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December 7, 2022
Angelique’s top tips on how to decorate your Christmas tree professionally
This year, ensure your Christmas tree is the best-dressed for the festive season, as interior designer and Christmas tree decorator, Angelique Cutajar Cefai, shares her professional know-how with our readers.
Angelique has experience in dressing Christmas trees for several department stores, luxury offices, and hotel spas, among others. Here, she offers you a simple step-by-step guide on how to decorate your tree to the same exceptional standard.
"An elegant Christmas tree is a truly eye-catching feature in every space," says Angelique.
“Yet sometimes, even when we have selected beautiful decorations and put a lot of effort into adorning it, it does not always come out the way we anticipated. The secret of a well-dressed tree is not only about the properly selected decorations. It also involves the way you hang and distribute those pieces on the tree.”
And so, here are Angelique’s inside tips and tricks to help you create your very best Christmas tree with ease and minimal stress.
1. PLACE THE CHRISTMAS TREE IN A SECURE STAND AND OPEN THE BRANCHES.
This may sound obvious, but opening out the branches completely will make your tree look more naturally beautiful and full, while a stable base will protect the tree from being accidentally knocked over.
2. TURN ON THE LIGHTS.
The golden rule when choosing lighting for your tree is to ensure the colour of your lights does not clash with your decorations and baubles. Soft white light is always in vogue. The best way to place the lights is by first switching them on – this makes it easier for you to see where you are positioning them and ensure they are evenly distributed. With taller trees, the lights may be placed vertically down the length of the tree instead of around the branches. For best results, avoid visible cords. Using green cord lighting will blend the wiring into the tree for a more attractive look.
3. ADD YOUR TREE TOPPER.
Many people think the tree topper is the finishing touch to be affixed once the tree is fully decorated. However, it can be rather challenging to add the topper at the end without knocking off your carefully placed decorations. Therefore, the tree topper goes on first. The recommended representations for a chic topper are a distinctive star of Bethlehem or a glamorous bow fashioned from stiff material in gold or any other suitable colour. These are unique alternatives to the more commonly used Christmas angel or fairy.
4. HANG THE BAUBLES AND OTHER DECORATIONS WITH STYLE.
This is not a haphazard procedure. Begin with some of the larger baubles and decorative items at the base, and continue attaching the variously sized pieces alternately in the middle and the top of the tree. Add interesting items such as poinsettia flowers. Limit yourself to three or four different colours using a variety of matt, shiny, glass, and glitter decorations. This will give your tree more depth and visual appeal. Spread out the decorations evenly and try to use symmetry, to avoid making it appear excessively crammed with too many trinkets.
5. CHOOSE YOUR FABRICS CREATIVELY.
Although tinsel may be the traditional garland to drape around your Christmas tree, you can make your creation stand out even more by using various other ribbon materials instead, preferably in a stiff fabric. You may opt for organza, gold or silver net, jute, or burlap to place around the foliage for a timeless and elegant touch. Using a tree skirt to cover the base of the tree is an additional technique that creates flair and provides an area to lay your gifts on instead of the floor. Again, be imaginative with your choice of material, and opt for burlap, fur, or any other fabric to hide the stand.
6. PILE UP THE PRESENTS – AND YOU’RE DONE!
Before you know it, you will have the Christmas tree of your dreams! Employing a professional to pop in and do it for you is also an option, but it will give you far more satisfaction to follow these steps and do it all yourself.
Angelique always ensures she matches the theme of the tree with the décor of the space.
The colour scheme is an important factor to consider, even for a Christmas tree. Angelique decorated the Christmas trees at the Essensi Spa located at the Iniala Harbour House in Valletta, the Dee Spas at Apollo at the Corinthia San Gorg Hotel in St Julian's, and the retail space at ICI Limited in Mrieħel.
At Essensi Spa, the client’s wishes were for a blush pink theme with white touches and glass accessories. The reception desk at the Dee Spas is white with gold, so their Christmas tree was adorned with silver and gold baubles and flowers to match. The request from ICI Limited was for a black and gold colour scheme appropriate for the classic décor of their retail centres and exhibition spaces. Here, Angelique opted for vertical lighting which she complemented with vertical lengths of garland with a gold leaf motif. Deer figurines and gift boxes finished the look while concealing the stand.
Follow these pointers from Angelique and incorporate coordinating colours into your own Christmas tree, or visit the above-mentioned places to see her work up close and avail yourselves of the individual services offered while you are there.
Essensi Spa by Iniala
Iniala Harbour House & Residences, 11, St Barbara Bastion, Valletta
+356 2166 1111
Dee Spas at Apollo
Corinthia Hotel, St George’s Bay, St Julian's
+356 2370 2501
ICI Limited
Central Business District Zone 4, Mrieħel
+356 2701 7144
If you wish to avail yourselves of Angelique’s interiors and decorating expertise, get in touch with her here:
+356 9923 7000
