Christmas is zooming towards us, and as a yuletide-loving apartment dweller, my eyes are always peeled for small-space decorations — and recently, this £33 sleek tree-shaped wall hanging from Robert Dyas has caught my attention.
Crafted in sturdy iron, the triangular Gunnar Wall Tree is a much sleeker take on IKEA’s always-popular Vinterfint wall-hung alternative Christmas tree — a blank canvas of cross-hatched pine wood which can be transformed into a festive marvel with everything from baubles to mini paper gift bags and even styled as an Advent calendar.
Retailing at just £10, IKEA’s offering is naturally an annual sell-out, but I feel like this more luxurious metal alternative is so much sleeker and fit for a modern home like mine. The same design has already sold out at La Redoute (where I originally discovered it), but don't worry, I've found it stocked elsewhere (and on sale!), so I'd advise adding to cart, like, right now.
Rising 112cm and stretching 77cm wide, this streamlined tree wall hanging offers a modern way to display festive decorations in small spaces. A handful of hooks are included for a minimal display across five tiers, but you could easily bulk out the selection with your own extra bauble hooks, by attaching some foliage, or twirling some string lights around the horizontal bars.
Collect 24 paper bags to create your own advent calendar alternative, or why not swap out the hooks entirely and use pegs to display your Christmas cards in a graceful way?
If you weren't quick enough, or it feels a little too contemporary for your taste, I've also found some other alternatives to shop below.
At just £10, there are no downsides to this festive IKEA staple. Crafted in the brand’s quintessential pine wood, with 24 sturdy hooks, it’s the perfect base for a DIY advent calendar, or why not spruce it up with some baubles and seasonal decor? You can be as minimalist or maximalist as you like. Plus, the flexible crosshatch design means you can stretch Vinterfint horizontally to the width you desire, making it a solid choice for any and all small spaces year after year.
If you love a neutral base, nkuku’s Mala tree gives yuletide a charming twist. Tactile woven jute is wrapped around the naturalistic branches, ideal for hanging baubles in whatever shapes and sizes your heart desires. Free-standing, it’s available in three sizes, from a table-top decoration all the way up to 5ft!
nkuku is actually a great place to go to for alternative Christmas trees. The brand also stocks this wire tree (also available in a small and large size), which taps into the twig tree trend we're seeing this Christmas, without feeling too specifically festive.
For a more natural-looking spruce alternative, I love this pre-decorated festive tree ladder by Dibor. At 85cm tall, nine branches are arranged like a ladder, climbing up to a wooden star. It’s an effortless alternative Christmas tree for small spaces, and could be hung anywhere in the home that you have a blank wall, be that in the kitchen or dining room when you tuck into your roast dinner, so you can feast your eyes as well as your stomach.
For anyone bedecking a more compact space with festive ornaments, this 6ft half Christmas tree is a no-brainer. Sitting flush against the wall, it takes up half the space of a traditional fir (just 45cm front to back), and since it is pre-lit with 120 warm white lights, you won’t have any of the untangling fuss of normal string lights.
If you’ve got an empty surface to play with, take a look at this free-standing pine wood Christmas tree. With a string zigzagging up the 100cm height (with a smaller 60cm version also available), attach seasonal cards with wooden pegs, baubles with tree hooks, or weave foliage through each link. Exuding Scandi minimalism, it’s primed to sit atop a sideboard, beside a fireplace, or in the entrance hall of the house. And for an extra glow, there’s also a light-up version.
From sleek wall hangings to sneaky half-trees, these Christmas tree alternatives prove small spaces can still embrace the festive season with pizazz. And if you’re hosting over the holiday season, our comprehensive guide to small space hosting has you covered.