We’ll be featuring gift guides over the next few weeks for all the special people in your lives. First up, and just in time for Thanksgiving gatherings, The Host.
Whether you’re Team Real or Team Faux, putting up a tree is often the signal to family, friends (to yourself, even!)…it’s time. It’s the holiday season…cue Mariah.
For those of you who opt for real trees, you may be cutting that beauty down soon, or at the very least, making a stop at your favorite local tree supplier. The rest of us are digging through a year’s worth of storage to locate our fine, faux varietal. If you haven’t checked out faux trees lately, you are missing out. Many look strikingly real, and with the cost of cut trees skyrocketing, a faux tree will justify its price tag in only a few years. Many come pre-lit, too, which also saves the age-old headache of National Lampoon’s style light-wrangling.
Then it’s time for the fun part. At Collected, we were downright giddy over curating a selection of tree-trimmers to make any holiday heart happy. Mix and match plaid with mercury glass, add a touch of wood beaded garland, and maybe a spray of holly. Get whimsical with little bears or snowmen. If you stick with one color palette, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Make sure to place those larger ornaments first…they work well to fill in any bare spots on your tree, and if you nestle them on the inside, they give depth to the whole arrangement. Then gild the lily: switch out plain twine hangers for velvet ribbon. Add pine cones. Bells. Feathers. Let your inner maximalist stretch a bit.
Don’t forget under the tree! A fur tree skirt immediately brings all the cozy feels. Add some rattan trees nearby. A few reindeer. A basket of blankets. No reason to wait for Christmas Eve for under the tree goodies.
Get to it! Happy holidays!
It’s only about a week until Thanksgiving, and that means it’s time to get our holiday decorating plans together. It feels like kismet that this topic was on the blog schedule for today, because here in the Midwest…it’s snowing. Kind of a lot. Is there anything better than snow to put you in the mood for holiday decorating??
We are particularly excited about holiday decorating this year, because we’ve carefully chosen all of our holiday favorites to share at Collected — in person, and online — and believe us when we say, these are all the trappings of the holidays that we use in our own homes, too. Today we’ll cover overall decorating, but stay tuned for holiday tables and tree decorating, as well!
The Park & Oak Collected team but together some tips for creating just the right holiday mood.
- Choose a colorway: are you going old school, with bright reds and kelly greens? Or traditional, with deep greens, plaids and faux fur? Glam, with lots of silver and gold? Work primarly with just one style — bring in just touches of the others — for a cohesive look that reads collected instead of cluttered. We’ve got plenty for you to choose from:
- Bring in the greenery: whether live or faux, wreaths, garland and spray bring life to holiday decorating. Don’t be afraid to mix and match here. If you have a fir tree, go for a magnolia or cedar wreath. When decorating with garland, think in layers. Start with a full pine swag, then layer a drapey cedar on top. Add velvet ribbon, pine cones or berries. Voilà!
- Gild the lily: the details make the difference. Vintage bells, jute reindeer, mercury glass trees… these all add texture and make pretty accompaniments to mantle swags, coffee tables or any little corner that could use some holiday magic. And as always, don’t be afraid to mix those metals! At the holiday season, a little extra shine never hurts.
Are you ready? Go ahead…spin some holiday tunes, make a cup of tea (or a bourbon — you do you!), and settle in for a long winter’s night…of decorating.
The shipping delays that have been plaguing our industry for the last year are impacting Santa’s sleighs now, as well. So, we are taking the advice the elves whispered in our ears, and we’re shopping early for our friends and family. Here are some of the things making it into our holiday shopping carts.
The modern, floral scent is bewitching, but looking at the gorgeous bottle is almost as good.
Did you or someone you know devour The Queen’s Gambit last year, and then subsequently take up chess? There are many things to love about the show, including bringing an elegant game — that looks good on display in your moody cocktail room — out of the mid-century Russian zeitgeist.
Do you know someone who spends this time of year wandering around their yard — like we are — snipping branches off everything in sight in search of the perfect foraged fall arrangement? No bush is safe! Guard your maples!
Once safely back indoors, your favorite accidental landscape architect will love having this beautiful kit on hand to make sense of their treasures.
Help everyone embrace the hygge lifestyle.
Shopping for little ones? This is a winter mama’s best friend.
Is there a cocktail aficionado in your life? Keep them on their toes with a monthly subscription box containing an inventive new cocktail each month.
Can’t you just picture curling up in this robe, in your favorite jammies, glass of wine in hand, and watching Love Actually for the 42nd time? Wait, this is a gift guide. Maybe this one should go on *your* wishlist.
See the rest of our favorites below. Don’t get caught in the shipping black hole!
P&O Holiday Gift Ideas
You may have noticed … we like a moody room at Park & Oak.
Now, we have no beef with light and airy (see some of our favorite whites as proof), but some rooms call for drama. We like to walk into a home, spy a jewel box room, and think … oooo, what’s back there?
Below, we’ve shared some of our favorite dark and moody rooms. You’ll see that a large number of them are cocktail rooms, and with good reason. For us, a cocktail room is the ultimate place to inject a little mood. To settle in, let the room envelop you, and breathe easy after a long day. Oftentimes, in older homes, these cocktail rooms were once formal living spaces. Today’s families live a little differently, so instead of entertaining in a room you only use for guests, why not make it an inviting space for everyday? For reading, having your morning coffee, planning a vacation, or, of course, cocktails.
But, dark and brooding doesn’t have to be the domain only of the cocktail room. Teenager’s bedroom, perhaps? Or as the enviable real-life zoom backdrop of an at-home office? Touches of dark, rich hues in a kitchen are a bold departure from all-white. And in a pantry or mudroom, they can help disguise all manner of messes.
Take chance, be brave. Go moody.
Cocktail Rooms
Offices
Bathrooms & Bedrooms
Kitchens, Pantries & Mudrooms
Dining Rooms, Family Rooms & More
