Jacksonville Magazine - December 2014 - Mandarin Merriment

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MANDARIN MERRIMENT
A PROFESSIONAL CHRISTMAS DECORATOR SHOWCASES HIS HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
WORDS BY JULIET JOHNSON // IMAGES BY NICK JOHNSON
90 | JACKSONVILLEMAG.COM DECEMBER 2014

DO YOU EVER WONDER WHAT A PROFESSIONAL WINDOW
DESIGNER’S HOUSE LOOKS LIKE AT CHRISTMAS? You know,
those “visual merchandising” folks who decorate stores, malls,
condo lobbies, restaurants and whose every friend says, “Ooh, I
want you to do that for me.” Or perhaps it’s like the shoemaker’s
child, who doesn’t actually have any nice shoes of his own.
n
p
n
Professional Christmas decorator Greg
McMillan spent 22 years at Belk in the display
department, designing and installing windows,
cases, end-aisles, vignettes and the merchandise
that sits atop mirrored storage cases. By
the time he retired, he oversaw the display of
70 stores throughout the Southeast. He’s
accustomed to decorating for the holidays, to
be sure, but no matter how hard he braces for
impact, the time crunch is always manic.
From store managers who wanted to go from
Halloween at close to Christmas by the next
day’s opening to clients who want their lights
up the day after Thanksgiving, the rush of the
season is something to which McMillan has
become accustomed. His own house is where
he tests out new ideas and where he can show
others what is possible. Plus, McMillan loves to
entertain, merrily hosting friends, choir parties
and family non-stop— once all his clients
are taken care of, of course.
His front door offers an enthusiastic welcome;
the only nod to his former life at Belk
are the bold bells. Thick, lush greenery frames
the transom, festooned with red baubles and
gold ribbon. It’s lavish, but nothing too showy
for the Mandarin neighborhood Greg, wife
Virginia and their two children have called
home for 15 years.
Step over the threshold and it’s hard to
know where to look first. The vibrance is electrifying;
one can’t help but smile as a familiar
tingle grows within—that wonderful joy that
only comes at Christmas.
The formal living room is an elegant classic.
Small sprays of greenery with vintage ribbon
draw the eye from antique to charming
antique. Strands of gold beads connect crystal
bowls of traditional balls and the simplest of
all his swags drapes across the window with a
single cherub playing in a gold rope. In fact,
every room McMillan decorates starts with a
ribbon.
“The ribbon informs the color palette,” he
says. “Never skimp on your greens and ribbon.”
He will then expand on a theme with
baubles and florals and beads, layering on
until time or fatigue wins out. There is no
“too much” when it comes to holiday dècor for
McMillan, who will travel as far north as
DECEMBER 2014 JACKSONVILLEMAG.COM | 91

Atlanta and west to Panama City
to decorate for some clients.
“A great display evolves,
depending upon what you have to
work with. Restaurants will often
have an ethnic flavor which is fun
to push into festal fever, or they
will have a novelty theme. But it’s
always about layers on top of
good greens and great ribbon.”
McMillan is fanatical about greenery
and garlands. They have to
last—in some cases as long as six
winter weeks and then spend
summer in a hot attic so that they
may be fluffed up the following
year.
With his private clients,
McMillan takes an inventory of
what they have, often identifying
collections people weren’t even
aware of. When grouped together,
angels, cherubs and cupids
become meaningful in new ways.
Nutcrackers do well on a mantel,
monitoring the proceedings, casting
a stern eye on anyone sneaking
in to peel back a corner of gift
wrap. Santa Clauses have greater impact in
clusters, perhaps on a staircase. One of
McMillan’s favorite clients has a still-growing
collection of more than 80 Santas. “It’s fun to
see the new recruits…velvet and real fur, we
have all sorts to display. But they need to be
segregated. Angels and Santas need to be a
distance apart for the effect to make sense.”
Back at his own house, the McMillan dining
room is as formal as the living room, and
set for a feast. Silver gleams, crystal glistens,
and candles abound. The chandelier is
dressed to the max, a celestial ball exploding
in ribbon, flowers and lush greenery. Faux
snapdragons add height, scale and tie in the
warm terra cotta-plastered walls offset by
smooth white columns. The Italian theme is
complemented by a vast golden bowl overflowing
with “still life” and a mirror covered
in moss, vines, a magnificent bow and trailing
ribbons. Everything the mirror frames is
another breathtaking tableau.
The crèche, opposite, sits on the hall table
surrounded by generations of McMillan fami-
This page from top: Brass candlesticks glint amongst
the greenery; Greg fashions yet another bow, with three
different ribbons at once. Opposite page from top:
Annie’s little red boots mark their 29th Christmas;
bowls of balls and crystalized fruit add Baroque luster.

ly baby photos, and a framed Christening
gown. Their crèche is from Virginia's side
of the family, proudly plastic so that children
can play with it freely. For
McMillan, collections deepen the provenance
of the individual items—putting
them in perspective and connecting each
sentiment to a larger message.
In the kitchen and family room, casual,
festive exuberance reigns. Mostly
vintage toys are sweetly woven in, as is
an adorable regiment of nutcrackers.
Ribbons here are mostly orange, peach
and coral—a nod to the warm tones of
Florida’s First Coast. But the star of the
room is, of course, the giant tree, which
sits in the heart of the home.
McMillan says that one should always
ornament his or her tree with the lights off
(otherwise, the tree will have too much
negative space). Ironically, McMillan doesn’t
decorate his own tree—instead offering
the job to Virginia. She puts all the heirloom
ornaments on the perimeter, while a
sappy, family favorite like ‘Mr. Magoo’s
Christmas Carol’ plays in the background.
Like a true decorator, he goes back in after
her—not to move things, but to add another
layer, this time baubles into the deeper
recesses of the tree.
The kitchen is a riot of cheerful greens
and reds. (In fact, McMillan is an apples
over pears guy and is traditional about his
colors. Red and green. Black was his worst
directive—“That was a bad year, as was
the year we painted car tires all sorts of
lurid fluorescent colors for a goofy promotion
called Holiday Attire.”) The table is set
for Christmas breakfast. Another sumptuous
garland frames the door to the
screened-in porch, with florid garden
beyond. The kitchen windows look out
onto a climbing Cape Honeysuckle vine
that matches the holiday dècor perfectly.
Some of McMillan’s clients like to decorate
alongside him, but most let him get
on with the job on his own. When it comes
to clients’ Christmas trees, he tends to
leave much of the work up to them (aside
from the lights and bows). Like at his own
home, ornaments offer tender memories
of a family’s history, and a tradition he
doesn’t want to take from anyone. Just like
Virginia McMillan, who takes special care
each year to hang their daughter’s original
red leather booties among the magnificent
ribbons on her own tree. This shoemaker’s
family has shoes, indeed.
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