It's The Thought That Counts

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday November 29, 2007

Words Andrea Jones

Let your imagination go beyond tinsel and baubles this Christmas.

DECORATING the Christmas tree is one of the great pleasures of the season for many of us and yet, with so many beautiful options available, where to start? And, just as importantly for the hip pocket, where to stop?

"This season it's really simple, natural and organic - in line with decorating trends," says Abbie Evans, the general manager, food and homewares, for David Jones.

"Trends we're finding really popular are hand-blown European glass ornaments, natural timber snowflakes, all shades of white and little touches of red."

What distinguishes this Christmas for interiors stylist Glenn Proebstel is the increased interest in natural decorations with an artisan touch.

"It's all about the handmade, such as carved wooden ornaments that really capture the sentimentality of Christmas. And it's about the material it's made out of: things like glass, ceramic and wood that have more of an eco quality than plastics and synthetics."

December 1 is the traditional day for tree trimming. So, come Saturday, what to choose?

In keeping with the trend for Christmas decorating to co-ordinate with home decor, traditional colours such as deep greens and gold have lost ground while this year there's a veritable snowdrift of white ornaments, along with red and silver.

At Country Road, chic glass ornaments come in red, white and silver with touches of yellow for a summery zing.

A hot pick in department stores is pale blue and silver. There's an endlessly tempting array of clear glass in balls, chandelier drops and icicle shapes.

At Freedom Furniture, Linda Barrett, the general manager of merchandise, estimates customers spend "an average of $150 to $220 just on refreshing their decorations".

"Because we're a fashion brand we find people are wanting to change their Christmas look every year," she says.

What's hot? "Tinsel has been superseded by crystal garlands and beads. And lots of people are investing in Christmas string lights throughout their home.

"There's definitely a trend away from the circular Christmas bauble," Barrett says. "People are going for more bling: crystals, beadwork and less traditional Christmas ornaments."

Which is in stark contrast to Ikea, where Emine Mehnet, the home-decoration range leader, says, "We have really gone back to a traditional Scandinavian Christmas - back to a handcrafted feel, with a lot of straw, wool and felt. We have a really interesting mix between that and today's technology - like LED lights which last longer and are more environmentally conscious."

Proebstel says the keys to achieving a great Christmas look are to know your own style and meticulous planning: "The focus is really on creating something that is special, that expresses your style, but doing it in a clever, considered way to make it affordable, rather than relying on expensive items to give you that result. There's lot of tools you can use to do that."

Rule No. 1: "Don't buy off the cuff. It's very easy to be totally overwhelmed by the range available, especially if you're standing in a department store surrounded by so many options."

Instead he recommends a bit of homework: flick through catalogues and browse online.

"The key to making a tree work is to sort your colour palette first, then you can sort your decorations around that. My rule is to stick to one colour then add a 'hero' of something else. Then every year you can change that little hero colour. Have a little swatch card of colours, even paint samples, that you can stick in a book and then walk around with."

To give your Christmas look a personal touch you can replace the hooks on your decorations with real ribbon. Proebstel suggests you change your look each year simply by changing the colour of your ribbon.

Look out for the clear perspex balls available from selected Eckersley's stores (about $2) that open up so you can pop trinkets inside. Another of Proebstel's ideas is to do this and then attach a name tag. On Christmas morning you can hand them out or after Christmas lunch share them among guests as parting gifts.

Of course, having the tree sorted is only the beginning. All stores report an increase in interest in garlands and lighting - and there is endless variety, from paper lanterns to feathers.

"Now that a lot of houses are about open-plan living, decorations are going wider than the tree," Evans says.

And people want to sustain one Christmas look throughout the house. Barrett says customers want to match the Christmas tree to a smaller version that sits on the coffee table.

But dressing the table for Christmas dinner is the most important expression of our festive decorating style, says John Strickland, Myer's national visual merchandise co-ordinator. By Christmas Day he has spent months arm-deep in tree decorations.

"At home I have a stainless-steel pole with an apple on top, so I don't pass judgment on anyone else's [tree]," Strickland says, "but I do on their table. How much effort and care they have taken in laying their Christmas table really speaks of what Christmas means to them."

He says it is the one day everyone should pull out all the stops. "You don't need to spend a whole lot of money; just buy some nice napery."

Indeed, most of the people we spoke to suggest the most sensible approach is to stick with white crockery and make the table festive in the colour co-ordination of serving ware and napery, and imaginative, personal touches.

"You can do little tricks like wrap each napkin with a ribbon and add a little chocolate, or add a handwritten place card to the ribbon," Strickland says. "Small details like that are really important."

Proebstel agrees: "When you have excess Christmas decorations and there are a few extra ones, you can use them as table decorations. You could add a place card to each bauble, then it all links up."

So this Christmas it is the imagination and thoughtful touches that define how stylish your decor. What is Proebstel doing for Christmas?

"Oh, it's very simplistic," he laughs. "A little branch in a porcelain vase and then I hang clear baubles off it."

Dress the tree

Always wondered how stores get their Christmas trees looking magnificent?

Myer's national visual merchandise co-ordinator, John Strickland, explains how it's done.

* Put the lights on first, wrapping the cord close to the trunk.

* Turn the lights on while you then place each one individually, teasing it away from the central cord and along the branch. (Strickland doesn't recommend you short out your home but he often uses more than one set of lights.)

* With decorations, "you want it full and abundant", he says. This means placing them deep into the branches, not just on the tips.

* Start with cheaper balls and place them far into the branches. Save the nicest ones for the ends of the tree where people can see them.

* Once you think you're finished, look at the tree and slightly unfocus your eyes so you get the overall impression. Are the decorations abundant enough? Are there any bald patches?

* Having done that, Strickland "backfills again", adding more cheap balls to the inner branches.

* Add the tip ornament last - and make it something pointy "like a nice, simple star", to enhance the overall pyramid shape of the tree and make it look "zingier".

Result: "A Christmas tree that looks full and exciting."

Christmas address book

Looking for unusual and artisan decorating style? Try these:

Papaya Homewares

For antique-style mercury crystal balls and unusual crystal garlands.

Level 5, Westfield Bondi Junction, 9386 9980.

Honey Bee Homewares

For French provincial style, from wax stars to zinc ornaments.

178 Sydney Road, Fairlight, 9948 9908.

Paper Couture

For exquisite paper garlands and unusual paper decorations.

284 South Dowling Street, Paddington, 9357 6855.

© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald

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