■ THE MUST-BUYS
“It takes me forever
to shop for Christmas
decorations. It’s
kind of my hobby.
I usually do two trees
a year, sometimes
three. So that I’m not
buying all new
ornaments each year,
one of my tricks is to
thrift glass ornaments;
I don’t like the seams
or plastic tops of
nonglass ornaments.
[MEET MICHAEL]
INSPIRED
DESIGN
The blogger shares
how he approaches
seasonal decorating.
The glass ones are
inexpensive, and
I’ll use them to fill
the tree.”
■ CHRISTMAS SONG
OF THE YEAR
“Sugarland has this
song called ‘Gold
and Green.’ When
I fi nished decorating
the tree this year, I sat
and looked at it and
listened to that song
literally for hours.”
■ FUNNY ACCENTS
“I always like to do
some quirky things.
I found these little
brass mice on Etsy
and propped them on
the staircase as a
nod to the line ‘Not a
creature was stirring,
not even a mouse’
from the poem A Visit
from St. Nicholas.”
■ THE ESSENTIAL
LAST LAYER
“Some sort of light or
candle that sparkles
and fl ickers. A warm
glow in the evening is
so comforting.”
30 | December 2019
FOCUSED
COLOR
Use existing furniture
as a jumping-off
point so seasonal
and everyday
decor work together.
Michael decided
on the Emerald City
theme after buying
these velvet chairs
earlier in the year.
HOME DECORATING
ON NEWSSTANDS
Check out the rest
of Michael’s home,
plus many more
holiday decor tips,
in Christmas Ideas
on sale now.
