By Moses Leos III
With 15 years of experience as an interior decorator, Dripping Springs resident and Before Your Eyes Interiors owner Heather Bateman understands the challenges of getting a house ready for the holidays.
Armed with that knowledge, Bateman has turned it into a business venture that helps homeowners turn the inside of their homes into a holiday wonderland.
For Bateman, prioritizing holiday décor is something she says is a “whole different ball game.”
“Some people are great at selecting colors for their homes,” Bateman said. “But when they decorate their homes [for the holidays], it’s overwhelming.”
She said her clients, who hail from Dripping Springs to Round Rock, struggle to recreate the “perfect” interior look they see in stores and magazines.
While she said they have “wonderful eyes for design,” once they purchase the items, her clients often struggle to put it all together.
“It’s the finished look that is overwhelming to them, which they can’t seem to conquer,” Bateman said.
According to Bateman, her job revolves around coordinating and finding placement for items such as wreaths and trees, as well as gift wrapping to help clients welcome the holidays.
Her job begins with assessing and planning for a job based on what holiday décor the client has.
While some homeowners have holiday décor that’s readily available, Bateman said some homeowners turn to her to acquire it for them.
“I’ll spend that time buying items for the look and the inspiration, trying to find it at a reasonable price,” she said.
With items ready to go, Bateman then starts to plan and decorate a home. She said her jobs begin with the tree and move out from there.
Placement, according to Bateman, is the essence of her business, primarily with the holiday tree. The size and scale of holiday décor is also an important factor, which can sometimes lead to tricky situations.
“Some people have gigantic rooms, but they misjudge and buy small trees, or they have large trees but a small room,” Bateman said.
Creativity is another key element for Bateman, who said she tries to mix things up for repeat clientele.
“My own challenge is to be creative and new and not going and putting the same thing in the same spot every year,” she said.
According to Bateman, a “full-scale” decoration project can go anywhere from eight to ten hours. It’s also dependent on how large a home she is working on, along with the personality of the client, which she said differs from project to project.
“Every job is unique, based on personality and decorations,” Bateman said.
Demand, according to Bateman, can be high during the peak holiday season. She said some of her clients have booked a year in advance. During the holidays, Bateman said she will decorate two homes a day over a five day week.
While it can be stressful, Bateman said she doesn’t believe it’s overwhelming.
“It would [be overwhelming] if it wasn’t just in my characteristic,” she said. “It is a lot of hard work, but it’s enjoyable so it doesn’t feel like work.”
