5 Designer-Approved Christmas Trees to Inspire Your Holiday Decorating

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Christmas trees tend to take on the character of the spaces they occupy. Some lean heavily on tradition. Others feel almost like an extension of a brand or a point of view. The most interesting ones don’t try to please everyone. They respond to their setting, use materials with intention, and feel specific to their designer. This year, we looked at five very different trees, each designed with a clear sense of context, proportion, and personality. From hotels to private homes, we hope these Christmas trees provide inspiration for approaching holiday decorating in a way that feels deliberate rather than generic.

5 Designer-Approved Christmas Trees to Inspire Your Holiday Decorating

Veranda x Lewis Miller Design Holiday Tree at The Colony

Set inside The Colony in Palm Beach, the Veranda x Lewis Miller Design holiday tree leans fully into its setting. This is not a tree trying to pass for alpine or nostalgic. It’s coastal, playful, and unapologetically (even excessively) decorative. The silhouette is full and traditional enough to register instantly as a Christmas tree, but the baubles set it apart entirely. Greenery is layered with unexpected materials, and the overall effect is lighthearted rather than reverent.

Rattan bells tied with pistachio-colored ribbons appear throughout the branches, scaled generously for effect. Seashells, starfish, and frosted pinecones fill in the gaps, giving the tree texture without too much clutter. The palette stays within greens, creams, and sandy neutrals, which keeps the mix from feeling overly busy despite the number of elements involved.

What makes this tree work is its clear confidence. It doesn’t hedge or soften to suit the season or the traditional Christmas setting; it is Palm Beach and nothing else. The coastal references are obvious, but they’re handled with restraint and humor. In the context of The Colony, that tone feels exactly on-target. This tree understands its surroundings and plays to them. It’s decorative, cheerful, and slightly cheeky, with no interest in pretending to be anything else. The result feels joyful and deliberate. This is a holiday tree designed to be enjoyed up close and talked about, not quietly admired from across the room.

Nicole Salvesen’s Chalet Sarcleret Christmas Tree

At Chalet Sarcleret, Nicole Salvesen’s Christmas tree stands in the corner of the main living space, tucked neatly beside the wall rather than centered for effect. The scale feels right for the room. Tall enough to hold its own, but not oversized. The branches keep their natural shape, with lights worked through them evenly and ribbons tied in soft bows that hang without too much fuss. Nothing looks adjusted for symmetry or photographed perfection.

The decoration is pared back and consistent. Cream and pale gold ribbons repeat from branch to branch, spaced generously so the tree never feels crowded. Ornaments are few and deliberately chosen. Small spheres, simple shapes, nothing flashy. The lighting is warm and steady, illuminating the tree without turning it into a focal spectacle. It feels intentional but not styled within an inch of its life.

What stands out is how perfectly the tree sits within the larger setting of the chalet. Surrounded by timber beams, patterned upholstery, and a room clearly meant for long evenings gathered around the table, the tree doesn’t compete for your attention. It feels like part of the furnishings program rather than an addition to it.

This tree reflects the way Chalet Sarcleret is meant to be used. It supports the room instead of defining it. There’s no sense of display, no attempt to turn the moment into an in-your-face statement. And set against the gorgeous views of mountains, forests, and freshly-fallen snow, this tree is sentimental, feminine, and sweet, yet perfectly at home in this cozy retreat.

Burberry’s Christmas Tree for Claridge’s Hotel

Installed in the lobby of Claridge’s, this Christmas tree imagined by Daniel Lee for Burberry feels traditional but also unique. The shape is familiar with full branches, a strong vertical line, and plenty of ornamentation. But the longer you stand there, the more the details start to register. This is not a restrained tree, and it isn’t trying to be clever. It’s abundant, layered, and intentionally busy.

Fabric bows made from surplus Burberry textiles are tied throughout the branches. Bells appear again and again, catching the light as people move through the space. There’s foliage worked in alongside the ornaments, which softens the surface just enough to keep the tree from feeling stiff or overly curated. The palette stays mostly within deep greens, golds, and muted tones, which helps all that material sit together without becoming chaotic. Purple and red amaranth feel perfectly British.

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At the base, oversized chess pieces sit directly on the black-and-white marble floor. They’re graphic and sculptural, and their scale shifts the scene slightly from decoration to display. It feels playful but not precious. The chess motif adds a sense of narrative without spelling anything out. You don’t need to understand the reference for it to work. You just notice it. You can see the hand of fashion here, not in logos or obvious branding, but in the way material is handled.

What works best is how naturally the tree fits its setting. Claridge’s has hosted designer trees for years, and this one understands the assignment. It doesn’t try to shock or reinvent the format. Instead, it tightens the idea of a traditional hotel tree and pushes it through the lens of a fashion house that knows fabric, proportion, and restraint.

Food Writer Mimi Thorisson’s Turin Christmas Tree

In Mimi Thorisson’s apartment in Turin, the family Christmas tree sits slightly off to one side of the room, close to the window. Nothing has been pruned or coaxed into symmetry. Wrapped gifts sit at the base, and the space around it feels active rather than staged, even though these photos were taken for an editorial. A chair has been pulled forward. Dogs are moving through the room. Light shifts across the floor.

The ornaments are varied and clearly collected over time. Some are glass, others painted or handmade. Ribbons hang loosely instead of being tied into bows. A few pieces sit deep inside the branches, while others rest closer to the edge, almost slipping forward. There’s no attempt to balance color or repeat shapes. The effect feels cumulative rather than planned. One has the sense that ornaments were added year after year without much editing, and that choice gives the tree character.

This tree fits easily into Thorisson’s way of living. Her work centers on cooking, gathering, and routines that repeat daily, and the tree feels folded into that pattern. It isn’t set up as a focal point to be admired once. It’s there while meals are cooked, dogs wander through the room, and people move in and out of the frame. That ordinariness is what makes it lovely, cozy, and oh-so Christmasy.

Daniel Roseberry’s Cosmic Schiaparelli Christmas Tree

Set outdoors at the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira in Dubai, Daniel Roseberry’s tree for Schiaparelli feels deliberately theatrical. Not cozy. Not nostalgic. It appears as an art object first, decoration second. Hundreds of gold rods radiate outward in tight formation, catching the light from every angle. The structure looks deliberately engineered, almost architectural, with no attempt to soften the silhouette. You could argue it looks closer to an installation you’d expect at an art fair than anything traditionally associated with a Christmas tree.

At the center sits a large red heart, textured and dimensional, immediately recognizable to anyone familiar with Schiaparelli’s visual language. The contrast is stunning. Gold against red. Precision against emotion. The heart draws your eye, but the surrounding structure keeps it from tipping into sentimentality. It’s bold and slightly strange, which feels intentional. Roseberry has leaned into the house’s history of surrealism without turning it into a costume.

The inspiration for this tree traces back to Elsa Schiaparelli’s fascination with the cosmos, though the execution avoids anything literal. There are no stars or planets in the obvious sense. Instead, the rods suggest energy, motion, maybe even orbit, depending on how long you look. The lighting sharpens that effect at night, especially with the reflective base beneath it. The pool nearby doubles the image, which makes the tree feel taller and more imposing than it already is.

Happy Holidays from All of Us At DesignDash

However you choose to decorate this year, we hope your home feels welcoming, lived-in, and reflective of how you actually spend your days. Thank you for reading along with us, for supporting thoughtful design, and for making space for beauty in all its forms.

Happy Holidays from all of us at DesignDash.

Written by the DesignDash Editorial Team
Our contributors include experienced designers, firm owners, design writers, and other industry professionals. If you’re interested in submitting your work or collaborating, please reach out to our Editor-in-Chief at editor@designdash.com.