Yes, it’s a wonderful life when all the decorations have a place, both in and out of season. That’s where custom-created closets just for Christmas decor have become domestic necessities for the truly Yule-obsessed.
About three years ago, when Jim and Eva Marie Tranum started building their new home just outside of Troy, she had one big wish: A separate closet for her holiday decorations, including the 10-foot artificial tree.
The Tranums aren’t alone. About 20 percent of his clients ask for a special Christmas closet, said Curtis Cook of Harker Heights, residential designer who has specialized in custom-built homes since 1989.
“Most customers want to be able to roll their tree into a closet without taking any decorations off,” he said.
Mrs. Tranum liked to decorate her tree fresh each year, especially with her grandchildren’s newest handiwork, but she requested a deep space with 12-foot-high double doors to accommodate her tree, wreaths, a world of Christmas villages, an army of nutcracker soldiers and an exultation of angels. Then, of course, she has the requisite Santas, cars, travel souvenirs and more.
Many architects’ clients, such as the Tranums, have specific tree dimensions and shelving to consider. Their tree stands on a custom-made steel dolly with heavy-duty rollers. Mrs. Tranum also wanted it in close proximity to her living room so the tree could be wheeled in place with little effort.
The good news about planning unique storage space is the cost. “It’s negligible, probably adding only $800 to $1,000 to the overall cost of the house,” Cook said. “The real challenge is being able to find the space within the house.” So, the homeowner has to sacrifice some square footage in living space for the storage privilege.
When Cook includes them in his designs, he makes sure the closet has ventilation. Otherwise, the only design requisite is space, shelves and accessibility.
When Cecilia and Gary Hudgens started building their dream home in rural Troy in 1984, she wanted separate holiday storage because “I’ve always loved Christmas.” Her Christmas closet was a dream come true - for a while.
“Our house is so big, I kept adding trees and decorations,” she said. This year, she has three large trees plus everything else. Her Christmas closet has grown to three with various other nooks and crannies for storage.
Previously, teaching music and her other assorted duties as church musician had crunched her time for Yule decorating. “This year is the first time in 10 years that I’ve been able to decorate like I want,” she said.
She has developed one important timesaver: the decorations for each room are stored in that room so that she doesn’t have to haul boxes through the house. “It goes quicker that way,” Hudgens added.
However, she would do one thing differently if she were building her house today. “I’d make more room for dishes. I have a lot of Christmas dishes,” she added. “You can’t make Christmas big enough for me.”
However, for sheer storage ease, no one can beat the home of H. Barton and Jeanie Jones’ oxbow overlook home on Armstrong Road in Salado. The tree is stored in an attic storage loft.
Like heavenly hosts, their custom-decorated 8-foot tree descends gloriously from on high via a special pulley system. When the holidays roll around, she flips a switch, and the tree descends onto its own platform. Then, when the holidays are over, the lift pulls the tree up into the loft.
Now, that’s really decking the halls.
pbenoit@temple-telegram.com
