Interior design help for everyone.
Quite a few of my clients haven't gotten around to putting up their Christmas tree yet. Here's a few quick tips to get you started. 1. First select your tree. There are so many options to choose from:
2. Choose a suitable Tree stand. Whichever stand you choose, ensure that you select the proper tree stand that will give you stability and hold a generous amount of water if necessary. 3. Tree skirts They add a decorative touch and provide coverage for any planters or non-decorative tree stands. Great backdrop to those pretty parcels! 4. Tree lights We now have three options to choose from:
If you choose LED white lights - ensure that you select the warm white which is usually 2700 to 3000 Kelvin units . This will ensure you have a warm glow. The cool LED lights often give a very bluish and harsh looking light. Incandescent lights are the most beautiful lights but they are hard to find now and produce heat which can lead to fire hazards on dry trees. Mini battery pack lights or Fairy lights are a beautiful option, especially on smaller and more delicate trees, or tree branches. If you go this route ensure that you select the mini or fairy lights that include either a remote option or a timer option, so you are not digging through the tree to find the battery pack. Depending upon which type of lights you use, I tend to use 100 lights for each foot of Christmas tree. 5. Hanging your Christmas tree lights. Note this is the most controversial aspect of this post as there are many methods to do this, but I prefer the "branch wrap “approach. Make your starting point of lights at the bottom of the tree near the trunk. Pull the string of Christmas lights taut to the tip of the branch, then work back toward the trunk, wrapping the cord circularly over itself and the branch, while working your way to the top of the tree. Make sure to select the largest branches to wrap first. Ensure there are more lights at the trunk area of the tree as this provides depth to your design. You will know your tree is "all wrapped up" when you finish at the top lone branch. 6. Ornaments Start with the largest ornaments first, placing them near the tree trunk with a few coming through to the branch tips. Then start with the medium sized ornaments, filling in the gaps and lastly the smallest and most delicate ornaments should be placed near the branch tips. Rarely do I place ornaments on the tips of the branches, it tends to look unbalanced that way. Placing the ornaments more in the centre of the tree, gives dimension to your tree and draws the eyes from the base to the branch outwards to allow others to enjoy your ornaments. Hanging your ornaments only on the outside of your tree can make it looked cluttered and less 3 dimensional. I've got to say I see this all the time where people only decorate the 'edges' of the trees and it's difficult to resist the urge to tuck a few ornaments into the background to provide depth. Plan on at least 10 ornaments per foot of tree. i.e.. 6' tree needs 60 ornaments. Ensure your most precious ornaments are placed where they can be viewed easily. I have a special light bulb which we had only one of. It's now burned out so I've put it in a large plastic ball ornament, hung it on fishline and added a little 'snow' to it. Now I can enjoy that special blue bulb to this day, nice way to protect those keepsake ornaments! 7. Garland. Some people like to use garland. If this is the case, use it sparingly. I find it can overwhelm the tree so I tend to stay away from it. 8. Tinsel. This is optional and time consuming. Each piece needs to be placed singularly by itself. Try avoiding throwing your tinsel on by the handfuls, as I did as a child! It is truly beautiful to look at a tinseled tree, it reflects the lights and ornaments as well! It's one reason I love the aluminum trees so much. No Tinsel needed! 9. Tree Topper. Your final touch is applying the Christmas star, angel or Christmas spire to the top of the Christmas tree. Make sure the branch is strong enough to support your topper and can be seen above the rest of the tree facing the most viewed angle. 10. Almost done! Now, look at your beautiful tree that you wonderfully decorated, and see if there are any bare patches or empty spaces in the tree. Ask yourself if you may need to add more ornaments or perhaps move a few items. It's your preference on how full you want your tree to look. Some prefer a sparse looking tree while others prefer a full and colorful tree.
With all these considerations you can decide what kind of Christmas design theme you choose for this year. It all starts with your tree. Take your inspiration from the tree and dress up your mantel and a few table tops! My preference is to put on my favorite Christmas music, have a nice glass of wine, nibble on a few (OK several) chocolates and dance around the house while decorating the tree. Finished! Have a wonderful Christmas. Enjoy your decorating! Merry Christmas from all of us at Jil Sonia Interior Designs. Virtual Interior design help throughout Canada and USA
7 Comments
12/15/2018 11:57:29 am
I'm kind of in love with the flocked tree this year, but that light-up dog - adorable!
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Jeri
12/16/2018 09:45:50 am
#8 Tinsel> Oh my, the childhood memories! My mother was a stickler for the one strand at a time...and then the static electricity would have it sticking to everyone and traveling through the house!
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12/16/2018 10:37:13 am
Haha, yes! Now I'm the one yelling "Only 1 piece at a time!" and it still travels throughout the home and is always to be found on the back of my black sweater dresses!
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12/17/2018 06:58:51 am
I'm with Jeri - #8 tinsel! I have vivid memories of the 'one strand at a time' routine in our home. With half the package on the tree and the other half stuck to your clothes or hair (static). Good times!!
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12/17/2018 10:57:05 am
I hear you! Now we have one of the retro trees, even the aluminum from the tree itself is spreading throughout the home!
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Author:Jil Sonia McDonald - Interior Designer of Jil Sonia Interior Designs. Archives
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