“The holidays may be the craziest time of year but they are by far my favorite time of the year! Inspiration can be found anywhere and everywhere from catalogs in the mailbox to your neighbors Christmas lights.” -Anne Mancuso
The rush of the holiday season is in full gear and Anne Mancuso will be the first to admit she is officially in a “holidaze.” Each year, Anne decks out Cantoni’s flagship Dallas showroom with fun and festive holiday displays and is especially infamous for her tricked out Christmas trees. Now, if there is one thing to know about Anne, it’s that she has a long standing tradition of secrecy when it comes to her holiday displays. So when we asked Anne the big question on everyone’s mind, “what’s the Christmas tree going to be this year?” we weren’t surprised to find out that she was keeping mum on this year’s tree…
Although Anne may be keeping this year’s tree and holiday display a secret, she’s sharing a few of her favorite trees from Christmas’ past that you can do at home this year!
Painted Trees
If your tree is tired or you are simply tired of your tree, pick a color, any color and spray until you can’t spray anymore! Before anyone had seen an upside down tree, Cantoni made it happen! This tree actually started Anne’s tradition of going big at the holidays. Not only was this tree hanging from the ceiling in the entry of our Dallas showroom, but Anne and her team had also painted it purple! Back then, trees were not available in colors but after a few attempts, Anne cracked the code. 30 cans of spray paint later, Anne had reawakened her tired tree into an eye-catching work of art.
Anne’s Tips: Since you’ll be going through quite a few cans, I recommend an eco-friendly spray paint along with a snap on adaptor, or spray paint gun. For just a few dollars, it will help with smoother application and will save your fingers from cramping.
Heavy Metal Band
This tree is decorated using traditional metallic colors, a seemingly obvious choice; however by using traditional colors in a nontraditional way, Anne gave this Christmas tree the contemporary holiday vibe it needed. In the case of this tree, the trick was using a banding method for the decorations.
Anne’s Tips: Keep like colored ornaments together and affixed to your tree to create a bold stripe. You can also use one color to make a swirl. Be sure to leave some negative space (empty) tree in between your bands of color for a truly stunning effect.
Unconventional Holiday Hues
Using colors not associated with the holidays is one way to give your tree some edge. Any color or color combination will work for the holidays, as long as it’s in line with your tree, ornaments, garland, and all the other “traditional” Christmas essentials. Anne took a very traditional white flocked tree and kicked it up a notch with unconventional holiday hues.
Anne’s Tips: Match your existing interior color scheme for a custom look. If you can’t find the right colored ornaments, spray paint old ones, like we did our yellow tree. You do not need a ton and can use metals or natural colors as fillers.
Modern
Minimal clean lines and simple colors make for an authentically modern holiday tree. Sticking to basic elements in simple shapes will elegantly convey your holiday spirit. Here, Anne created a monotone white tree elegantly styled with pearly colored ornaments and burned out light bulbs. According to Anne, just last year when she created this tree, she and the rest of the Cantoni team made the environmentally conscious decision to switch to LED light bulbs.
Anne’s Tips: Consider an aluminum or all-white flocked tree with simple glass ornaments in one color.
We want to hear from you! Share pictures of your Christmas tree with us using the hashtag #TrickedOutTrees and you just might see it featured as one of our favorites on our Facebook and/or Instagram accounts! And while you’re at it, be sure you’re connected and following us on Twitter, Pinterest, and Houzz for even more holiday inspiration!