Archive | Christmas Tree

Holiday Home Tour 2013- Family Room

By megan on December 11, 2013 in Antique, Christmas Tree, DIY, Holiday

Did you get a sneak peek at my Holiday Home Tour last week? Well here is a close up of a few vignettes in my favorite room this year, our family room!I found the PERFECT tree skirt on etsy several years ago (PSA: The shop is gone now…sorry! Shop small people and keep these super talented mommies ~~MK Coastal~~ in business) Green polka dot painted on fringed burlap?!? Yes, please! We don’t always have a tree in this room, so I was super happy to finally be able to use it after looking at in our bin of decorations for over 3 years (and even happier that I bought it when I saw it the first time).

I fell in love with these owls while shopping at West Elm this fall. I was planning on heading back to pick up a few for my tree ($6 adds up) but I found these for $2 at our local Kmart, so I could buy loads more than I had planned. Of course, I had my six year old with me and he convinced me that we also needed to buy the parrot, because really…what’s a Christmas tree without a parrot? (FULL DISCOLSURE – Our local Kmart in Acton, MA is GROSS! Ya hear that Kmart corporate? G.R.O.S.S. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard other local mom’s talk about boycotting that place…but sometimes you have to run in there when you are going to a birthday party at the bowling alley across the street. So, yeah, I bought some decorations there this year…cauz they were cute fuzzy owls (and a parrot) but man do we need to do something about that dump. I’m officially putting TARGET vibes out into the blogosphere…but I digress. Now back to your regularly scheduled blog post).

So, we had such an abundance of hydrangeas in our yard again this year that I couldn’t throw them away. I decided to incorporate them into our holiday decor, not only on our tree but in this centerpiece as well!

I love my Ikea candlesticks so much I literally use them in different ways every season! If you go, pick up a set for yourself (and one for me too) for $14.99, I promise you won’t regret it. Oh, and while you there, pick me up a box of candles too…I’m almost out.

Speaking of candles, do you love the gold candelabra I found at Home Goods a few weeks ago?

I walked by it a few days before and had major buyers remorse, so I was ecstatic when was back and realized it hadn’t sold yet. The “meant to be mine” candelabra. And you might have seen that fox on my instagram post a few weeks ago after said West Elm shopping trip. Clearly I bring my boys shopping with me often, because I couldn’t say no to their rendition of “What Does a Fox Say” as they begged me for it at the check out counter. I think he looks kind of cute in his new home…and, for the record, he says nothing.

On the other side of the table is an etched mercury glass vase (it’s green inside…can you see it? I love it so much!) with magnolia leaves and decorative branches to tie in the magnolia theme on the mantle. I also framed what is the BEST CHRISTMAS CARD EVA from my bff Kelly, who is also, quite possibly, the most thoughtful and creative person I know. Can you see her in the corner running the NYC marathon last year? Hands down, best card eva…and I think the mexican guy would totally agree!

Another little space I love is on the corner of the media cabinet. I picked up the big fuzzy owl at Home Goods when shopping for Halloween decor…see the inspiration for the theme? I also fell hard for the color of the lemon cypress in the mercury glass vase from Pottery Barn.

One last little vintage Christmas decoration is from my mom’s ceramics class circa 1985! I love this even more today than I did back in 5th grade when all I wanted to do was go WITH my mom to ceramics class at night (not that she was a looking for a girls night out away for her 4 kids or anything). I hope you have decorations with lots of meaning and memories adorning your homes. If not, start making those memories now, and maybe your kids will want to decorate with your vintage decor someday too. Happy Holidays!

Holiday Home Tour 2013 – Sneak Peek

By megan on December 7, 2013 in Christmas Tree, Holiday

A little facebook post on Wednesday has prompted me to dust off this old blog and show you a few of the decorations around my house. So here is the Holiday Home Tour 2013…come on ovah!

If you stick around, I will be posting more shots of each space in separate blog posts, but here is a sneak peek of a few of my favorite spaces in our home this year!

FOYER – Every year we fill our antique sleigh with two extra large poinsettias. Such a fun unexpected impact in the space!

FAMILY ROOM – This year I topped my mantle with fresh magnolia and loads of candles. I love mixing the rustic birch candles with fancy silver candelabras.

KITCHEN – Sleigh rides in the backyard…for real!

LIVING ROOM – See how the MK Coastal tray fits in a totally fancy non-nautical space?

HALLWAY – Our Elf on the Shelf is kickin’ back in the village from my grandmother. Does your snow glow? Check back to see how I do it.

TREE #1– We have two trees! My “fancy” tree (as my kids like to call it) is decorated in silver, gold, white & green and finished with dried hydrangeas.

TREE #2 – Don’t worry, my kids aren’t deprived…we have a FUN tree too! Loads of handmade ornaments and even a few from my childhood!

BACK YARD – We even decorate our other fireplace outside! Do you like the red and green MK Coastal pillows? Check out our website, and you too could have some in your home.

Well, there you have a sneak peek! Check back soon for more posts from the rest of our home. Let the frantic “decorate my house” phone calls begin. Happy Holidays!

It’s an MK Christmas

By megan on December 15, 2011 in Christmas Tree, Holiday

I love finding new ways to use old holiday decorations! My mom was getting rid of this little piece of “Country Christmas” and I snatched it out of her donation bin.

With a little spray paint and some new decorations I whipped this baby into a “brand” spankin’ new tree for MK Design World Headquarters.

Now that’s what I call branding!

Do you decorate your office? I’d love to see how you use your company logo to enhance your holiday decor.

Five Festive Fideas

By megan on December 11, 2011 in Centerpieces, Christmas Tree, Front Porch, Holiday, Mason Jars

I’m a sucker for countdowns anytime of year, but especially THIS time of year! Now this isn’t the Best of MK Design 2011 (um…blog idea….yes please!) but, here are the TOP FIVE decorations that I love in my own home this year.

5. Mirror, Mirror, on the Table

For my dining room tablescape, I love the look of mirrors under flowers or candles. I purchased these for about $5 a few years back and have certainly gotten a ton of use out of them. I may change the colors and the scene, but I always love the dimension it adds!

4. What’s Old is New Again

While shopping a thrift store after being completely inspired from Mr. Goodwill Hunting (Thanks Nate Berkus) I came across this beautiful oval vanity mirror dressing table tray. My mom has one of these, and of course, rush in childhood memories of a little girl sampling all her scents and searching through trinket boxes of treasure….I digress! Let’s just say for $2.95 I had to have it. And just when you think you can’t dress up a candelabra, throw it on this vintage tray with some glass ornaments, some fresh sprigs of holly, and it’s even fancier! (Full Disclosure: I have 2 young boys. They are 4 & 7 and, as amazing as they are, they are two young boys. I know I probably should have lit the candles for the photo…but I’m real…and in real life that would NEVER happen. Open flame behind a couch spells disaster in the making, just sayin’. Back to the countdown! )

3. Brimfield Find

Vintage boxes were all over Brimfield last fall, and when I saw this one, I knew EXACTLY were I was putting it. The only problem was, September was SO FAR away from December (OK, it’s really not, but try buying a fabulous new pair of shoes and not wearing them for two months…ya with me!?) Anyhoo, Brimfield was a highlight of my year, so clearly it just HAD to be included!

2. Let It Snow

I am all about the indoor blizzard! Seriously, that fake snow stuff isn’t just for a big mall store trees. Pick up a bag and I’m guessing you’ll have a hard time putting it down. It adds such a beautiful layer to your Christmas Tree and, quite frankly, it’s super fun to apply. I like to call it “Hucking Handfulls”! Even the biggest Grinch’s heart will grow three sizes while throwing handfuls of snow onto their tree. Oh, and don’t worry too much about the mess, I like to think that the snow looks prettier than the pine needles that inevitably drop.

Here we are at my number one favorite decoration this year…DRUM ROLL PLEASE…

1. Pretty Little Lanterns

I bought almost 50 mason jars and filled them with epsom salt then added votives and lined the stonewall along walkway to my front door. They look so purtty as the epsom salt snow glistens with the twinkle of the candles. Such an easy and inexpensive way to add just a little more sparkle to your holiday!

What are your favorite decorations this year? Post pictures to my facebook page…I’d love to see what festive things you are up to!

Ruffle Things Up!

By megan on November 29, 2011 in Christmas Tree, Holiday

I am aways looking for new ways to spruce up one of our many Christmas trees. In the basement we have a Disney themed tree (with, you guessed it, Tinkerbell at the top) This is, by far, the tree my kids enjoy decorating the most! They get free reign to decorate it however they want (which usually means that all the ornaments are clustered to one section close to the bottom, but not this year, my 7 year old finally figured it out and undecorated behind my 4 year old) and when they are done, I come in and add some decorative ribbon around the tree. This year I discovered a fabulous new trick with the help of Sarah from Ace Hardware in Acton – RUFFLED RIBBON!

It’s such a simple way to spruce up your tree and add another dimension to your decorating. Start by unraveling an entire roll of wired ribbon and find the center point. (My sister-in-law’s dog Tia was clearly a huge help!)

Holding the wire on one side of the ribbon begin pushing the ribbon along the wire toward the center point.

As you move along, the ribbon will become tighter to push in, so you will need to go toward the center point and start pulling it out until you reach the desired size of your ruffle. Once you have reached the center point, start on the outside edge of the same side and work your way back (pushing and puling) to the center until you have created a full ruffle along the entire length of ribbon.

As you get closer to the end you may find yourself lost in a sea of ruffles. I found it easier to judge the look of my ruffle by tying one end to a doorknob at this point.

You’ll be left with a whole lotta wire at the ends of your ribbon…I just made a little knot and snipped off the rest. Once it is complete, start from the top and wrap it around your whole tree!

I’d love to see new ways you might be sprucing up your tree this year! Please share some of your photos while you are having fun Decking the Halls!