Inspiration straight from the White House- Decorating This Holiday Season

Putting up Christmas decorations is such an exciting time of year! We are all home again and family comes together to set up the tree, pull out the ornaments, and keep my dog from marking and/or eating the tree. Although this is a joyous time, we often bring up the same conversation: We need new decorations. Everything here is from 1998. Our house is full of memories and primary school crafts, but it is lacking in a unified theme. 

I think this is why, I have always loved The White House's holiday decorations. The way the designers always bring new blare and sparkle to the space, while still holding on tightly to the essence of the historical White House. So let's take a look at the White House houses decorations this year! 

The Christmas Tree this year is a 18.5 feet tall! It is a Douglas Fir from a Pennsylvania tree farm.

The Blue Room. The military appreciation tree is dressed in blue to honor Blue Star families. Each ornament is dedicated to a military family as well as unique ornaments from every state and territory. I have always wanted to have a tree in every room!

Here are the decorations on the 16.5 foot Christmas Tree. I love gold as a holiday color scheme. I also love the variation in sizes and shapes for the for the ornaments. The roses, beading, and ribbon bring great texture in to the scheme. 

These wreaths are hanging in every exterior window in the East Wing. This would be a great way to reuse our old balls if we bought new ones.  (For the new ones I'm thinking blue and sparklyyy!!)

Here is the Obama's 2013 Holiday card. Its pop-up with 3d puppies! How great is that? I am glad to know the first family idolizes there dogs as much as my family does. 

Cant forget to decorate the dog! Good boy. 

Good luck with your holiday decorating. Don't be afraid to get adventurous. Happy holidays, everyone! 

Presenting Tips: An Honest Easy Way to Kick Anxiety's Butt

At Auburn, I have had to present every project I have done for a class. Despite the fear and anxiety I have gone through with this exercise, it has actually been very helpful to me. I now feel like I can stand up and talk to a group about anything for a few minutes. But trust me- this skill has not come easily. I used to just go up there, black out, and say whatever came to mind for 5 minutes until my time was up. Through 4 years of forced pitches, I have learned how to present myself in front of an audience, and I think that is one of the most important skills to have as a designer.
For our final project this semester, my class of 26 had to stand up in front of our client and pitch our project in 8 minutes. It was extremely nerve racking. Our audience was my professor, the general manager of the hotel, his assistant, the head of an Atlanta hospitality firm, and 25 of my closest peers in a large auditorium. Some went exceptionally well, others were 8 minutes of the slowest train wreck you will ever watch. We have all had the same amount of experience, but some people just tend to fall apart.
So here is my guide to the most basic and important things to remember when pitching a project to a client!

1. Don't forget to say the most basic things. I forget to mention that all of finishes were durable and easily cleaned. To me, that is an absolute must as an interior designer, but a client needs to hear the words.

2. Have a good opener and closer. If every word you say in between is useless garbage filled with 'umms' at least be able to say who you are, what their needs were, what your theme was, and thank them for their time. Presentations that don't have a strong closing are like slow car crashes and the pause waiting to clap and be unbearable.

3. Practice! I know all of those record yourself and make your mom watch you tips can just go in one ear and out the other. The way I practice is by writing down the vocabulary I want to use and practicing my lines, in my head, while staring at my boards. Be able to find some organization in your thoughts. Do whatever makes you feel calm in your head before you stand up on that stage.

4. Figure out how to draw attention away from the problems. Address the functionality of what you have created. One time I had to present a project that was half finished with tears rushing down my eyes while wearing yesterday's clothes. I went up there, put on my personality, pointed out the positive attributes of my design, and never addressed the empty parts of my boards. I got a roaring applause.

5. Be yourself and smile. For the most part, our projects were pretty similar because we were all asked to do the same space in the same style with the same design needs. The projects that stood out were the memorable ones. The people that smiled, and let their personality shine through their professionalism, and took criticism well. Don't let a good project be ruined by a boring pitch. Or in the reverse, kill them with personality so they don't notice the holes in your design!

Go get 'em, Tigers!