After settling down with her dream Scotsman, designer, antique lover and proud Anglophile Christina McGarvey set out to create the English family estate of her dreams, right here in Utah. She leaned on her experience working for an English designer in her early career (and drew from memories of her mother restoring their Victorian childhood home). McGarvey took on initial designs herself, and soon called in reinforcements from Establish Design.
To share the progress, she started her @millcreek.manor Instagram account, which quickly took off with design aficionados around the state. Following the home’s completion, however, the account took a shift.
Throughout the process, followers had been asking where they could find the British and Scottish antique treasures featured in Millcreek Manor’s decor. Ever eager to share, McGarvey essentially answered: “I’ll get you one.”
McGarvey quickly shifted the focus of her content from home progress to showcasing unique antique pieces to interested buyers and taking followers along as she scouted for new treasures. She took trips abroad, scoured the internet and acquired inventory from local legends such as downtown’s Euro Treasures, which shuttered in late 2025. Her first full container of curated antiques arrived in Spring of 2026, and the roughly 400 pieces inside sold within two days.
In the age of quick purchases and IKEA quality, that speed may surprise some; it came as no shock to Christina.
“The more digital our world goes, the more we crave the analog, the old and the real,” she says. “Antiques are always timeless, and allow you to escape the never-ending trend cycle.”
Where her audience began as just that—followers entertained by the story of McGarvey’s home design—it quickly became a community. Her 40,000-strong supporters are individuals who identify with her story. They too want to keep historic traditions alive in the modern world.
“I love finding pieces that tell a story,” McGarvey says. “This started as my story, and now I get to pass on the stories of someone else with each piece.”
