Martha Stewart Living

#ProjectManCave: Entertainment Me

December 15, 2013 By Lena

I have a confession to make.

Instead of blogging this amazing before and after post, I’ve been sitting in my new Man Cave and enjoying the ambiance. I’ve watched movies; decorated a tree, and even savoured a glass (or three) of wine. And as I sat in my basement, caressed by the warm glow of the fireplace and feet cozily buried in my soft shag rug, I said to myself, “I’d better get my a** in gear.”

(Remember when I pledged that it was time to Take Back the Basement? I think I took it too literally.)

As such, here I am. Today, I’ll be revealing one room – the entertainment area – and showing you exactly how you can duplicate my efforts to complete your own Man Cave, with materials from Home Depot Canada!

But first, the “Before” and “After” –

It’s official: we have taken back the basement….

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I’ll Have a Blue Christmas…

December 10, 2012 By Lena

A few weeks ago, I blogged about my admiration for Martha Stewart’s Holiday Collections (available exclusively at The Home Depot). I’ve always been partial to cool, modern decor – and with Ms. Stewart’s stunning Arctic Collection, I had a “Love at First Sight” moment.

Sparkly silvers. The most romantic blues. Snowy whites. Oh my!

And so the good folks at The Home Depot – not wanting to keep a serial re-decorator from yet another reason to update her decor – graciously obliged with some of their most sought-after pieces from the collection.

(Can I be honest and say I did a happy dance? Okay it was more of a jig. But there was definitely knee-slapping and head-bopping involved.)

I’d been quite enamored with the 7.5 feet Pre-Lit Sparkling Pine Tree from the moment I laid eyes on it. Pre-strung with 750 clear lights, the tree includes Ready-Lit brand lights that remain lit even if a bulb is loose, burns out or breaks.* Trimmed with white-tipped pine cones and glittering branch tips, it’s a showpiece that truly sparkles.

*I can’t tell you how awesome this is. With our previous pre-lit tree, one burned-out bulb caused a whole section to black out. However, we turned the tree around so the dark section was on the back. The next year, it was lights out for another section. Sigh. By the third year of owning the tree, only one lighted section remained. #PrelitFAIL

Taking the tree out of the package, my first observation was that it looked rather skimpy. Now I love a good, fat tree – and I couldn’t help but wonder if Martha had let me down.

She did not.

Approximately 60 minutes later – no word of lie, it took over an hour to fluff up the hundreds of individual branches – I was presented with the fullest, most beautiful tree imaginable. Every tip sparkled with snowy glitter; every branch fanned out invitingly. Folks, I can honestly say I’ve never seen an artificial tree of this quality before. LOVE.

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Oh Martha, You Did it Again!

November 25, 2012 By Lena

Call me crazy, but when I think of holiday decorations, The Home Depot does not immediately come to mind. In fact, I think I just figured out that they sell Christmas trees, too.

Have I been living under a rock?

Not only do they have a remarkable selection of decor at AMAZING prizes, but they also have exclusive holiday collections from Martha Stewart Living. And, when Ms. Martha sets up shop, you know it’s gotta be fabulous. This year’s collections – Winterberry, Arctic and Celebrate – offer a beautiful assortment of ornaments, wreaths, holiday trees and accessories to complement traditional, contemporary and even super glam tastes.

Introducing…

WINTERBERRY: With red as the focal point, this collection is for the holiday traditionalist at heart. The frosted woodland theme includes deer, owls, birds, pine cones, and berry wreaths, plus hints of white, champagne and gingerbread to complement the strong Christmas red. This collection is especially suited to homes with dark wood accents or spaces with exposed brick walls.

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