Spotlight on Dave Zettler and his Christmas Cottage

Dave Zettler has been in the floral industry for almost 30 years, most recently as a former business partner of Flowers to the People in South St. Louis. He continues helping his clients decorate for the holidays, including those on tours like the most recent Cardinal Glennon Deck the Hall’s fundraising tour. For the past two years, Dave has helped seasonally at Ambius, where his expertise and skills are used to help deck out the entire city of St. Louis with sparkle and shine. That’s a lot of holiday decorating for one person. One would imagine all that decorating would make someone too sick and tired of tinsel to hang a wreath at home. But then one would have to imagine someone like Dave Zettler, where the exact opposite is true.

Dave moved to St. Louis in 2009. By 2014, his home holiday decorating had become more extravagant and started evolving yearly. “Growing up, I began to decorate the front yard of my family home – mostly wooden cutouts and basic lights!” says Dave. “My grandma Newbury was a huge part of my holiday spirit. As a child, all the Aunts and Uncles/cousins would gather at the grandparent’s farmhouse every Christmas eve … and it was magical. Our Aunt would make all the cousins matching holiday sweatshirts, and we would all gather on Granny’s long ole couch like a bunch of birds on a wire, exchanging gifts and sharing the holiday home-mades. We were a big group in a small house (Much like mine), but we all fit, and you could just feel the love and magic of the holiday in the air.”

Dave tries to complete his home’s interior decorations by the end of September. After that, his clients take priority, and he’s too busy for decorating at home. It takes approximately a 40-hour week to switch out the ‘every day’ decor for the holidays. That includes everything from dishes in the cupboards, curtains, and even the globes in the chandelier. Dave mixes things up every year, so it’s always different for family and friends that visit annually. Only about 3/4 of his collection is showcased this year. After the holidays, the majority is stored in bins on site.

“I’m honestly not one of those designers who really plan things out. I just open up the boxes and sort of throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks. I tend to not overthink it. Just do it. I don’t really do things by the “book”, honestly there is no book, and if you find it, throw it out the window!! You do you! And yes, more is MORE – I feel when it comes to holiday, one can never over-decorate. I say if you can see the tree, it needs MORE !!”

Unique to Dave’s approach to decorating is thinking outside the typical box and making something work for a particular situation it wasn’t designed for. Dave searched for the perfect holiday globes for his dining room chandelier without any luck. So, he took translucent shatterproof ornaments and cut them down to fit his fixture, giving the room an enchanting holiday glow. The nutcracker lamps in the living room are also Dave’s handiwork. And those colorful arrangements on the ceilings? Those are ceiling fans that once the blades are removed, make clever bases to wire decorations to.

The Living Room has a predominate nutcracker theme.

“My Grandma was very thrifty and taught us all so many useful holiday hacks, especially to ALWAYS wire the Christmas tree to the windowsill. Which I, to this day, still do. Though I’ve carried it a step further and wire stuff to the walls and doorframes, too! Her name was Doris June (DJ), so whenever the cousins and I use her life hacks, we say, “Well, we just “DJ’d” it. Granny would be so proud…She could make something out of nothing and was always repairing her antique store finds and especially collecting these Christmas Angels, many of which I now have.”

Dave’s grandmother gave each grandchild a Hallmark Holiday ornament every year. “I am fortunate enough to have well over 25-30 years of memories hanging on my tree(s). Probably my most prized possession (and most sentimental piece and the one I would take on a deserted island ) would be the tree topper that graced grandma’s tree for all of those years. I love to sit and watch it reflect on the ceiling every evening. It evokes so many memories.”

Dave’s vintage **Bradford Celestial Motion Tree Topper**

“I also got a lot of influence and help collecting from dear momma, Janet Sue. She was very instrumental in acquiring much of my nutcracker collection and many of the odd pieces I have. She also was very thrifty and would hit yard sales, random off-the-beaten-path places…even driving across several state lines to find the perfect nutcrackers for my display. She passed in 2022, so it’s still fresh, and holidays, though hard, bring me such joy to display all the things we collected together over the years to keep Janet Sue’s memory alive. I keep a framed photo of her sitting with Santa that I always make sure is displayed within my collection.”

Jerry Zettler, Dave’s father, is instrumental in the displays. “I’m always coming up with crazy ideas, and he logistically makes things work! Not everyone is as fortunate to have a dad who is so handy and has the tools, time, and willingness! His favorite phrase to me is, “Well, son, that might go against my better judgment, but if that’s what you want to do, we can make it work. “Point being the chicken rotisserie motors Jerry mounted in 5-gallon buckets to make the original nutcrackers spin in the living room. Jerry also made the Santa going out of the kitchen transom window by heating/bending PVC pipes for Santa’s legs. “So many elements of my display are made possible by him! He has also been instrumental in creating the outdoor display in previous years!

The red walls in the kitchen are a perfect backdrop for the holiday displays and cooking theme.

Outside, the small front yard is over-stuffed with lights, tinsel, and, of course, Santa. Dave grew up in DuQuoin, Illinois, and moved to St. Louis in 2009 to take on the role of floral manager at a local Schnucks. The first Christmas Dave moved onto the street and decorated; neighbors he hadn’t met sent him ‘Thank-You’ cards. The once quiet, dark street in the Southwest Garden Neighborhood now is merry and bright during the holidays as other neighbors join in on decorating their front lawns.

Some decorating advice from Dave;
-Start early. I find a majority of my interesting pieces off-season or right when stores begin putting out. I find it starts trickling into places like HomeGoods or Walmart in mid-August!
-Rule of thumb: if you find something good, I always buy two because I always seem to know someone who is looking for things … I am an admitted holiday hoarder.
-Layering – think outside the box. Decorate your doorways and windowsills. My home is tight on entertaining space, so I go UP with a lot of stuff!
-Invest in a remote control outlet system – I purchased them at Home Depot. Buy multiple sets so you can number each room, and then it’s pure magic! Instant Christmas-no bending over or crawling around trying to locate plugs!
-Mix it up – my earlier pieces are mostly from the Dollar General store. I just incorporate the inexpensive items with everything else and it just elevates everything!
Like Rome, my holiday display was not built or sourced in a day or even a year – it’s years’ worth of collecting, so have patience, and someday you too can have all this!