Decorating & Design
Maximalist Vs. Minimalist: Which Christmas Tree Style Are You?
Updated on November 17, 2023
Do you take a pared down approach to your Christmas tree decorating, with simple touches like twinkle lights and natural elements? Or do you adorn your tree with bursts of color, eclectic ornaments and family heirlooms?
Scroll down to see some of H&H’s most memorable maximalist and minimalist trees from the archives!
Maximalist
Candy-colored mercury ornaments, tinsel and fairy dust bring this enchanting fairytale-like tree to life.
Minimalist
This tree masters minimalism with white fairy lights that create a simple yet magical display.
Maximalist
Designer Philip Mitchell dresses up his Christmas tree with red, blue, and patterned ornaments. The Christmas gifts below are wrapped in a similar palette, creating a picture-perfect Christmas corner.
Minimalist
Vancouver stylist and store owner Heather Ross dresses up a heritage apartment with her signature coastal palette of blue and green with aged silver and pale lavender. For her holiday tree, Heather mixes mercury glass balls with clear dangling ornaments. “It looks like a tree in nature when icicles hang from it,” she explains.
Maximalist
Designer Jennifer Worts’s lively Christmas tree matches the cheery demeanor of her living room that’s filled with colorful and patterned textiles.
Minimalist
A bare, white Christmas tree blends with any room decor, and creates a winter wonderland feeling that will last beyond Christmas day.
Maximalist
By way of a contrast, this white Christmas tree is beautifully adorned with an eclectic assortment of ornaments, and pops against a vibrant blue wall.
Minimalist
This understated Christmas tree works perfectly in this modern Vancouver home. In place of colorful ornaments, natural elements like birch offcuts and pinecones evoke an enchanted forest feeling.
Maximalist
This whimsical Christmas tree is one of several maximalist trees in this magical Christmas home, and is decorated with string beans, little mice and candy canes.
Minimalist
In this charming heritage dining room, a soaring tree creates visual impact with simple fairy lights. “For Christmas, we don’t overdo it; it’s an understated display of holiday,” says homeowner and designer Cynthia Zamaria.
Maximalist
Designer Philip Mitchell’s historic cottage in Nova Scotia is out of a fairytale. The cozy living room is the perfect setting for this maximalist Christmas tree, which is adorned with locally made ornaments, string lights and poinsettias.
Minimalist
A home office is the perfect room for a low-key Christmas tree. This unassuming corner Christmas tree sits atop a wicker basket, and adds to the room’s Christmas charm and elegance.
Maximalist
This grand Victorian-era living room demands an equally grand tree. This maximalist Christmas tree is adorned from head to toe with mercury glass baubles and multicolored accents.
Minimalist
A petite tree works well in a petite space. This miniature Scandi-style Christmas tree is subtly decorated with neutral ornaments and a wooden star.
Maximalist
In Sarah Richardson’s cozy farmhouse great room, a 12-foot tree is beautifully adorned in the colors of Christmas.
Minimalist
This space-saving “Christmas tree” is a collection of fresh cedar boughs attached to a wall with clear hooks. This creates the whimsical illusion of a real Christmas tree without the added hassle!
Maximalist
While this Christmas tree might feature a neutral-hued palette, it is anything but muted. Designer Marianna Tomlenovich chose this white-flocked noble tree to tie in with her black and white home. “On the tree is a curated mix of newer and handed down vintage glass ornaments from previous generations. Inspired by our two daughters’ favorite color, we added a soft pink-colored silk garland for a little pop of color,” says Marianna.
Minimalist
Coriander Girl’s Alison Westlake dresses the tree in her rustic Prince Edward County farmhouse with vintage ornaments, pastel ribbons, twinkle lights and a dried orange-slice garland.