Knoxville’s design pros share new ways to deck your halls—from autumn trees to oversized bows and glittery nostalgia.
Story by Carolyn Evans
Appeared in Cityview Magazine, Vol. 41, Issue 6 (Nov/Dec 2025)
Just when I thought I knew it all about Christmas decorating, I found out that new things have slipped in while I wasn’t looking! Even before I sat down with some of our local experts, I found myself wrapped up in the trends of the year: an autumn tree, simple bows, oversized décor, nostalgia, “kitschmas.” And it turns out our local interior designers Stephen Brown and Sam George weren’t surprised at all. Their advice is all that and more. And our local outdoor lighting guru, Chris King? He has some advice that will wrap it all together in a nice bow.
Start with What Makes you Happy
Every time we’ve spoken with Stephen Brown, creator of Glitterville Studios, and Sam George, owner of Samuel Franklin Florist, we find ourselves reminded that a great place to start when you’re looking to do new decorating ideas is simply with what you love.
“The glitter theology has always been that you do what you like and it doesn’t matter what the trend is,” Stephen says. “You figure out what it is that makes you happy, what you like, and you begin to layer things in from there.”
If there’s something you collect that you love, Stephen recommends finding ways to incorporate that into your tree and décor. “If you can strap it to the tree, then let it be,” he says.
Once you have some ideas, it’s time to start planning that tree. Stephen says there’s a recipe for decorating trees, and honestly, none of his tips seem all that difficult to pull off. The first point is to layer different-sized bulbs to really bring it to life. And don’t forget that you need a base of white lights first, even if you’re using colored lights as your main light source, so the tree isn’t too dark. Next, add two or three sizes of ornaments. If you like to see more, then finish it off with garland and finally tinsel.
“If you want to have a tree that shows lots of depth and photographs well,” Stephen says, “then that’s the way to do it.”
Sam, who is also a big proponent of doing what you love, says the secret is making your Christmas tree personal to you. If you have ornaments your kids made, use them. If you have items that don’t necessarily match but have a theme to them, there are ways to help bring it all together.
“Ribbon becomes the one constant throughout the tree that can unite all the elements and make a cohesive look,” he says. “Use a ribbon that coordinates with your interior so everything looks planned.” Those mismatched items might also create depth for the tree.
“We like trees that aren’t flat, that have dimension with items placed within the tree and breaking out of the tree. Branches and elements projecting out of a tree can be a good friend to a tree. These items will give you the opportunity to hang ornaments off of them when secured well.”
“Big is in,” Sam adds. “This year, I used some very large red birds in a tree at the shop as well as gigantic jingle bells. When you put different sizes on, it’s more interesting. A side note is to put the biggest ornaments on first, deeper in the tree.”
Experts in the Field
Sam and Stephen have been at this for a long time. Both have their own story, but they are grounded in a desire to help neighbors, near and far, feel at home and at ease when they decorate for the holidays.
Sam’s been going in to people’s homes to help with Christmas décor for the last 44 years. His shop, which has been in business since 1985 and offers about 8,000 square feet of flowers, plants, gifts, antiques, and home accessories. It has already transformed for the holiday season, with a variety of Christmas trees on display and a host of décor ideas to get you inspired and ready for the season. If you want a fun outing, it’s on Main Street in Knoxville.
As for Stephen, he launched Glitterville Studios back in 2003, and it has grown into a worldwide supplier of all things Christmas. You can find his work locally on World’s Fair Park Drive, but also in larger retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Anthropology. He also has showrooms in Atlanta and Dallas. Stephen’s made a national name for himself working with celebs like Oprah and Ryan Reynolds, but also by decorating for a rather big client.
“For the last few years we have decorated the White House for Christmas,” Stephen says. “Last year, I caused a really big kerfuffle because we decided that we would put colored lights on the Christmas tree, the official White House Christmas tree.”
While people told him colored lights were not for that kind of environment, Stephen approached it with the same down-to-earth advice he gives to his local clients. “I said, ‘No, you can because actually, it takes people back and people think of when they were little and all the color,’ and so we proceeded with that. You know it caused a disturbance, but when it was done, everybody was like, ‘Oh my gosh! We love it!’”
Decorating for the Season and Beyond
The tree is important, but it’s only one leg of the Christmas décor journey. I pressed Sam for some more tips and found that there are always a variety of trends to latch on to. Find the ones, though, that feel right to you. Here are some he’s seeing right now, both new and staples. Sam’s advice is to keep themes simplistic by not mismatching them and adding other color elements that confuse the theme you’ve chosen.
“Whites and blues are still very on trend and red never goes out of style,” Sam says. Also trending right now are wintry items, lots of whites, silvers, gold, elements of sparkle and frosty and snowy items.
“Green is a big trend this year as well. And this is one that’s a little more difficult to pull off. Since the tree itself is already green, you need lots of different shades of green and most of those need to be on the lighter side.
Both Sam and Stephen gave their thumbs up to greenery, berries, and other natural elements. “Fruit is trending this year as an element to add to your tree,” Sam says. “Cloved fruit like oranges, proves that everything old becomes new again.” What a great point!
The autumn tree has been around for a few years, Sam says, and is almost a throwback to the past when people made their ornaments. It’s decorated with natural elements like pine cones, dried plants, birds’ nests, orange berries, tiny pumpkins and cloved oranges. The idea of the tree is transition, carrying you from October into Christmas. The more I think about it, the more I like it! If I could get my husband to bring down a tree early and get lights on it, I could easily shift some ornaments after Thanksgiving to more Christmasy baubles.
Before we finished, I tagged our designers for a few more pieces of note. Stephen gave his take on the bow trend, saying that bows, like a ribbon in a girl’s hair, have been in for a while, and they’re everywhere, even in everyday décor. Between this comment and the autumn tree, it comes together to make up the good point that inspired, festive décor doesn’t have to stop at Christmas.
As a child, the closer Christmas came, the sadder Stephen became because all his crafting and the lights and joy were about to end. I’m sure we all can attest to this in some way. But he credits his grandmother, Enza Cline, with his motto: “Make every day a holiday.”
“After that my whole life was just making things, so the minute Christmas was over I would start Valentine’s Day and then St. Patrick’s and Easter. So the premise was just sort of to make things that were beautiful and would surround you. I do believe that your environment and your surroundings affect your mood.”
Bring the Festivity Outdoors
Did you think I forgot about your front porch or house? Imagine standing on the street looking at your house this Christmas. Do you see bright lights in clean lines? Do you see yourself waving goodbye to the light installer who did all the work for you?
Climbing up a tall ladder with a long string of lights gives many people pause. So while you can absolutely do it yourself (or with a buddy), there are plenty of options to have the work done for you and it might be a little simpler than you think.
Chris King, who started Christmas Lights Knoxville back in 2016 as a sister company to Cornerstone Construction, says that there are actually options to having someone come and do your lights for you. You can install permanent year round lights, sure. But did you know you can also lease them for the season?
“We all love Christmas lights because we loved Christmas lights when we were kids,” Chris says. “It’s for the kids in all of us.” Chris King, Christmas Lights Knoxville
Chris’s bread and butter is regular big bulbs on the roof lines, mini lights in the trees, wreaths, and garland around the door and on lampposts, etc. “A lot of people want to go full-on Griswold, but we know that nice clean lines are just so pretty,” he says. “We put everything up before Thanksgiving and take it down after New Year’s. We store it for you until next year. We use commercial-grade lights. If there’s a bulb out, we’ll be there immediately.”
Going back to the idea that you can decorate all year long, Chris says there’s also RGB app-based lighting systems that also can be a permanent purchase or a seasonal rental. On Saturday they can be orange and white for the big game, then change to warm white or red and green for Christmas. These lights can be any color or pattern you want and can be installed for a few days for occasions such as weddings, or for a season, usually September to January.
The value of going this route it seems is that they’re not the grade of lights you buy at a big box store. Chris says the lights he installs are commercial grade. “They last about 10 years and require special training to sell and install.”
Wrapping it All Together
So there you have it. With some expert notes in your back pocket, local folks you can call for help, and the thrill of jumping on a national trend (I’ll see you soon, autumn tree), you’ll have made a little bit of Christmas magic, all on your own.
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