusted to that level of work and ness and profitability, but it wasn't real at.

All. And so that was a good.

It.

Absolutely. Each of those episodes creates that little Shift right. In mindset, in how we see things, how we look at the whole.

And Covid created a huge shift for all of us. Right. Like, we do things a little different now. And, you know, societies need that to shake things up.

Even though it's, yeah, now I'm just getting into Fables, but.

Whatever. Yeah, all good. So, Wendy, what was your takeaway from, you know, from High Point as far as trends? What are you seeing out there?

Of course, you saw more budget friendly stuff, but were there other things you went, oh, okay, I'm seeing a.

Shift. It's kind of funny because actually, yes, it was.

How we're talking about wanting some stability and trying to make the best of things, and we want to control our five feet. To John's point, I saw a huge return to traditional aesthetic, like a modern but not hard take on Ralph Lauren everywhere.

Beautiful, deep colors and, like, hunting lodge.

Themes. And.

Comfort. Comfort, yes. Like, things that make you a lot of color, but jewel tone.

Color.

Nice. A lot of really fantastic performance fabrics, like velvets that feel unbelievable but that you won't ruin, they won't crush, they won't stain.

So moody colors on the walls to kind of make you feel safe and enveloped in your space. Both. I know I keep talking about Century Norwalk, but I was really impressed by those two showrooms and, hey, Creature, too.

But they both had vignettes that really spoke to that aesthetic, and everyone was drawn to those spaces. It just felt so good.

To.

Nice. Yeah. It just gave everyone a feeling of safety, I.

Think. Yeah, we're looking for it right now. Times. Times of chaos were like, I want meat and potatoes and a really calming couch, please. I need.

This.

Exactly. I wait and go home and watch Stranger Things or something, you know, and just check out for a little.

Bit. I saw a lot more detail, too, which I loved, because, you know, for so long, it was mid century, which is great.

And anyone who loves that esthetic, it's an art form, and I don't mean to speak ill of it when I say. But there's also a return to more detail in case goods and wood furniture, especially like dining chairs.

Beautiful routed edges and details and beautiful little metal rosettes or ferrules on the bottoms of the chairs and nail head placed over a grosgrain ribbon. So the detail and layering of beautiful details was much More present than I've ever seen at High Point.

I've been, I don't know, three times in the last 10 years, but I loved that too, because things that have a story are more valuable now and more interesting. So even people who like to thrift.

I know thrifting has become something really special and exciting and people are always on the hunt for something new.

You can embellish and take a lot of license from the trends that we saw at High Point for things that you can do with furniture that you find or that you're interested in. And it's just fun to experiment and put layer after layer on top of.

Things. That is cool. Yeah. Thrifting is so big. And I have a favorite place here in Portland that's called Urbanite.

And it's an old car dealership in the urban core of the area. And it literally had, you would. The bottom half was the car showroom where they had all the cars inside.

The second floor was where they had the body shop and the service bays.

And so they've made it into all of these different small makers and just reuse type of, you know, people that specialized in mid century people that are taking pieces and making them into something else or improving on them.

And it's gosh, that thing's got to be 20,000 square feet, 30,000 square feet where you walk through it and it's 50 different people working out of there. But it's one of those places that if you want to go find something fun, high quality, cool.

Stuff. I actually have the website up on my to one of my tabs right now. I was just looking at it the other day. It's right.

It's like this collab artisan collective that's super. Just a bunch of.

Artists. Is an architect, so she gets style. And I think she's also got like masters in furniture design or something crazy.

So she's way geeky on the education side of it, but totally gets it. So it's always.

Fun. Yeah. All.

Right. I wanted to switch here since we've talked High Point. I want to slide this in before we run out of time. Decorating for the holidays.

And Wendy, you I gotta lean over on the designer. My decorating for the holidays is basing a turkey on the overhead than it is maybe what you do. So I'd love to get your take on.

It. Actually.

I got started in this line of work because when in high school, my boyfriend's mom and my boyfriend's parents hired me to decorate their house for Christmas because she Just didn't want to. She was the mayor and she was very busy, and she just didn't want to. And she figured I had a decent eye because my parents are jewelers.

And so that was the first job I ever did. And she had the neatest stuff because as mayor, she traveled a lot for sister cities.

And I remember in particular she had those little Russian dolls that all go in. I know there's a. They, like, all go together, whatever that's called. I'm sorry, I don't know.

But there were so many special things that she had that I just loved. And then I'd go up and down the alleys and cut all fresh greenery and just make these huge garlands and boughs. And so she loved it.

And then she started telling her friends about it. And so then her friends hired me. And then my parents would tell their friends that I was doing this for other people, you know. Oh, how's Wendy?

Oh, she's Christmas decorating. So I would come home from college at Thanksgiving and have two or three houses to do for Christmas, which I was very grateful for.

It was minimum wage and cash and, you know, I was happy. I was a college kid. And then later, when my son was little, I was part of a service organization, and they have a Christmas home tour every.

Year.

Cool. And they gave me a house that was 6,500 square feet to decorate. And the homeowner had two Rubbermaid tubs full of decorations, and that was it.

Wow. I have more than that, and I don't really.

Decorate. I came very close to a nervous breakdown, but it just so happened that it was an anniversary of Central West Ballet's the Nutcracker.

And my father, who's still working as a jeweler, made this beautiful nutcracker Christmas pendant. And so every single room in the home, we turned into a different scene from the ballet. So that was really fun. And we got so many people involved.

Ballerinas were there for the day of the tour and everything, but I think that kind of burned me out, to be.

Honest. You're like, I'm.

Done. Big ones will do that.

Yeah.

So now I'll do Christmas for clients the first year, you know, after we redo their whole home, because they need a different tone or a different color scheme or different whatever. But I found the over the top Christmas decor that was such a huge thing to me. It's like you're. It's so overwhelming. I can't get.

Started.

Yeah.

So now I just do a simple tree and fresh garland and greenery from my friend Antoinette at Rodein Farms, where I got to work when I was going back to school for my degree for design. Fresh fruit, beautiful fresh flowers. I like the candles that are battery operated, but they flicker. They just kind of go like this so they look real.

And just with a little remote, all of them turn on and it's just. Just sparkly and romantic. But it's not over the top. Packed Christmas trees and garlands and, you know, everything.

And it was funny because I didn't really understand why my aversion was as it is until I remembered that giant house that I had done. And then I watched this year McGee & Co. On YouTube. They showed Shane McGee doing her house and she just had simple little garlands with.

With pretty little velvet red ribbon. And that was it. And I thought, could I come to love Christmas again? Is it possible?

I don't feel like bogged down under the weight of having to produce. Yeah, I think that's the thing. None of us want to produce a Christmas really anymore.

I don't think, to be honest, we have the energy for it because of what.

We'Ve discussed. Energy for so little time. Right. I.

Mean, yeah.

So just some pretty fresh garland and a nice tree and some candles and a few bows and just enough to elevate it enough so that in the middle of winter it's not depressing and gray and sad outside. It's something pretty inside you can look forward to.

And something I really love to do is put all of the lamps and the Christmas tree and the garlands on.

A.

Timer. Yeah. So that they're all on when I get home from work because it's dark at 4:30, so that helps a lot to kind of keep the gray winter.

Blues away. Smart timers these days are. So you can plug it in, you can say, hey, I want this to come on a half hour before sunset.

And it's automatically going to be on at the right time. You don't have to sit there with the dial ones and pull little metal things out and go, did I set that right? Who bumped that? You know what I mean?

And Right. It's one of those things that it works so.

Well and. Yeah. And it's really good for boosting your mood. And so are fresh flowers. There's actually science around it. So even just.

I mean, when I go to the grocery store once a week, I get a couple bundles of flowers and just put them around again. Because I think a big part of Christmas decorating is lifting your spirits. The spirit of the holiday.

And because we kind of need it this time of year. We're all tired and we need something that's beautiful, that lifts your spirits, but that is not gonna.

Overwhelm you. And for us here in the Pacific Northwest, we have like 21 days with no sunshine sometimes. And.

It'S rain. Guess that's what we've been.

Experiencing here. Yeah, we have to have that. You maybe not so much, but here we'll have three weeks of 42 degrees and rain. And just for sanity, we need to.

Have that. I was just gonna say, first of all, Eric, you're always knocking on the old pull the plug out, turn the timer thing. They worked fine.

They worked great.

For me. It does work fine. I have those at my cabin. Thanks a lot. Thank.

You, John. There's no problem with them. He wants everything to be smart. I'm like, sometimes smart isn't the smartest thing.

Second of all, now I know why I never took down my Christmas decorations when I lived.

In.

Seattle. Yes. I didn't really need this timer. I'm like, just leave them on for nine months till we get out.

Of this.

It's true. It's so true. But yeah, I mean, it's.

And you know, it's fun because, for instance, now you're starting to see, you know, of course there's all the wonderful, you know, pre lit Christmas trees where.

You just. I love.

Those things. This year we actually, last weekend we went and cut a fresh one.

And we have a lot of fresh cut Christmas tree farms that are within 10 minutes of the house. So I actually went and got a something I never heard of a Turkish fir. And so super cool.

Looks like a noble fir, but it has the bottom of the branches are this silvery high gloss. So you get this green and silver, almost like it was flocked, but it's just the natural part of it. And so you get a little bit of twist out of them.

Looks totally cool. But you walk in the house and it smells like fresh Christmas tree when you walk in, which to me is priceless.

Over the manufactured ones that I've had in the past were the.

Plastic trees. You know, seen it on my beautiful flock tree. Is that what you're doing? Okay, this is the second time we found something to.

Disagree about. I love flock trees. I have done flock trees. I.

Have bought. No, this.

Is faux. The faux ones are.

Beautiful too. Look at him backpedal. Look at him backpedal. Right hook.

Right hook. I got this from Sweet52, my friend Sarah and Emma.

So I put the base down and you plug it in and then you put the middle section on and they both light up. And then you put the top section on and it lights up. When I used to have to do all that from scratch from my days when I was in that service club.

You have to wear gloves when you wrap all of that, whether it's fresh or not, because your hands are just like eaten to shreds by either the metal sticky parts of the faux trees or all the pitch on.

The others. I just had new tattoo work done and so I was doing it one handed on the tree because I'm like, I gotta go get a glove. This is.

Killing me. See? Save yourself. You can. You can always bring that fresh.

You know what, you can collect all of that fresh stuff at the Christmas tree lots and then put them in like a vintage champagne bucket. It's so pretty nice. And it.

Smells amazing. And on the side, you can use.

That. Yeah. You're in the Caribbean, John. So that.

Would work. That works.

Fine here.

One.

Right? Yeah. So.

You'Re okay? Yeah, there's. I'll tell you, as much as I like watching him get picked on, Wendy, thank you for that, by the way.

I am very much a proponent of real trees. Yeah, maybe that's not. Maybe that's. Maybe not PC. I don't know, whatever.

But the smell and the work of it and getting pitch on my hands and I don't know, like, the process of it. I love that. And to like, jigsaw puzzle together a faux tree. They do it a ton down here. There's not a lot of pine trees down here, Right.

A lot of fir trees down here. So everybody's got fake trees. And I'm just like, this is. No, this. I literally go and buy, like a little plant, like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

I'm like, I need something alive. Do you.

Not understand? No. This is interesting me, because the two of you are talking about figuring out your own Christmas trees and decorating your own.

Christmas.

Trees. Yeah. And in my life experience, it's been a lonely endeavor, so it's not really that fun for me.

So it's lovely that both of you engage in putting on the Christmas spirit, because I think that's part of it. Like a lot of my friends too say, gosh, man, I'm always stuck decorating that trail by myself and they're in there watching football and I'm so.

I think there's. Maybe that's part of it. I.

Love it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I've always been.

Great you guys, I love that my.

Girlfriend, she's as much into football, if not more than what I am. So we have the football game on and we're doing.

It together.

That's awesome. It works out.

That way.

So good.

I'm glad. That way. But yeah, no, that's the fun part.

And, you know, and in decorating for the holidays, to me, I think the key, at least from my perspective, is making it uber personal. It's your holidays put up there what feels good, what looks nice. And yes, too much can be.

Too much. Yeah, I've done the too much. And what I found over the course of years is that.

And you can laugh at me if you want, but I really became like, I'm going to use Nordstrom's as my reference because it's very simple, it's very neat, it's very tidy, A little bit of modern, but very traditional still. Yeah. For the last couple of decades, like, I'm like, no simple white lights, silver balls, maybe some gold ones, some red bows. Good to go.

Versus in my 20s, I was like, buy every color of everything you can and just throw it against the wall. It's great. More, More.

Yeah, yeah. I'm on mission. I know where they are. I'm gonna go get them today for my tree. The old fashioned 70s.

Bubble.

Lights. Nice.

That's fun. The ones that just. That look like the candle and they bubble up, it's like, all right, we have two trees that's going on the traditional one.

We're gonna make that one feel kind of more like what a childhood tree would be, but a modern version of it. Nice.

You know? That's.

So neat. Child of the 70s and 80s. It works. It works. Wendy, we have run out of time today already for this first hour, and I love talking with this.

You and I could talk, could. Johnny here could talk about decorating for the holidays for another hour, but we'll spare.

Everyone that. Just go simple, keep.

It simple. Get quality stuff. Throw some freshness in there. Right. Make it.

Smell.

Good. Sure. Absolutely. Wendy, how do people find you if this is the first time hearing it?

Because you are such a rock star in the design community, I love having you.

On here. That's nice of you to say, Wendy at Wendy Glacier Interiors, G L A I S T R. And on Instagram, it's just Wendy Glacier Interiors.

It's easy to find and you'll see all the wacky situations we get ourselves into with outstanding contractors who enjoy working with us.

I imagine. I imagine you have good ones. We would do fine together. We would get along.

We would. It would be fun. Let me know when you work on a big beautiful house down in the Caribbean and I'll come.

Help you. Oh that sounds like of a bunch blast. Let's.

Do it. We have plans.

For that. We're talking about this. Yeah. Yeah that's cool. Plans around the house going.

International. Yeah. I.

Love it.

Yeah, yeah.

Stay tuned. You are absolutely invited.

For.

Sure. Absolutely. Guys, I do wish you really happy holidays. Thanks so much for having me back. It was.

Really fun. Awesome. Wendy, thanks for coming on today. I'm Eric G and for Johnny you've been listening to a record around.

The house. Thanks for tuning in to the around the house show.

Make sure and check out our website@aroundthehouse online.com while you are there make sure and like and follow all of our social media channels. We will see you.

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