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With Christmas fast approaching it seemed only right to turn attention to our Christmas trees and how we are going to decorate them this year. The conclusion was that none of us ever manage to create the same effect we see in John Lewis or other large department stores. We could only dream of reaching these lofty heights when it comes to Christmas tree decorations; or is there a way of achieving the designer look at home?
On reflection we think you can achieve the look and here are our Christmas tree decorating tips so you can style your Christmas tree like a pro and get the designer look in your home.
Type of Tree
Obviously first and foremost you need a tree. What type of tree though? The answer is simple choose your individual preference whether it be real or artificial. However to get the full bushy designer look choose a more flocked style tree that is bushy and full as opposed to a more sparse twig like tree.
Colour Scheme
Choose one colour or a split of colour so maybe all gold or red and gold. White or even pink and white. No one said your colour choice has to be traditional, now’s the time to start adding a bit of your individual personality to your tree. Ideally though your choice should compliment the colour of your chosen room you are to position your tree in.
Try something a little different, on trend colours such as bronze/copper, navy or plum for a more designer look.
Theme
Your theme will determine your choice of ornaments and other additions later on. It could be snowflakes, angels, candy canes or an overall traditional type of look and feel with gingerbread men and candy canes. Think outside the box maybe by choosing an everyday theme such as shoes or even cars or horses. Be as original or as innovative as you like, it’s your tree after all.
Christmas Lights
Before you start adding your decorations to your tree the first job is to get your lights on. To get the designer look choose non-flashing lights in clear or white.
Ensure that your lights are organised evenly around your tree, mingle them into the branches don’t just lay then on the outside of the tree. Rule of thumb is 100 mini lights per foot of tree as a minimum. Therefore for a 6ft tree you should have at least 600 lights. Even if you tree is artificial and pre-lit never be afraid to add more lights!
If you preference is to have some movement in your lights go for a more twinkling effect and don’t have all the same, mix these with static lights so as not to cheapen the look of your tree.
Garlands and Ribbons
Next up it’s garlands and ribbons and there are endless ways of putting these on your tree. You can run them from top to bottom or around the outside of your tree in circle slightly slanted like the lines on a barbers pole. Deco mesh is also great for this and adds another texture and visual effect to the tree.
Greenery Stems
This does seem a little odd when you have a ton of greenery stems on your tree but for a fuller more designed look you can use different style of stems to fill some of the gaps in your tree. To give your tree another dimension add stems sprayed with snow spray or glitter or some with berries. If you have an artificial tree try adding in some real stems; this will also give the smell of a real tree in your room to offer a sensory experience not just a visual one.
For a standard 7 to 8 foot tall tree add 3 different types of stem and 5 of each type equalling 15 stems in total throughout your tree.
Christmas Ornaments and Decorations
From your chosen colour scheme and theme it’s now time to get decorating that tree. One of the main designer tricks when decorating your tree is to choose oversized decorations as they have more impact and offer a more dramatic effect. This comes in to play massively if your tree is larger than 7ft tall. The theory is 10 oversized decorations per for height of tree works best.
Buying multipack decorations will give you a wide variety as well as quantity often at a much lower price than buying individual decorations. This is also great if you like to change the theme and colour scheme of your tree each year.
You can also use natural decorations such as pine cones, feathers and twigs. To create a focal point get 5 to 7 extremely oversized ornaments which will be the first thing people notice when looking at your Christmas tree. Feature ornaments are not always Christmas ornaments but other Christmas decorations you can hang on your tree. Maybe wall hangings, toys or anything else that fits with your theme and catches your eye.
Start in the middle of your tree with you standard type decorations and work outwards with your more unusual themed and focal items on the outside. Small decorations should be near the top and larger ones at the bottom. If you are using more than one colour add them a colour at a time for even distribution.
Family Ornaments
It is lovely to add ornaments your children have made or one that holds a memory from a recent holiday or those of sentimental value. Build a collection over years so you can look back at all those times each year when you add the memory to your tree.
Floral Effect
To fill any remaining gaps a designer trick is to add floral style decorations. Spread a good few evenly through your tree, as many as 20 if you like, these can be curls, ball shaped or extra tree branches.
Christmas Tree Topper
The finishing touch to any tree has to be the topper. This could be a traditional star a floral pick arrangement, an angel or something that coordinates with your chosen theme.
Christmas Gift Wrap
Colour coordinate your gift wrap to your colour scheme for the ultimate finished and polished look. Choose a range of patterns so long as they match your colour scheme. Simplicity however is a designer favourite complimented by a colour coordinating bow.
Christmas Gift Ideas
So the tree is complete so now for the gift buying but where to start? Take a look at our wide selection of gifts and homewares for all the family. Here are some of our top picks:
For Her
Here are our favourites, to pick yours and see our full collection click here
For Him
To buy these and other gifts from our For Him collection simply click here
