E-Cycle Day in the Kentlands

Whole Foods of Kentlands, a community in Gaithersburg MD, is sponsoring the 2011 "E Cycle." If you have any computer/electronic related items that you want to donate, E-Cyle is for you. The even takes place on January 15th from 10AM to 3PM. The only thing I did not see on the list of items to donate were old cell phones. I'd bring them along if you have any and check the day of the event. To view the flyer, click on the picture to the right of this blog.  

Hallco House Painting in MD

Now that Christmas is over, Hallco is ready to begin painting again! We operate a Christmas lighting business during the Christmas season. It was another great year of hanging Christmas lights! The displays looked beautiful! Check out our displays on our lighting website.

Hallco is based out of Clarksburg MD. We search the 270 area, the Beltway, parts of Northern Virginia and up and down the 70 freeway towards Columbia. Of course it is too cold to paint outside, so we are actively looking for interior work. We have a number of large interior painting projects going on right now, but if you need any interior painting completed on your home or business, let us know. Our estimates are free of charge, and in most cases, you will meet with our owner, Ted Hall. 

Christmas Lights in Silver Spring | Christmas Decor by Hallco

Here is an article written this week about the 80 foot Christmas tree we decorate for the Woodmoor Pinecrest community, in Silver Spring. This explains more about the cost to install lights, why we do what we do, and why our customers hire us to decorate their homes and communities with lights. This quote in the article said it best, "Most of the installs we do are not over the top. They are nice, classy, clean installations."  Anyone can hang Christmas lights, but Christmas Decor by Hallco does it the best. 

Read the full article

Christmas Tree Lights in Silver Spring MD

We received a call from a new Christmas Decor client who lives in Silver Spring MD the other day who wanted a Christmas lighting display. We did the install today and here is the beautiful photo of their outdoor trees lit up!

Garland and Christmas Decorations in Gaithersburg 2010

Here is another picture we just took a few days ago of a Gaithersburg client's front entryway. 

Kentlands Christmas Tree Lighting 2010

Here is a quick picture of the tree we decorated this year as a donation to the Kentland's community. Merry Christmas to all of our clients and friends!

The Hallelujah Chorus at the Mall

Christmas Decor by Hallco is wrapping up the 2010 Christmas lighting installs, and what a great way to end with this very cool video below. Thank you to all for another exciting Christmas decorating season in the greater D.C. areas! Enjoy the show:

Christmas Decorations in Maryland Saturday Update

This week was one of the busiest weeks we've had. We are in the process of signing up a half dozen first time Christmas Decor clients in the following communities and towns: Kentlands, North Potomac, Gaithersburg, Adamstown and Darnestown. We will beginning their installations early this next week. There is still time to get your displays up in time for Christmas. So please do email or call. 888-95-DECOR. 

Christmas Lights Ashburn VA

We just finished a multi-color lighting display in Ashburn VA. Here is a quick shot of what it looks like. They have been clients of Christmas Decor for over 4 years now. 

Christmas Lighting December 2010 Update

It has been over two weeks since we wrote our last blog! The only excuse for not updating our blog is we've gotten so many excited emails and phone calls for Marylanders wanting Christmas Lights. We've been running all over town estimating and installing lighting displays! This year is busier than every! We still have room to fit in your project. RIght now we are scheduling for next week, December 7th. 

One quick question we wanted to address: "Why is it so expensive to hang lights?" Some folks are quite shocked when they get an estimate to have a professional lighting display. This is really a great question! One way to answer this is simple, we do everything and you do absolutely nothing. Also on our tree lighting, we typically install 2 to 3 times the amount of lights that most homeowners do themselves. Take a look at the two photos on this blog. This shows you the difference in the overall displays we create. Our displays are clean, classic and elegant. Finally, if you've ever purchased highly quality wreaths from well-known online holiday decorating companies, our pricing really is not much more in price, because we include the install, service and removal. 

In the end, you get what you pay for! Most of our clients sign up each year! If you love Christmas Lights but do not have the time to do it, please call us (888-95-DECOR) or send us an email. 

Christmas Light Rope in Maryland and Why We Don’t Recommend It

Christmas light rope and icicle lighting are perhaps the two most popular types of Christmas lights known by homeowners. Why are rope lights so sought after and popular? We think it is because the prices are reasonable and the product is easy to install relative to many types of Christmas decor. In other words, it won't tangle up as much as regular christmas lights. But why do we, Christmas Decor not recommend using Rope lighting? To be honest, it just doesn't look as good as regular lights do when installed correctly. Rope lighting is supposed to be "bullet-proof" Christmas decor meaning you can leave it up for several years, hidden from "harsh" storms we have in Maryland. Yet, we've only seen rope lighting hanging from the gutters and changing colors from clear to a yellowish color. The plastic just doesn't last well on the east coast. 

So what do we recommend for Christmas decor? If you do it yourself, you should buy gutter and shingle clips and stay away from Rope Lighting. Use C-9 Bulbs, preferably LED. By using C-9 Bulbs and Clips, your Christmas decor display will look cleaner and visually appealing to you and your neighbors. We hope this helps. If you have a question about Christmas lights, let us know. If you don't want to do it yourself and want a Christmas decor contractor, that is what we do! 

Check out our corporate website: Christmas Decor by Hallco

Commercial Holiday Light Hanging in Montgomery County MD

Today, Christmas Decor by Hallco will be installing Christmas Lights to one of our long time commercial customers, Ben Lewis Plumbing. Their holiday lighting display can be seen on 355 as you are driving through Clarksburg MD. 

Christmas Decor by Hallco designs, installs, services, removes and storages holiday lights for commercial and residential homeowners throughout the Montgomery and Howard County areas. We also work in the downtown Washington D.C. areas. Contact us for a free holiday lighting consultation: 888-95-DECOR.

Christmas Light Installation Begins in Silver Spring MD

The community of Colesville MD just "elected" to have Christmas Decor install their LED lighting display on their 80' Woodmoor Circle community tree. This will be the 4th year Christmas Decor has decorated and serviced the community tree with multi-color LED lights. The project takes close to a day to complete with several of our professional Christmas light installers. If you live in Silver Springs and want to see one of the area's first Christmas lighting displays swing by this weekend. The tree is located near Woodmoor Circle and Lexington Dr, just minutes from the 495 and Colesville Rd. 

Christmas Decor services all of Montgomery County, Potomac, select areas of Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia as well as all of Howard County. We design, install, services and remove the holiday lighting displays. To learn more, visit Christmas Decor by Hallco

Using Eco-Friendly Paints for your children’s bedroom

Have you ever wondered if there was a really safe product to use on your child’s bedroom? Have you ever come across "Zero VOC" products and wondered what that was all about? I’ll briefly explain the answers to both questions below.

When painting your children’s bedroom or a nursery, you will have plenty of products to choose from that are truly safe for your entire family. What you want to look for when selecting this type of paint are the words, “No VOC” or “Zero VOC” or sometimes it might just say, “Odor Free.” VOC is an acronym for “Volatile Organic Compounds.” All VOC really means is the amount of toxins being spread into the environment when using any liquid products: fuel, paste, paint, detergents, and so on. So if the paint can you are looking for says there are no VOCs in that paint, then the product will have no odor and is 100% safe to use. If the product has any type of “green” certification symbol, and 50 VOC per litre or less, this too is quite safe to use.

Now when painting a child’s bedroom, I’ve had great success with several different products on the market. Three of my favorites are Benjamin AURA, Benjamin Moore Natura and Sherwin Williams Duration Home. All three are “green” friendly and safe to use. The AURA and Duration Home might leave a little bit of a smell for a few days, but again, this will not be harmful for your children. If you have any question at all about the smell, I’d strongly suggest using Benjamin Moore Natura. Natura offers an odor-free painting experience. I recently used it in my own windowless bathroom and the trim in my daughter's room. I had one of our Hallco painters do the project, and when I came to inspect, not only did the bathroom look brand new but had absolutely no smell! The freshly painted doors, trim, ceiling and walls didn’t smell like anything. I was not convinced, so I stuck my nose up to the paint and took a good sniff: still nothing!

Here is a quick list of products you’ll need to get started with your bedroom painting project:

• Drop Cloths & Plastic
• Furniture Mover Pads
• Masking Paper, Masking Machine and Tape
• A Roll of Orange-Core 3M Blue Tape (for delicate surfaces: i.e. cabinets)
• A Good Bucket and Roller Grid
• Roller Poll, Frame, Roller Cover and a Good Brush (my favorite brand is “Wooster”)
• Putty Knife, 280 Grit Sandpaper and Light-Weight Spackle
• Primer (you can get green friendly primer too)
• Paint (Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore)

One final thought, most green products, especially the one’s I’ve recommended, are top quality. You won’t sacrifice any quality if you switch to using an eco-friendly paint. If you get stuck or have a question, please email me

Holiday Lighting in D.C. is in Full Bloom

We are just days away from our Christmas Lighting business to be in full bloom. We have already signed up a number of previous year clients and are gearing up for November 1 when all the fun really begins. What happens on November 1st? Halloween is over, and decorating for Christmas is the next big thing! We begin our holiday lighting decorating projects as early as November 1st as well. So, if you are looking for the best installation dates and pricing, I'll highly recommend calling Christmas Decor this week. 

Our Holiday Lighting Services Include:

• LED Roof and Fascia Lighting
• Regular Roof C-9 Lights (but LED is way better)
• Mini Lights (all colors) on Trees, Shrubs and Windows
• Lit and Non Lit Wreaths (many sizes)
• Ground Lighting
• Custom Lighting Displays: Santa on a Harley, Nativity Scenes and much more
• Commercial Garland (better than the real stuff)
• Christmas Trees for your home or business (with lights and decorations)
• and more...just ask

In short, we are the Christmas Decorators of choice. Our staff are seasoned holiday decorators in Maryland and the D.C. area, and you won't find better lights and service in Maryland. We love Christmas and what we do. Call us when you are ready: 888-95-DECOR or send us an email.