A NOSTALGIC AND COLORFUL CHRISTMAS TREE WITH OLD-WORLD CHARM
There’s something so magical about the idea of a nostalgic Christmas, with timeless, vintage charm and enchanting holiday details. This year, I wanted our Christmas tree to have an old-world, European-inspired look, with lush layers, rich colors and heirloom-inspired elements. Something elegant, luxurious and collected, almost like a tree straight out of a Christmas fairy tale, or even The Nutcracker – which is a holiday favorite in our home! The combination of gorgeous, luxurious ribbon (the star of the show and the inspiration for our entire Christmas theme), glittering metallics and beautiful, colorful decorations feels wonderfully classic, almost like a tree you’d find in a beautiful European home at Christmas, with all the romance of a bygone era. I’m thrilled with the results of our tree this year – it’s sophisticated, chic and dreamy, with that magical storybook quality I wanted to capture. I hope you love our nostalgic Christmas tree as much as we do… once again, I think it’s my favorite one so far!
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NOSTALGIC CHRISTMAS TREE WITH GORGEOUS EMBROIDERED RIBBON
If you’ve been following along for a while, you know how much I love decorating our Christmas home with beautiful ribbon! It’s often the starting point for my Christmas tree and also helps inspire the overall theme and color palette throughout our seasonal home as well.
This year, I fell in love with the most gorgeous red embroidered ribbon from Cailini Coastal, which became the inspiration for our entire Christmas theme this year. With its intricate detailing, rich colors and vintage-inspired design, it’s truly show-stopping! Unfortunately it’s already sold out, but I’ve linked other beautiful options below.
SHOP MORE FESTIVE RIBBON
I’ve layered five different ribbons throughout our Christmas tree this year, mixing different textures to create a lush, elegant look with dimension and depth. The red ribbon definitely takes center stage, and I love how beautifully it brings our tree to life and ties all of the colors together.
TREE STYLING TIP
Once again this year, I’ve used a single loop technique – you can watch my Instagram bow tutorial , it will help you achieve this look. I’ve layered three ribbons for each cluster of bows. The blue and red ribbon have single loops and the thinner green velvet ribbon is a double loop attached in the front afterward.
Similar to our Christmas tree from last year, I tied my ribbons in full, lush bows for a chic look that’s truly stunning. You can watch my Instagram bow tutorial to learn how I created these beauties – you can most definitely do this. It takes time and patience and some learning, but once you try, you’ll be so happy.
While a beautiful embroidered ribbon like this is an investment, it’s also something that can be enjoyed for so many years to come, especially when it has such prominence on your tree.
You can even incorporate just a few bows as an accent, mixed with other ribbons, to create a similar look, for a more budget friendly approach – I have a high-low mix on our tree as well.
SHOP OUR CHRISTMAS LOOK!
Red embroidered ribbon | Green velvet ribbon | Blue velvet ribbon | 1.5″ green ribbon | 1.5″ blue ribbon | Christmas tree | Norfolk pine garland | Red berry picks | Gold berry picks | Gold magnolia picks | Green floral picks | Blue + White ginger jar ornaments | Blue ornaments | Gold ornaments | Red ornaments | Green ornaments | Blue velvet stockings | Blue velvet tree skirt | Check blanket | White and gold gift boxes | Star tree topper | Hurricane lantern | Peel and stick faux grasscloth wallpaper | Ginger jar on shelf | Garden stool | Drapes | Drapery hardware | TV digital art | Blue fretwork pillow | White quatrefoil pillow | Sofa | Rug | Wall sconce | Chandelier
LUSH LAYERS WITH SPARKLING DETAILS
Our nostalgic Christmas tree this year features such a gorgeous colorful palette with many ornaments you’ve seen throughout the years, along with a few beautiful new additions I’ve picked up along the way. I’ve collected so many over time, it’s nice to be able to pull out the ones I know will help me to achieve the look I’m after. Our house is definitely a huge mess with all of our bins full of decorations during this process!
This year I’ve chosen a colorful combination of ornaments in rich reds, vibrant blues, shimmering golds and gorgeous greens to bring this entire design to life, with a mix of finishes, shapes and intricate details that add to the nostalgic charm that I was after.
OUR TREE STEP BY STEP
- Tie the main ribbon in bows and attach them throughout your tree, filling in large gaps and placing them in a zigzag or diamond pattern. Watch my Instagram bow tutorial here to learn how!
- Next, place your fullest tree picks and flowers throughout, also filling in gaps.
- Now it’s time for ornaments – use different sizes for dimension and try to tuck them under the branches to hide the hooks if you can.
- Add smaller tree picks throughout the tree for that finishing touch and more texture.
- Cluster berry picks around the tree topper to fill in the top of the tree.
I love the idea of a Christmas tree that looks as though it’s been thoughtfully decorated and added to over time. To create that full, luxurious look I love so much, I’ve layered an assortment of decorative picks and flowers throughout the branches, mixing both old and new pieces.
I found these gorgeous green poinsettias at Home Sense, but these similar green floral picks as well as these similar green picks are perfect for this look as well. Picks and florals are perfect for filling in the spaces between the ribbons and ornaments, giving the tree a lush, abundant look. I’ve also used gold magnolia picks, which work beautifully for this as well.
In the photo above, I have several different styles of picks mixed together, two of which are from Cailini Coastal as well – Frosted Pearl Eucalyptus and Gilded Ruscus Tree Stem – together they are so beautiful, adorned with sparkling embellished details. I’ve layered them with red berry stems as well for added dimension, texture, depth and a little extra Christmas magic. My gold berry picks are scattered through the tree as well, and both gold and red picks are clustered at the top with our star.
THE PERFECT FINISHING TOUCHES
To finish our tree, I brought out our beautiful blue velvet tree skirt again this year, which has been a favorite of mine for a few years now. The rich blue complements the colorful decorations and makes all of those beautiful blue accents pop. Any color would work with this design, but I wanted to carry the blues throughout the room, especially with our matching blue velvet stockings on the mantel and my favorite blues throughout our home.
The soft velvet adds another beautiful layer of texture and gives our tree a cohesive, polished look. I always have my collection of gift boxes tied with one of the coordinating ribbons from our Christmas tree. It’s such a pretty touch and completes the scene, adding to that magical, nostalgic Christmas feeling. Of course on Christmas Eve when Santa comes, these get packed away to make room for the real ones!
I truly love how our nostalgic Christmas tree came together this year! It’s vibrant and colorful, elegant and chic, with luxurious, lush layers that make it feel extra special. It was a labor of love but worth every second! I hope our tree inspires you to mix your favorite decorations, embrace beautiful colors, texture and pattern and create a little Christmas magic with some old-world charm of your own this season. Stay tuned for more Christmas spaces coming soon! xo
