Home
News
ENLARGE
When Greg Kovach gets an idea, he thinks big.
An oversized Christmas tree standing in the 40-year-old Roseburg resident's living room reflects that mentality.
The tree's wide base fills the room, with branches almost stretching from the front door to the kitchen. The pine needles scattered throughout the house are a sign of its presence.
The problem with the 20-foot tree is that the living room has an 8-foot ceiling.
Seven and a half feet of the noble fir is in the living room, while the other 12 and a half feet is secured to Kovach's roof.
“It literally looks like it goes straight through the roof,” Kovach said, who owns and operates the Sign Factory.
The tree has roughly 2,600 lights and a few hundred ornaments. It took Kovach an entire day to haul, measure, cut and set up the tree.
At night, the tree appears to stand as one piece. It looks as if Kovach cut a hole in his roof.
The arrangement was not the accident of an overzealous person who forgot to measure his ceiling height. Kovach said he didn't want to set up a traditional 5- to 8-foot tree.
He said he wanted to do something unusual and memorable.
“I've been wanting to do this for about six years, and told myself I was going to do it this year,” he said.
Motorists on Northeast Airport Road slow down when they pass his house in the 2000 block.
“Everybody laughs when they see it. I've got one person asking me to do it next year,” Kovach said.
Robin Kovach, who has been married to Greg Kovach for 10 years, said when she heard the idea she knew he was going to following through with it.
“He gets that Clark Griswold look in his eyes, and I know he's going to do something. I might as well sit back and watch,” Robin Kovach said.
Lori Solberg, a friend of the Kovaches, said she was amazed by the tree.
“It's such an illusion that it looks like it goes right through the ceiling,” Solberg said.
This isn't the first time Kovach has attempted an irregular Christmas tree setup.
In 2004, he hung a 7-and-a-half foot Christmas tree upside down by bolting the stand to the living room ceiling. The Christmas star was a few inches off the floor.
“I'm pretty sure this year's outdid that one,” Kovach said.
With an upside-down tree and one that appears to cut through his ceiling, Kovach said he plans to attempt something even more ambitious next year.
He threw out the idea of doubling the size and putting up a 40-foot tree or placing the tree at a more abstract angle.
“Whatever it is, I have a feeling it's going to be pretty radical,” he said.
• You can reach reporter Ryan Imondi at 541-957-4211 or by email at rimondi@nrtoday.com.
An oversized Christmas tree standing in the 40-year-old Roseburg resident's living room reflects that mentality.
The tree's wide base fills the room, with branches almost stretching from the front door to the kitchen. The pine needles scattered throughout the house are a sign of its presence.
The problem with the 20-foot tree is that the living room has an 8-foot ceiling.
Seven and a half feet of the noble fir is in the living room, while the other 12 and a half feet is secured to Kovach's roof.
“It literally looks like it goes straight through the roof,” Kovach said, who owns and operates the Sign Factory.
The tree has roughly 2,600 lights and a few hundred ornaments. It took Kovach an entire day to haul, measure, cut and set up the tree.
At night, the tree appears to stand as one piece. It looks as if Kovach cut a hole in his roof.
The arrangement was not the accident of an overzealous person who forgot to measure his ceiling height. Kovach said he didn't want to set up a traditional 5- to 8-foot tree.
He said he wanted to do something unusual and memorable.
“I've been wanting to do this for about six years, and told myself I was going to do it this year,” he said.
Motorists on Northeast Airport Road slow down when they pass his house in the 2000 block.
“Everybody laughs when they see it. I've got one person asking me to do it next year,” Kovach said.
Robin Kovach, who has been married to Greg Kovach for 10 years, said when she heard the idea she knew he was going to following through with it.
“He gets that Clark Griswold look in his eyes, and I know he's going to do something. I might as well sit back and watch,” Robin Kovach said.
Lori Solberg, a friend of the Kovaches, said she was amazed by the tree.
“It's such an illusion that it looks like it goes right through the ceiling,” Solberg said.
This isn't the first time Kovach has attempted an irregular Christmas tree setup.
In 2004, he hung a 7-and-a-half foot Christmas tree upside down by bolting the stand to the living room ceiling. The Christmas star was a few inches off the floor.
“I'm pretty sure this year's outdid that one,” Kovach said.
With an upside-down tree and one that appears to cut through his ceiling, Kovach said he plans to attempt something even more ambitious next year.
He threw out the idea of doubling the size and putting up a 40-foot tree or placing the tree at a more abstract angle.
“Whatever it is, I have a feeling it's going to be pretty radical,” he said.
• You can reach reporter Ryan Imondi at 541-957-4211 or by email at rimondi@nrtoday.com.
