I’ve been dying to share this feature with you for a while now. I was so excited when Style At Home Magazine asked me to take part in their annual Christmas Tree Challenge. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. You may remember that I was one of their stylist at home in their June issue, but I never dreamt that they’d actually ask me to take part in their Christmas Tree challenge.
Of course I had to say YES and start looking for the perfect dress to wear for the shoot. I was told to wear something glamorous and Christmassy, so I opted for my favourite dark blue lace dress. The shoot took place in August in the most fabulous location house in South East London. It was a rented family home, but the entire house was just so chic and quirky. You could even see the Shard from their upstairs balcony!
I was so excited to find out that I was decorating a real Christmas tree for Matalan when I arrived. I didn’t really expect their decorations to be such a good quality. The designs were beautiful and amazing value for money. I loved all the pastel and pale green baubles, plus the sequin colour-change cushion. I also fell in love with their giant nutcracker. It’s huge and I love that Matalan have such a great selection of nutcrackers this yet. By the way, I thought decorating a real Christmas tree is a lot harder than decorating an artificial one. The branches can’t take too much weight and they are not symmetrical, so balancing ornaments can be challenging. Luckily I learned some new tricks and I can’t wait to get a real Christmas tree for our house (maybe even this year).
The whole experience was just incredible. I was feeling a little anxious first (I’m not exactly a natural in front of the camera) but the entire Style At Home team made me feel so comfortable. Professional hair and make-up and a super photographer obviously helped! It was so fascinating to see the behind the scenes of an interior magazine shoot too. This experience has given me so many new ideas and aspirations you wouldn’t believe.
I also met a fellow blogger, Mrs Rackley Home, who was styling a tree for Tesco on the day. You need to check out her amazing blog! She is the most organised lady I have ever met.
The December issue is in the shops now, so do grab a copy if you get a chance. 8 amazing retailers took part this year so you’ll see 8 very differently styled Christmas trees. I couldn’t pick a favourite if I tried. I love them all for very different reasons.
Let me know what you think?!
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