When I was a kid, my mom would get all twisted up over how to decorate our Christmas tree. She'd buy lights and ribbon and ornaments, set them all up on the floor of our living room, and then not know where to start.
We'd end up with an oasis of white-on-white fuzzy stuff that looked like it had been stolen from an Alaskan snow bunny's photo shoot. My poor mom!
If only she'd known about color wheels—those handy guides that show you how to choose colors that work together well. Nowadays, I use them all the time when organizing a room or planning out my outfits for work.
But did you know they're also great for helping you plan out your holiday decorations? They can help you create stunning displays without having to hire an interior designer (which is what we should be doing instead of wasting money on presents anyway).
I've created one for Christmas trees here:
A Christmas tree color wheel means an organized, gorgeous display.
A color wheel is a handy tool for choosing the right colors for your holiday decorating. It's easy to use and can help you create a gorgeous display.
- Select two or three of your favorite hues from the color wheel and find matching decorations to match them. Then, mix in complementary colors that are opposite on the wheel. If you want your Christmas tree to have white lights and green branches, pick shades of those colors from your wheel and add touches of red, yellow and blue—which will complement both white lights and green branches. If you're going with more traditional red-and-green colors (or just one primary hue), incorporate other hues like pink, purple or orange into your decorating scheme so everything doesn't look too monochromatic.* Use light bulbs instead of candles on top of your Christmas tree if possible—it will give it an extra bit of sparkle without all those flames!
Choose a style.
Next, you will want to choose a style of tree. The most common types of trees are classic and modern.
- A classic tree has more symmetrical branches and tends to have more delicate ornaments. A classic Christmas tree should have vibrant colors such as red, gold, green and silver so that it stands out in the room where it is displayed.
- Modern trees tend to be asymmetrical in shape with lots of interesting angles and curves that help add visual interest to the room they are displayed in. They also tend to have larger ornaments placed on them which can make them look more “busy” than a classic-style tree if too many are used at once!
Figure out main colors.
For a more harmonious tree, you'll want to choose a color scheme. This can be hard at first because you don't have anything to work with yet. But it will become easier once you figure out your main colors and then find complementary ones.
If this is your first time decorating for Christmas, I recommend choosing a theme that's easy to achieve. For example, if your favorite holiday movie is Elf and you have access to all of the same materials used in it (highly unlikely), then go for it.
However, if those things aren't available or affordable right now or even possible try looking at winter images found on Google Images or Pinterest instead.
These websites usually show off images from multiple winters that are related somehow like snowflake patterns with reds/greens/blues so they're perfect inspiration fodder!
Organize secondary colors.
A secondary color is any color that's between the main color and its opposite. For example, red-orange is a secondary color because it's between red and orange; green-blue is another example of a secondary color, as it sits between green and blue.
Using multiple shades of each primary or secondary hue can create cohesion in your design scheme while still allowing you to use various hues throughout your space.
Mix textures with lights and bulbs.
To create a cohesive look, mix your lights and bulbs. When you're starting out, it's easiest to pick one type of bulb (ornaments, for example) and then stick with that style throughout the tree. Once you've mastered that, mix things up a bit.
- Use lighting of different shapes (round vs. square)
- Use lighting of different sizes: larger bulbs or sets of smaller ones
- Use lighting in different colors: reds and greens can easily blend into each other but will be more visible if there are enough differences between them. If they're too close to each other on the color wheel, they may blend together too much!
- Make sure there is variation in brightness: don't just go from dimly lit to super bright because this can be overwhelming on the eyes when people walk into your home after dark! Add some soft lighting as well as brighter ones so people aren't blinded by their first glance at your tree!
Decorate with color.
A color wheel is a tool for organizing your Christmas tree decorations. It helps you visualize and plan your tree decorating.
It helps you create a cohesive look, so that all the colors of your decorations go together well. And best of all, it helps you use your favorite colors!
Use color to showcase favorite Christmas ornaments.
Color is a great way to showcase your favorite Christmas ornaments.
For example, if you have a blue-and-silver tree, you can place silver stars and snowflakes in the blue areas of the color wheel. If one side of your tree is red, place red ornaments there.
Use colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel let's say green and yellow to fill in any empty spaces left over after filling in colors with similar tones and shades of each color.
Color wheels help you visualize and plan your tree decorating for maximum impact and minimum stress.
A color wheel is a helpful tool for planning your Christmas tree decorating. They help you visualize and plan your tree decorating for maximum impact and minimum stress.
A lot of people think that the color wheel is just useful for designing clothes, but it’s actually super useful when you want to decorate your Christmas tree too! Color wheels help you find the right colors for your tree, organize them, and even pick out new ornaments that fit in well with your existing decorations.
Conclusion
Color wheels are a great way to get started with your Christmas tree decoration. Using this technique will make sure that you have the right colors in place, and the combinations of lights, ornaments and other decorations will help bring out the best in each other.
You can also use these wheels to create holiday color palettes for other decorations like wreaths or garlands around your home.
