7 Ways to Shake Up Your Christmas Tree This Season

Vancouver’s best designers share ideas to bring new life to your tree in no time

Mix Up Light Sizes

“I like to mix in large, round and vintage-style lights—frosted is best—to add dimension, soft light and a touch of nostalgia,” says interior designer Stephanie Jean. “A real, flocked tree needs minimal decoration, but it has a big impact.”

Use Travel Souvenirs

“We have an amazing collection of ornaments here at The Cross that include Eiffel Towers, London city busses, mini suitcases and globes,” says interior designer Megan Baker. 

“They are all done in a similar style, which is a great way to add consistency to the design of the tree that will otherwise showcase a varied collection of pieces. Switching out the typical glitter garland for long strings of ‘admit one’ tickets off of the roll would be a cute way to tie everything together.”

Add Some Sparkle

“Our favourite way to decorate the tree is to not go crazy overboard,” shares Kristina Hibbs of Marie Joy Design.

“We tend to use neutral tones with pops of sparkle—this way, the tree stands out, but still matches with the decor of the home. Adding personal touches like special ornaments or finding a new ornament every year is always a fun way to create new memories with your family!”

Go Monochromatic

“Keeping ornaments, garlands and lights all in the same family of colour will make any tree a statement piece,” says Megan Baker of The Cross Interior Design. “The key is to use lots of different textures—glossy baubles, lacy ribbon, glittering ornaments.”

She notes that you can also add metallic elements to your colour scheme—silver or gold, for example, work great with all-white décor. “If anybody in the house is crafty, a coat of spray paint can make even the most random collection of ornaments into a cool sculptural ornament for the tree,” Baker adds.

DIY Ornaments

“Paint old Christmas ornaments with black chalkboard paint and decorate the whole tree with these,” suggests Dexter Dolores. “As part of a Christmas Eve party, you can have colorful chalk on hand for your guests to DIY their own ornaments. And how great would a tree decked in black look?”

Repurpose Hardware

“Use hardware store finds—like gears, large nuts, bolts, and industrial rings—as ornaments and keep them as is for an industrial-style Christmas tree,” says interior designer Dexter Dolores. “Or you can dip them in white paint for an interesting twist.”

Decorate with Poinsettias

“Go to your local craft store and pick up a big bouquet of poinsettias,” suggests Ben Leavitt, lead designer at Fox Design Studio. “Trim each stem and feed them right into your tree. Even if you don’t put anything on your tree except for plain bulbs and artificial poinsettias, your tree will look amazing.”