Articles by Joanna Mercer

Giant Floral Wreath Backdrops From Plain Hula Hoops

I learned this trick the way I learn most party tricks: five minutes before guests arrive, staring at a blank wall and thinking, “Okay Joanna, be brave.” A couple of cheap hula hoops can look like craft-store chaos in the package, but once you wrap them, weight them, and cluster faux florals the...

Galentine’s Day Brunch Tiered Dessert Display

My Galentine’s rule is simple: if you can stack it, you can style it. A tiered dessert display looks fancy, keeps the table from feeling crowded, and makes even store-bought treats feel like they showed up in heels. This is the exact approach I use when I want a pink-and-red moment that photographs...

Friendsgiving Buffet Setup: Multi-Level Serving Stations for Potlucks

The fastest way to make a Friendsgiving potluck feel calm is to stop thinking “one long buffet line” and start thinking “stations.” I learned this the hard way hosting a tiny-apartment Friendsgiving where everyone arrived hungry at the same time. The food was amazing. The traffic jam was not. My...

How to String Papel Picado Safely on an Outdoor Patio

Every Cinco de Mayo, I swear I am going to keep it simple. And every Cinco de Mayo, I end up on a patio chair with a roll of line in my teeth, trying to get papel picado to float beautifully instead of shredding itself in the first breeze. The good news is you do not need heavy hardware or a giant...

Sturdy Front Porch Pumpkin Archway for Halloween

The first time I tried to “just hot glue some pumpkins to a garland” for my front porch, a gusty October night turned it into a pumpkin tumbleweed situation. Lesson learned: if you want a big, photo-worthy pumpkin archway that actually survives weather and door traffic, you need two things you...

Classy St. Patrick’s Day Decor in Emerald and Brass

Every March, I get the urge to decorate, and every March I have to talk myself out of the same three things: plastic shamrocks, neon green everything, and leprechaun hats on the chairs. If you love the holiday but want your party to feel like an actual dinner party (not a bar-crawl afterparty), the...

Patriotic Porch Decor: How to Drape Pleated Bunting

I have a soft spot for classic porch bunting. It is the decorating equivalent of putting on a crisp white shirt. Instant holiday, instantly pulled together. The trick is not just clipping it up and hoping for the best. Pleated fan bunting looks expensive when the swags are evenly spaced, the pleats...

Real vs. Faux Pine Garland for Your Holiday Mantle

I have a very specific holiday decorating personality: I want my living room to smell like a tree lot, but I also want to finish styling the mantle early enough to actually enjoy it. That is exactly why the real vs. faux pine garland question comes up every year in my house. If you are dressing a...

Elegant Easter Egg Tree Centerpiece with Painted Branches

I grew up helping my parents turn our backyard into a party zone for big spring get-togethers, and I still get the same little thrill when a table has one “wow” moment that makes everyone slow down and look. An Easter egg tree centerpiece is that moment, especially when the branches are painted in...

DIY New Year’s Eve Balloon Drop for Home Ceilings

I grew up helping my parents turn our backyard into a full-blown summer luau, so I have a soft spot for party moments that feel a little magical on purpose. A balloon drop at midnight is one of those moments. It looks like you hired a production crew, but it is really just a few basic supplies, a...

Art Deco Gatsby Party Styling

I grew up helping my parents turn our backyard into a full-blown summer luau for half the neighborhood, so I learned early that a party theme only works when the room reads “on purpose” from the driveway. The Roaring Twenties, Art Deco, black-and-gold Gatsby vibe is one of my favorites because it’s...

DIY Winter Wonderland Decor: Realistic Fake Snow and Icy Displays

The first winter wonderland I ever styled was for a friend’s December birthday in my tiny living room, with exactly one goal: make it feel like we stepped into fresh snow without turning the carpet into a soggy disaster. If you have ever sprinkled the wrong “snow” and watched it melt, clump, or...

Hang Heavy Christmas Garlands on Staircases Without Damaging Banisters

The year I first upgraded from wispy pine to a thick, pre-lit Christmas garland on my staircase, I learned two things fast: heavy greenery loves to slide, and banisters love to show every tiny scuff. If your garland has built-in lights, wired stems, pinecones, or ornaments, it can get surprisingly...

7 Interactive Thanksgiving Kids' Table Decor Ideas

Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite kind of cozy chaos, but I learned the hard way that kids need something to do while the grown-ups linger over the turkey. The fix is not more screens. It is a kids’ table that doubles as an activity zone, with decor that can be touched, colored, built, and even...

1980s Neon Party Decor Without the Cheese

I fell in love with neon the same way I fell in love with parties, in somebody’s backyard with a boombox humming, folding tables covered in snacks, and a whole neighborhood showing up like it was the best idea we’d had all summer. The trick with an 80s neon party now is keeping the joy and the...

Enchanted Forest Decor for a Plain Hall

The first time I tried to turn a basic hall into a fairy tale, I learned a very specific truth: you do not need a fancy venue, you need softness up high and texture down low . Once the ceiling looks dreamy and the tables feel like they belong on a forest floor, the beige walls and fluorescent...

Travel-Themed Retirement Party Decor With Vintage Maps and Globes

I have a soft spot for travel-themed parties because they basically decorate themselves. Give me a stack of old maps, one thrifted globe, and a couple of beat-up suitcases and suddenly the whole room feels like a love letter to someone’s next chapter. For a retirement party, that “next chapter”...

Tropical Luau Party Decor With Real Pineapples and Monstera Leaves

The first “luau” I ever helped with was in my parents’ backyard, the kind where the sprinkler counts as entertainment and someone’s uncle is in charge of the grill. We did not have fancy props, but we did have fruit, greenery, and a table that suddenly looked like a vacation once we piled it high...

Bridgerton-Inspired Afternoon Tea Bridal Shower

My love for “fancy tea” started way before I ever heard the word Regency. When I was a kid, my parents hosted big backyard summer luaus, and my job was always the same: make the tables feel like an occasion. Years later, I have hosted everything from diaper raffles to 50th birthdays, and I can tell...

Elegant Gothic Dinner Party Decor

I love Halloween, but I am very picky about Halloween decor. If it looks like it came straight from the seasonal aisle in a panic buy, my eye starts twitching. My favorite kind of spooky is the grown-up kind: candlelight, velvet, deep florals, and a table that feels like you are about to toast to a...