Decorating a Tree Without Overloading It — The Numbers That Work

A 1.5 m tree takes about twenty baubles without looking crowded. At 1.8 m you need thirty before the gaps stop showing, and at 2 m about forty. Those numbers assume mid-sized baubles, around 6 cm: with 8 cm balls you need a third fewer, with 4 cm a third more.

The instinct is to hang everything at the tips of the branches, where it is easy. The result is a decorated shell around a black interior. Put a third of the baubles DEEP, near the trunk: they are not seen directly, they bounce the light back, and they give the tree its thickness.

And if you are short of baubles, concentrate rather than spread. A tree dense across its top two thirds and bare below reads as a choice; the same baubles spread evenly reads as a shortage.

In the shop: Shiny Baubles 6 cm — Set of 24 and Scene Tree Skirt — Village Pattern.

A set of identical baubles gives a flat surface. Contrast in finish is what creates depth under light: a shiny ball returns a sharp point of light, a matte one returns a soft patch, and the eye reads the difference as distance.

Colour matters less than people think, because the lights decide everything. Gold or copper baubles lose their colour under multicolour lights and keep it under warm white. So choose the light first, the baubles second.

The plastic stand stays visible all December, under a branch that does not quite cover it. It is the first thing guests see from the sofa, at eye level, and it is the only part of the display nobody chose.

Measure the stand before buying a skirt. A 120 cm model overhangs a side table and folds down, which shows more than the stand it was meant to hide. For a small tree placed up high, a 90 cm skirt or a pre-decorated table tree works better.

One last call: if the tree is busy, take a plain skirt; if it is plain, take a patterned one. Two elements competing cancel each other out.

A topper that is too small disappears, one that is too heavy bends the tip. The simple rule: it should not exceed a tenth of the tree's height, and it should leave five to ten centimetres of air below the ceiling, or the tree looks wedged in.

A projecting light star does two jobs: it marks the high point and it lights the ceiling, which makes the room feel larger at night. It is the only part of the tree that decorates something other than the tree.

Lights first, spiralling from the top down. Topper next, while you can still reach the tip without crushing baubles. Baubles third, largest low and smallest high. Skirt last, once the tree is in place and the water reservoir filled.

Adding lights to an already decorated tree forces the wire over the baubles, and the wire shows. That is the mistake that has people stripping the tree on 15 December.