By Taylor K. Vecsey
More people than ever will be spending the holidays on the East End this year, and that means dressing up Hamptons homes more than ever for the season.
Even leading up to Halloween, “Everyone decorated way more this year,” says Jillian Griffiths, who runs Griffiths Property Management and takes care of estates from Montauk to Bridgehampton. It’s a trend that is sure to continue through Hanukkah and Christmas, and one that goes well beyond a few lights strung here and there and a wreath on the door. Some clients ask Griffiths to decorate their homes, from outdoor décor to setting up the presents and making sure the toys have batteries.
“They say, ‘We just want to walk in and be like a kid on Christmas morning ourselves,’” she says. “If the Barbie Jeep needs the battery charged, we’ll take care of it.”
Griffiths has even partnered with Meg Caswell, a Chicago-based interior designer who won HGTV Design Star season 6, to offer consultations virtually. Caswell offers the interior design tips and Griffiths executes them.
Holiday décor consulting is something that Dee Ann Federico, an interior designer based in the Hamptons who has 23 years of experience, also provides.
“It’s like a holiday mini-makeover,” she says.
Clients will lay out all their decorations and show her pictures of what they’ve done in the past, and she advises on a new way to set them up or how to include new pieces. The “holiday refresh,” as she calls it, simplifies and elevates a look “by blending family favorites with updated elements that can add new spirit and sparkle to their home.
“I absolutely love to decorate for the holidays. You can really just let yourself go,” Federico continues. “People have started to decorate their bedrooms, not just the public rooms in their house…There’s pretty much not a room where you can’t put some holiday influence.” And she doesn’t just mean those old-school holiday hand towels in the bathroom.
For the full story, visit BehindTheHedges.com.
