Out of the ordinary

When her Christmas decorating style is shared by most everyone on the street, Kathy Dunbar says it's time to change it.

Tired of the classic white lights and green wreaths look several years ago, the Brainerd resident began incorporating the same whimsical look to her outdoor holiday decor as she uses inside.

Today, the exterior of the brick and frame home Mrs. Dunbar and her husband, Tom, share boasts strings of colored lights similar to the ones that brightened most every home in the 1950s and 1960s. There are also fanciful oversize ornaments and bows in lime green and shades of red.

Inside, her extensive Santa collection is displayed in the kitchen and strategically throughout the home, while spruce branches, beads, netting and ornaments dress up lamps, frames, vases and furniture.

"I wanted it to look a little different," said Mrs. Dunbar, who has lived in the home since 1993. "I like to change things up."

While some of her favorite Santas are made by Olde World and many of her decorations come from Raz Imports, other decorations were purchased at a dollar store, she said.

Fostering a style is less about the cost of the decorations than about the imagination that may go into their placement, Mrs. Dunbar said.

Instead of a star or angel, for example, a top hat graces the top of her live tree. The tree itself -- with the same vintage colored bulb lights as on her home's exterior -- is chock full of ornaments she has collected or been given.

"The ornaments -- you remember people buy them," Mrs. Dunbar said.

She and her husband have maintained a live tree throughout their time in the house. In fact, she said her daughter, Alex, a University of Tennessee student, teasingly told her if they ever got an artificial tree she wouldn't come home.

Mrs. Dunbar's Santa collection began more than 20 years ago when she worked for Fowlers Furniture and purchased some of the Olde World figures the store was selling, she said.

Sentimental favorites include an intricate cross-stitched St. Nick that a friend took months to complete and a figurine she found bagged and selected for her after her mother died in January.

Since the couple's home is decorated throughout the year with shades of red, it's easy to integrate the greens and reds of Christmas into the overall scheme, she said.

"You can mix it up and give (things) a whole new look every year," Mrs. Dunbar said.

The "fun, bright, cheery, light-hearted" whimsical look seems to be the right fit, she said, for a cosy home.

DECORATING TIPS

1. Embellish lamps with small holiday figurines or ornaments.

2. Adorn framed pictures with live evergreen garlands twined with beads.

3. Garnish house plants that winter indoors with holiday items on picks or sprays or wrap them in foil or cloth to match holiday decor.

4. Dress up window treatments with ornaments.

5. Decorate dining room or kitchen chairs with netting, fabric or bows.