Scott and Katie McMahon’s brick Woodstock home resembled a gingerbread house to them, with its peaks and traditional look. Candy Cane Lane was born.
The whimsical decor draws gawkers from the moment the icicle lights (like icing) and handcrafted, oversized lollipops, gingerbread kids and red-and-white-striped shutter covers go up every holiday season.
The McMahons’ holiday fervor has exploded from one tree in their former home in Powder Springs to seven trees inside their Towne Lake home, life-sized nutcrackers, wreaths and garland created by Katie, a Christmas village on display and other colorful decor that evolves every year. The McMahons spend an estimated 180 hours getting their home ready for the holidays.
“It adds fun and festivity and just excitement about the month,” she said.
Snapshot
Residents: Scott and Katie McMahon. Scott works for Equifax. Katie is a Mary Kay sales director
Location: Eagle Watch subdivision in Woodstock's Towne Lake neighborhood
Size: 4,829 square feet, five bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths
Year built: 1990
Year bought: 2003
Architectural style: Traditional
Favorite architectural elements: The location of the stairs away from the front door and the bay windows, where Christmas trees are strategically placed during the holidays.
Renovations: Every room has been renovated. The terrace level was finished with a guest suite, media room and room with a pool table. A full deck was added. In the front yard, an 80-by-6-foot retaining wall and a 60-foot retaining area for planting were added.
Contractor: Brett Thein
Landscaper: Outdoor Effects Landscape Group
Interior design style: Transitional. The mix of traditional and contemporary furnishings give the home a classic, timeless design, Katie said. When the holidays are over, the decor is more minimal, with few knickknacks, she said. "I can have my clean-cut living from January to November. Then by December, I get to have my all out fun — bright lights, bright colors — and then we go down to minimal," she said.
Resources: Christmas decor items from Melissa's Hallmark in Woodstock, Hobby Lobby and Lowe's
Favorite outdoor feature: The 25-plus lollipops in yard, which fit with the gingerbread kids, also made by the McMahons. The lollipops are made out of PVC striped with red and white masking tape and Styrofoam cut into the lollipop shapes and covered with colorful cellophane. The gingerbread people also are made out of Styrofoam. "You can do a lot with Styrofoam board. It is so easy to cut and carve," Katie said.
Favorite decorating tool: The LightKeeper Pro, which Katie McMahon said has saved them thousands of dollars in lights that otherwise would be thrown away. The tool, which they purchased at Hobby Lobby, sends a pulse through the light set to find bad bulbs and fix them, so the lights can keep working, according to Illinois-based Ulta-Lit Technologies.
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