50% Clark Griswold and 50% George Bailey:

Ever since I was little, I have always idealized Christmas and wanted it to be perfect. I used to micromanage the Christmas tree going on and insist on more and more and MORE décor from my mom. Decorating for the holiday was always such a big deal and I was never satisfied with what we did the year before, I wanted more the next time around! When I was in middle school, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation came out and I begged my parents to finally let me decorate the exterior of the house (they were only ever “candle in the window” people) so they finally obliged and I spent the weekend putting every string of white lights I could find on every bush outside… then came the spotlights and red ribbons – it was major. So you can say I’m 50% Clark Griswold and 50% George Bailey.

I love tradition and I always want to keep things interesting…

My personality is Type A perfectionist with enough sarcasm to keep me sane and enough whimsy to keep me interesting. I live to be creative, I love tradition and I always want to keep things interesting. I have a never ending quest to keep improving everything around me – its both a blessing and a curse!

I like clean lines and soft, squishy fabrics that tend to be traditional but with a clean twist:

I have taken a lot of design quizzes (you know, the kind that sort of tells you what kind of pizza you are) to answer this question. My house is sort of industrial-cottage-coastal chic. I like clean lines and soft, squishy fabrics that tend to be traditional but with a clean twist. For events, you will always see me lean towards brooding, sexy and rich. I like to mix something unexpected into everything I design because as much as I love tradition, I like to leave a little “Megan Stamp” on everything I do.

How do you think your personality influences your design style?

I’m complicated – so is my design style (kidding, sort of). I can’t put a definitive name on anything I do, it’s always a mix of 3-4 different inspirations and that’s my personality too. I am simultaneously the most sensitive, sarcastic, fun loving and serious person you will ever meet. I like everything to be put together and on trend, but not so trendy that it looks like everyone else’s. My poor husband… what a saint to put up with me.

I have to put our fabric up on a pedestal…

I have to put our fabric up on a pedestal. We have such an amazing collection of unique fabric that we have turned into dramatic drapery, opulent table runners, lush linens. I have seen our fabric transform so many rooms, it still blows me away. Combining fabrics and textures, we have been able to execute some truly extraordinary transformations with our fabrics from very small scale intimate dinners to a Greatest Showman gala for 1,300 guests.

Lighting is LIFE when it comes to events…

I know I just said our fabrics were my favorite thing, but lighting is LIFE when it comes to events. At Christmas I don’t want to turn on a single light in my house for any reason, I want everything to glow from Christmas trees, candles, fireplaces, twinkle lights, lanterns. I’m a bit like Oprah around the holidays … You get light, you get a light, you get a light, all the surfaces of the home get a light! The same thing applies to my events. I live for candlelight at an event, uplighting, centerpieces that glow, chandeliers, scones that dim down to barely being on. I live for romance and lighting makes that romantic vibe really real.

Megan’s Holiday Planning Advice:

The first question I ask is “What do you want your guests to feel when they walk in?” That usually helps me to figure out what is most important to the host. Energy is something that you can’t fake your way through. I have seen some of the most stunning events fall flat because they lacked personality, so my goal is to infuse so much personality in every one of my events that each guest feels it when they walk inside. That doesn’t always mean outspending someone, it just means being anything but typical.

Favorite Holiday Traditions?

My favorite tradition is decorating every inch of my house – including the outside. I have converted my husband into the second coming of Clark W. Griswold and we start the exterior lights in October before it’s too cold for him to tool around on the roof. I handle the inside shenanigans which now includes chopping down our own tree with the kids, who foolishly insisted that girls can’t cut down trees – little did they know their mom is unstoppable when it comes to having a holly jolly Christmas. We do the advent calendars, the Elf on the Shelf nightly hiding, a Christmas tree in every room, a different holiday movie every day between Thanksgiving and December 25th, matching pajamas, a cookie baking weekend with my mom and my sister – I feel like we need more time to do all the things, which is why I get started promptly at 9am on Black Friday.