I've never been one for a traditional tree, over the years, I've played with, wood, corrugated iron, rocks, real ones, fake ones......anything goes. Thats the beauty of living in the southern hemisphere where, we a contradiction to traditional imagery anyway and free to use artistic license.
A few guidelines will get you a tree that will pop! Work with any theme that takes your fancy, give it your personality and style, tweak it to reflect your mood and surroundings . Traditional or contemporary, big or small, basics apply. Colour theming is most important, work with your interior, draw inspiration from a painting, furniture or surroundings, stick to 2 colours, with a third for highlights. Think form and balance when placing adornment, most trees form a triangle, reflect this and work with it on placement, start at the top and work down. Keep it simple and the 'less is more' rule applies. Availability and selection of inexpensive decorations are everywhere (most on sale already), or use non traditional bits and hit them with the spray can to keep your colour them. I love wooden clothes pegs to attach the cash gifts teenagers are so fond of!
Inspiration from Pinterest www.pinterest.com
Being time short in the middle of the re build, a trip to the warehouse and an hour of playing around, this years tree was done and dusted. This year I've gone for a black tree, with natural tones, felt stars, ceramic moose, and gorgeous laser cut pohutakawa flowers, this works perfectly within my space reflecting and working with the interior styling and essentially becoming part of it. Don't forget the base, no nasty buckets I found a grey felt box and added a couple of vintage kit bags to play 'Santa sacks'. Continue this under the tree with the wrapping paper and ribbon you use on the the gifts, I wrap larger to smaller boxes to form a grandstand for parcel placement, apply the triangle form when stacking parcels, large to small on top.
Have fun with it, don't angst over it, with a few basic principles your tree will be be an interior styling addition to your living space. Make the theme flow to your table top dressing for Christmas day, using the same colours and feeling to crete a total look. * Kids........ if they want to help decorate, limiting their colour palette helps, or give them the own mini tree in their room. (my thinly veiled attempt to politely say leave the kids out of it).
*Pinterest has a million and one ideas, use it to make a board of your favourite looks.
Enjoy this mad lead up to the holidays.........remember to breathe!
The Muse x