Lighting Magic: The Tree

I approach decorating a tree in much the same way I do creating a flower arrangement. The main difference between the two is, the tree is the ‘vase’ (container). Once the theme for a tree has been chosen it’s time to hunt for the necessary parts to express the vision. We have amassed quite a collection of artificial trees in almost 20 years, so I start with choosing the best tree for the theme, unless I find something new at market that is perfect, and then, of course we have to add it to the collection. This year I found a beautiful Noble Fir with layered branches that will be stunning for the woodland tree, which we are calling Winter Whispers. The metal trees that trended in last year are also fun and their starkness shows off the ornaments.

I almost always use white lights because their clear light does nothing more than enhance the tree, rather than adding another color element, which can make the tree busy and detract from the ornaments. Once in a while colored lights are fun to add when they match the color harmony of the finished tree. Multi-colored lights can be fabulous on a children’s or traditional style tree, and custom colors can be particularly useful on color-themed trees, such as a string of green, blue and purple, or red, amber, and orange.