Sunday, November 30, 2008

It's All About the Tree

Our last house had just under 1800 square feet, but it had tons of storage, which translates into a shortage of living space. Honestly, that's the way I'd prefer it, except we like to entertain. We made it work, though, and managed to do a lot of great entertaining in that house.

One of the ways we made the living room work at Christmas was to use a slim, pre-lit tree. It was ideal for the space, and placing it behind the sofa made it the first thing one would see arriving through the front door. We also put nearly all the Christmas decorating focus on the tree.

Now that we have space to spread out, I'd like a big, fat, pre-lit tree but don't want to shell out a lot of money in this economy. I may have to make the skinny tree work this year, and that's okay.

In the past, I've decorated our main tree with lots of shiny, glittery ornaments and beaded garland with the idea that I wanted it to look like it was dripping with jewelry. If we had lots of money and no pets, I'd love a tree covered in Christopher Radko ornaments. I still love that look, but when I look at different options, I get Christmas decorating ADD. Take a look, and see what I mean. I love them all!









15 comments:

Michelle said...

Where did you find the pic with the three red stockings? I'd love to find some like that!

Velvet and Linen said...

Wow. That is a lot of beautifully decorated Christmas trees!
If that doesn't put everyone in the Christmas spirit I don't know what will.
Thank you for sharing.

xo
Brooke

sandra/tx said...

Michelle, that picture came from countryhome.com. In fact, all the pics came from either countryhome.com or countryliving.com. I saved the pics as "CH" for Country Home and "CL" for Country Living. You'll see the initials as you click on each pic. Those stockings are cute, aren't they?

Katie @ makingthishome.com said...

I like the idea of focusing on the tree and adding little details in other places. We haven't ever decorated a house of our own, but when we do, I'll be thinking of your strategy. These images make me grin.
Katie

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

Oh Sandra! What a bounty of green!! Love all the pics you found...also love seeing your old house all decked out!

We tend to put EVERYTHING we have EVER collected on our tree...my faves are always the kids homemade ornaments from long ago. It is fun putting the tree up, as they all rife through their faves and we laugh as we put them up...however, just prior to that it is NOT fun as DH puts up the lights...and half are always mysteriously NOT working. OY.

We thought we were getting a tree today...guess next week.

Nola said...

Me, too, about the ADD; I want every tree! We have the skinny one, and I love it. Got it when we were short on space, but kept it because I love it not taking up too much room. I go with the old fashioned, throw everything on the tree type decorating! Too much is still not enough!

Lisa said...

That was fun. Thanks for sharing all the pretty tree pics!

Oh, and I am sorry to hear you are nursing a cold. (((Sandra)))

Hope you are feeling better soon!

The Stricklands said...

How was your Thanksgiving? I love the tree pics! I have had such a mess everywhere today trying to decide where to put the old decorations in the new house :)

Becca Watson said...

Those tree's are very pretty! I love the first one!

Anonymous said...

All of these photos are fabulous! I saw some beautiful bright pink, orange and green ribbons, with dots and stripes, and some solids at Michael's last week. Do you know how difficult it was for me to walk away from those ribbons? I could just see a tree decorated with just the ribbon!

We are stopping with three this year, but oh my, it wouldn't take much for me to do more. One thing that is holding me back, it's already Dec 1. Last tree goes up today.

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Me too, Sandra! I have ADD when it comes to Christmas too & have trouble narrowing my look down to just one thing. I love the glittery, glitzy gold and also the natural & peaceful look of pinecones & acorns. So, I have a mix of stuff & it will just have to work.

These trees are all gorgeous. Can't wait to see yours too.

Robin Beck said...

I like all the trees you have shown but have to say my favorite is the very first photo of the slim line tree!
We used to live in a small house with lots of storage too... We moved 4 years ago to a big house with little storage! Maybe on the next move we will get it right! :)
Have a great week,
Robin~♥

Amber Cargile said...

I'm with you...I like a blown glass/Radko look, all the way bay-bee! I especially like the tree to be glitzy, paired with very simple, fresh Christmas greenery and candles/mercury glass in the rest of the house. It's like a little black dress...you go simple and classic except for one KILLER piece of jewelry...in this case, the tree!

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