Advent Blog – Day 6

Making Space for the Tree

The first weekend of December is when we usually put up the Christmas tree. The thing is, our house doesn’t really have a spare place for the Christmas tree so this involves moving furniture around before the tree can go up.

(I know this isn’t urgent on my list but we we all really wanted the tree up so the house can start to feel like Christmas.)

Size Matters (when it comes to Christmas Trees)

If you are ever buying a Christmas tree for a modest room then consider carefully its size. My parents used to have the most beautiful Christmas tree and I’d have loved to have it when they longer wanted it, but it is not just tall, it’s really wide at the base. Consequently it needs lots of breathing room.

Our Christmas tree was was carefully chosen and so is actually reasonably narrow at the base but, even so, it still needs a reasonable floor space.

Flexibility from Built-ins that are moveable

My solution to the space issue is to move furniture around. We have some furniture along one wall that looks to be completely built-in. However, I have central section made as a freestanding unit.

At Christmas this unit gets moved to sit along a different wall. It’s a little too large which is why a smaller ottoman is normally in this position. When the two items get swapped they leave enough space for the tree.

At this stage my delegation worked well as my husband moved the furniture around then my girls decorated the tree.

My final bit of advice

If you’re designing or remodelling a room and planning built-in furniture, just take a moment to consider whether you might want the flexibility that comes from having pieces that can be moved.

And if you need some ideas for trees for small spaces then pinterest is full of ideas. Here are a few of mine to get you started.