You could use traditional red and green colors to decorate your Christmas tree this year, but why not try something different?
Almost everyone is attracted to the color blue (which is calming during the hectic Christmas season) as well as green (which gives us the feeling of hopefulness and reminds us of nature).
Here are a few interior designer tips & tricks for how to decorate a blue and green Christmas tree.
photo courtesy of Jo Naylor flickr.com/photos/pandora_6666/4080308076/Christmas Tree
When selecting your Christmas tree, decide whether you want to use a traditional green Christmas tree or if you would prefer to use a white or white flocked Christmas tree.
You should use a green Christmas tree if you want to keep the decor only blue & green.
If you want to add in a bit of white and/or make your blue and green decorations really stand out, feel free to start with a white Christmas tree.
Lights
Christmas lights always go on before the decorations.
Even if you have a pre-lit Christmas tree, you can add some more sparkle by adding more lights.
A designer rule of thumb for Christmas lights is to use 1 strand of 100 mini string lights per foot height of tree. For example, a 9 foot tall Christmas tree would get 9 strands of lights.
You can use white, clear, green, or blue non-blinking lights (use only one type). Make sure that your white lights are either warm (yellow) or cool (blue), but don't mix the two because it will look weird.
If you desire a bit of sparkle to your Christmas tree, use 1 strand of blinking lights wrapped around the trunk of your Christmas tree from top to bottom.
For added depth and interest, consider adding 1 or 2 strands of Christmas lights with a larger bulb spread throughout your tree.
Garland
If you desire, add garland to your Christmas tree.
You can use garland made of ribbon, beads, tinsel, or whatever you desire.
Garland is optional.
Ornaments and Trimmings
In order to get a designer look for your green and blue Christmas tree, select ornaments and trimmings that are in many different shades and textures of green and blue.
You can use light blue, aqua, turquoise, royal blue, dark blue, navy, baby blue, sea green, light green, apple green, light green, dark green, olive green, emerald green, and whatever other blue and green colors you can find.
Different textures include burlap, grapevine, sequins, glitter, matte, shiny, iridescent, and any other textures that you like.
Larger ornaments are more dramatic than smaller ones.
If you have smaller ornaments, consider wiring 3 together (identical or mismatched) to create an ornament cluster.
Use matching floral picks to fill in any holes and create a cohesive look throughout your tree.
A designer trick is to use 5 to 7 focal point ornaments (over sized ornaments that are approximately 6" across) to add drama to your Christmas tree.
As you add a few decorations to your Christmas tree, stand back from a distance and take a look to see how it looks as a whole. Reposition ornaments as you go to get the look that you desire.
Top and Bottom
Finish off decorating your blue and green Christmas tree with a color coordinating tree topper (which is optional) and a tree skirt. You can use a fancy Christmas tree skirt that complements your green and blue color scheme, or you can use a simple blanket or sheet draped around the bottom.
For added designer flair, wrap your Christmas gifts in color coordinating gift wrap. You can get 3 different gift wraps with 3 different bows in your color scheme, then mix & match the gift wrap and bows to create many different combinations.
