Decorating for Easter

April 14, 2017

Many of you often ask how I decorate my home for special occasions. Easter is a specially good time, and it’s fast approaching. Everyone at the farm has been very busy - pulling out chairs and setting tables, making crafts for the children, and gathering lots and lots of decorations for every room.

One tip is to start several days early, and make a list, so everything can be done timely and efficiently. My longtime housekeeper, Laura Acuna, has already decorated most of the rooms in my home - they're filled with bunnies, chicks, and eggs in all different sizes and colors. I hope these ideas inspire you. Decorating is fun, and sharing what you've done with family and friends makes it all worthwhile.

Here are some photos - enjoy.

: Outside, bunnies sit on the steps leading to my large porch, ready to welcome all my guests. I found most of these cast iron rabbit doorstops years ago in East Hampton at an antiques show – there are five of them plus a couple newer friends.

: On my front hall table, decorative eggs hang from the mouth of the giant bird.

: Here, Laura built an adorable nest in the top of a wicker vase.

: It sits next to three whimsical ducks – they look so friendly.

: More ducks and stuffed bunnies next to a basket of blown out eggs adorn a nearby table.

: And a large chick sits on this demilune.

: In my Green Parlor – these look like old fashioned chocolate bunnies wrapped in foil, but they’re really ceramic bunnies covered in foil. They may not be edible, but they will last much longer.

: Here, lots of decorated eggs – save eggs from years past and reuse them in different ways. And go to my web site for lots of great Easter egg decorating tips and ideas – there’s still time to decorate! http://www.marthastewart.com/1060471/easter-eggs

: Lifelike Hansa rabbits flank an Easter basket given to me by Kevin Sharkey. https://hansatoysusa.com

: The black and white swan baskets were Easter gifts from Kevin also. He found the baskets, painted them and chose the color palettes for all the decorations he made to fill them. Watch the video on our web site. http://www.marthastewart.com/1065581/creating-marthas-easter-basket-kevin-sharkey#1065581

: A white swan basket from Kevin with blue and and pink eggs sits close by. Follow Kevin on Instagram for his inspirations and ideas @seenbysharkey.

: On the dining table in my “bird room”, a collection of white Easter decorations create this beautiful centerpiece.

: This is a painted rabbit from an Easter set, long ago. More blown out eggs fill the covered cake stand. If well-washed and cleaned, blown eggs can last for many years.

: Bunnies, lambs and eggs – so pretty.

: And long white tail feathers from my peacock – so gorgeous gathered and placed in a tall vase.

: The big rabbit is the same one I made for the April 2015 issue of MSLiving. http://www.marthastewart.com.

: I wanted the children to have a fun crafts project, so we collected some card stock, felt rabbits, cotton balls and fun cutout shapes for making Easter cards.

: Shqipe made this template to inspire our young crafters.

: Fuzzy, white chicks decorate the mantel in my Brown room.

: An antique rabbit with backpack sits on a black lacquered side table.

: A container of bunny ears for the kids to enjoy sits on my coffee table.

: Lots of nesting chickens adorn the dining tables. Decorations don’t have to be fancy – use regular Easter basket grass to make nests for all your Easter birds.

: This is a real rabbit taxidermy, which Kevin gave me in one of my annual Easter baskets. He is very happy displayed in this Japanese basket.

: These rabbits look like milk chocolate but are actually plastic molds – so cute and also much longer lived than the real thing!!

: Hard to resist biting into one of these rabbits – they look so delicious.

: But I have lots of delectable American-made milk chocolate bunnies from See’s Candies, a company that has been making quality chocolates and candies since 1921. There’s still time to get your last minute Easter sweets. http://www.sees.com/