Inspired by the enduring beauty of the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, Balsam Hill’s latest line of Christmas décor lets you deck the halls in timeless elegance. Watch the video to learn how Biltmore’s vision was translated into holiday décor you can enjoy in your home.
The Vanderbilt home was first opened to guests on Christmas Eve of 1895. Today, Biltmore continues the family’s tradition of gracious hospitality and passion for Christmas. Every room in the house is lavishly decorated as the season approaches each year.
We invited a few of our friends to stay at The Inn on Biltmore Estate to showcase their creativity and style by decorating Balsam Hill trees with the new Biltmore collection. Here are four Christmas tree looks to inspire you as you decorate your own.
Courtney of French Country Cottage
“I chose an all-gold theme to show off the details and elegance of the collection,” says Courtney. The Biltmore Spruce Tree’s full profile and dark foliage highlights the rich colors and intricate details of the ornaments, embellished ribbon, and glittery leaf picks. Courtney’s design was inspired by her stay at the Inn. “It is quite charming and is nestled in beautiful mountains and countryside,” she says. A closer look at the glass ornaments, glittered leaf picks, and thick velvet ribbon with beading and crystals. A design pro tip: Tuck ornaments inside a bit farther to fill in areas to create depth and add the longer drops and finials a little farther out on the outer branches. Make your Christmas tree sparkle with mouth-blown glass ornaments from Biltmore Legacy Ornament Set.
“Group ornaments in twos or threes to create a bit more impact than one all by itself”
Courtney was inspired by the inn’s charm and the beauty of its surrounding mountains and countryside. She chose a monochromatic gold color palette to highlight the intricate details of the ornaments. She kept the look simple yet elegant, sticking to the tree’s natural silhouette. When decorating, Courtney says it’s a good idea to look for details that strike you then build a design around them.
Robin of All Things Heart and Home
“A simple go-to for a tree topper would be using picks to create burst at the top of the tree,” says Robin. “I wired five of the finial ornaments with several of the gorgeous magnolia picks.” Robin decorated her lifelike tree with the Biltmore Legacy Burgundy Ornament Set, the show-stopping gilded ribbon, and the elegant beaded tree skirt that added the perfect finishing touch. “When I decorate my home for Christmas, I want to evoke a feeling,” Robin adds. “Using both burgundy and gold evokes an air of subtle elegance.”
“Use two complementing colors or a single color for more effect.”
Robin’s goal was to evoke a magical feeling. She used the burgundy and gold ornaments to add subtle elegance to the tree. Her favorite part was fluffing the branches to give it fullness and shape. The tree was topped off with a striking arrangement of magnolia picks and finials, which Robin had fallen in love with. She adds that a show-stopping ribbon would make a great tree topper alternative.
Christy and Amy of 11 Magnolia Lane
They used Biltmore Legacy Base Ornament Set around the tree and wove in the complementing Biltmore Gilded Ribbon between the branches. “The collection is thoughtful—great attention to quality and detail,” describes Christy. Christy and Amy decorated their Biltmore Spruce Tree with a white and gold color scheme. “Balsam Hill trees are very realistic and lifelike. We’ve used them before and they’re really fast to set up,” they share.
“Focus on one particular element like a ribbon, a feather, or an ornament, then use them throughout the tree.”
For Christy and Amy, enjoying the decorating process itself is important. They found that decorating was easy with the thoughtful designs, attention to detail, and quality of the collection. The Biltmore Spruce’s realism and ease of set-up is a great example. They chose an all-gold theme from the ornaments to the ribbon and the bouquet of acanthus picks they used to top the tree.
Shelby of Pretty in the Pines
Shelby started decorating her 6-foot Biltmore Spruce Tree with neutral golds and whites then added in a pop of color using burgundy ornaments. “The entire collection is magical,” she says. “The merlot tones and elegant embellished gold ornaments couldn’t be more perfect for the Biltmore.” You can’t go wrong with subtle use of gold ornaments to create an elegant look. Shelby used the Biltmore Legacy Enhancement Ornament Set to set off the rich burgundy color against the more neutral golds and creams.
“Begin with richly textured neutrals and add in pops of color.”
Shelby used the contrasts of color as the main component to her design. She mixed burgundy ornaments with gold and white ones. She then added texture with a gilded ribbon cascading from floral picks set on top of the tree. Shelby advises not to get caught up with rules and to be open to trying new things. Her tip: “There are so many ways to use ribbon, top the tree, and even hang ornaments, so you shouldn’t feel confined to one specific look. If it doesn’t look right, you can always change it!”
Visit our site for the complete Biltmore collection and share how you’ve styled them in the comments!
Video transcriptionLizzie Borchers: There’s a lot of things that you think of when you think of Biltmore Estate. The lifestyle, the luxury and I think those are the same things that anyone thinks of when you think of Balsam Hill. They’re really that same top tier quality.
Joslyn Kelly: We’re bringing in more like a natural look with the Balsam. It’s also bringing a kind of modern flair that I think is with the times, so we’re encompassing both the history as well as what our guests would like to see which is both how the Vanderbilts enjoyed the estate and then how we can enjoy it today as well.
Kyla Dana: The quality of Balsam Hill products and the quality of Biltmore and bringing those two things together and people can bring that quality home is a great thing.
Mary Quirk: The thought of having a company that can customize things for us, that can help us to capture what we’re trying to portray, I think it seems like a dream come true.
Lizzie: I love about this partnership that we’re able to share with the guests who come to this house just a little bit of what it is that we do. The guests get so excited about the floral that they see, the trees that they see, and oftentimes they’re asking us, “Where can we get that? Where can we have that for ourselves?” I think that this really gives our guests an opportunity to have at home what they see here.
[00:01:23] [END OF AUDIO]
1 Comment
I love the elegance real Christmas trees well designed.