Ralph Lauren Christmas Tree: 13 Ideas With Tartan Ribbon, Brass Bells and Cozy Manor Charm

A Ralph Lauren Christmas tree runs on restraint more than quantity. The house style keeps lights warm white only, leans on a classic gold and red base, and works tartan ribbon through the branches instead of tinsel, with one former stylist for the brand summing up the rule as ‘Classic ornaments like gold, red, mixing ribbon into the tree, like tartan ribbon.’

Every version below sticks to two or three shades plus a single metal, since the usual advice is to ‘Stick to 2-3 main shades plus one metallic’ rather than let the palette wander. Keep that one rule in mind while scrolling and the choice gets easy: pick the room first, then the two colours, then stop adding things.

Half of these thirteen trees are real, half are good artificials, because the manor look depends on the dressing, not the species of fir. For the rest of the room beyond the tree itself, the 34 Ralph Lauren Christmas ideas next door covers the mantel and the table, a reversible tartan tree skirt with no sewing finishes whichever tree she picks, and anyone building from scratch might start with the DIY Christmas tree ideas for a frame worth dressing up.

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Tartan and Velvet, Head to Toe

This is the look most people mean when they say Ralph Lauren: tartan ribbon worked through the branches rather than wrapped around them, velvet standing in for glass, and brass turning up wherever it would turn up in an old house. The three trees below use the same two materials in three different rooms and three different tartans, so none of them reads as a repeat of the last.

A Black Watch Noble Fir by the Fireplace

Dark panelling and a lit fireplace already do half the work here, so the tree just needs to match the room’s confidence. A full noble fir goes up floor to ceiling, dressed almost entirely in burgundy velvet balls and short lengths of Black Watch tartan ribbon tucked between the branches rather than wound around them.

Brass bells and a handful of carved wooden nutcrackers add the weight, and that is deliberately where it stops: no glass, no glitter, nothing that catches light the wrong way. The honest cost is the real tree itself and the patience to tuck forty short ribbon lengths one at a time instead of looping one long piece round and round.

A real noble fir, 7.5 feet, wearing 40 ornaments in burgundy, navy tartan and antique brass.

A Cedar and Citrus Tartan Fraser Fir at the Door

The entryway tree gets seen in coats and snow boots, never in good light, so it earns its keep through scent as much as sparkle. A Fraser fir goes up by the front door dressed in cherry red and hunter green tartan fabric balls, gold jingle bells and cream velvet bows, with dried orange slices and fresh cedar tips worked in for the smell that hits before anyone sees the tree.

Where the fireside tree stays all velvet and brass, this one leans into fruit and greenery, so the two never read as the same idea twice. The real cost is upkeep: cedar tips dry out near a draughty front door faster than they do indoors, so plan to tuck in a fresh handful partway through the season.

A real Fraser fir, 7 feet, wearing 44 ornaments in cherry red, hunter green and gold.

A Navy Tartan Pencil Tree Down the Hallway

A hallway rarely has room to spare, so this one runs slim: a pre-lit pencil tree against patterned wallpaper, wrapped in navy velvet ribbon run vertically from top to bottom instead of looped round. Ivory mercury glass balls and small brass finial ornaments fill the gaps the ribbon leaves.

The vertical ribbon trick is the whole trick: it makes a narrow tree look taller and more deliberate than it is, and it takes about ten minutes once the lights are already on. Skip anything heavy here, a slim artificial tree has thinner branch tips than a full one and will droop under real weight.

A pre-lit artificial pencil tree, 7 feet, wearing 40 ornaments in navy, ivory and brass.

Brass, Crystal and Quiet Gold

Drop the plaid and keep the polish. This pairing leans on metal and glass instead of pattern, for rooms where the tree needs to look expensive from across the room rather than cozy up close.

A Crystal and Gold Tabletop Tree for the Table

The dining room tree does not need to be large, it needs to be seen in candlelight. A tabletop artificial tree sits in a pot on the sideboard, dressed in gold mercury glass balls, hanging crystal teardrop ornaments and ivory silk ribbon bows, with a cluster of faux crystal grapes tucked low for a nod to the table below it.

It is the fastest tree in this list to dress, which is the trade-off for staying small: skip anything heavy near the top, thin branch tips on a tabletop model cannot take real weight. Keep it on the sideboard rather than the table itself, since a passing serving tray will clip it otherwise.

A pre-lit artificial tabletop tree in a pot, 4 feet, wearing 42 ornaments in gold, ivory and crystal clear.

A Smoked Glass Tree for the City Flat Window

Seen from the street through a tall window, this tree reads as a single dark silhouette with points of light rather than a mass of colour. A slim, deliberately sparse artificial tree carries smoked black glass balls, brushed brass disc ornaments and small brass lanterns, with ivory velvet balls breaking up the dark.

The gaps between branches are the point, not a flaw, so resist the urge to fill every inch. This one suits a flat with one main room more than a sprawling house, since its whole effect depends on being seen against glass at night.

A pre-lit sparse artificial tree, 6.5 feet, wearing 41 ornaments in champagne gold, black and ivory.

Flocked and Frosted Lodge

White does the work that pattern does elsewhere: a flocked or living tree in pale branches, dressed in matte and mercury so the snow reads as the decoration rather than the backdrop.

A Flocked Ivory Tree in the White Sitting Room

Against white walls and a low travertine table, the only way to register as a tree at all is texture. A flocked artificial tree in pale ivory branches carries matte ivory ball ornaments, brass sleigh bells and mercury glass snowflake ornaments, with silver velvet bows tucked in for contrast.

Flocking sheds a little onto the floor in the first week, so vacuum rather than wipe and keep this one off the main walking path, not directly beside the cashmere throw. It is the slowest tree here to settle, since flocked branches need a day to relax before the ornaments go on.

A pre-lit flocked artificial tree, 6.5 feet, wearing 41 ornaments in ivory, silver and brass.

A Potted Living Spruce in the Sunroom

Among the plants and the big windows, a living potted spruce barely needs an introduction, so it gets dressed lightly: brass bells, cream velvet bow clusters, eucalyptus pick sprays and dried cotton stems, with a few brass bird clip ornaments perched where the light hits.

A sunroom is the easiest room in the house for this tree, since the bright indirect light it already has is exactly what a living spruce needs to get through the season. Plan to water it like any other potted plant, and to move it outdoors again once the holidays end rather than treating it as disposable.

A real potted living spruce, 5 feet, wearing 42 ornaments in sage green, cream and brass.

Equestrian Clubroom and Polo Bears

Ralph Lauren owns two mascots, more or less: the stable and the teddy bear in a sweater. Both get a tree of their own here, so the heritage props stay specific instead of generic plaid.

A Hunter Green Pencil Tree Between the Bookshelves

Fitted into the gap between two bookshelves, a slim pencil tree borrows the room’s own props: brass horse-head and stirrup ornaments, cognac faux-leather ball ornaments and a hunter green velvet ribbon woven through the branches, with brass bells at the ends.

This is the one tree here that pulls its motif straight from the room instead of from a decorations aisle, and it is worth seeking out the equestrian figures specifically rather than settling for plain balls. Keep anything delicate off the lower third, since a hand reaching for a book will brush past it more than once a day.

A pre-lit artificial pencil tree, 6 feet, wearing 41 ornaments in hunter green, cognac and brass.

A Teddy Bear Tree in the Bedroom Corner

Beside the bed, the tree gets to be the one place in the house that is allowed to be a little sentimental. A small potted fir carries mini teddy bear ornaments in cable-knit sweaters, brass star ornaments, cream velvet balls and camel velvet mini bows, with a ticking-stripe ribbon woven through.

The teddy bears are where it is worth spending, since they are the detail that makes the corner feel collected rather than ordered online last week. Skip any bear ornament over four inches, the bigger ones pull a small potted tree off balance.

A real potted fir, 3 feet, wearing 41 ornaments in navy, camel and cream.

Farmhouse and Kitchen Heritage

Smaller trees, closer to where the cooking happens, built from things a well-stocked pantry already owns: dried fruit, cinnamon, copper, and the odd wooden spoon.

A Rust and Cinnamon Tree on the Kitchen Counter

Tucked into a corner of the counter, this small tree is built almost entirely from the pantry: dried pomegranate ornaments, cinnamon stick bundle picks and rust-toned mercury glass balls, finished with brass bells.

Keep it away from the stove itself. Cinnamon bundles mellow fast near real heat and lose their scent within a week, which defeats the point of using them at all, so a cooler stretch of counter works better than one near the burners.

A pre-lit tabletop artificial tree, 3 feet, wearing 41 ornaments in rust, cream and brass.

A Copper and Olive Fir on the Open Shelf

On open shelving above the counters, a small real fir carries kitchen-specific ornaments instead of generic baubles: copper bells, mini wooden spoon ornaments and mini rolling pin ornaments, with cream berry picks and dusted pinecones filling the gaps.

Anchor the pot well, open shelving is narrower than a floor stand and the tree has less to brace against. Keep the utensil ornaments on the top two thirds, so nobody reaching past for a mug knocks one to the floor.

A real fir in a pot, 4 feet, wearing 41 ornaments in olive, copper and cream.

Petite and Narrow Spaces

Not every home has a corner for a seven foot fir. These two keep every element of the look at a smaller scale, proof that restraint was always going to suit a narrow hallway or a one-room flat.

A Chocolate and Gold Tree for the One-Room Flat

One room has to do everything, so the tree has to earn its corner without taking over it. A slim artificial tree carries mini tartan fabric bow ornaments, gold bell ornaments and a generous run of chocolate velvet balls in two sizes.

Three colours exactly keeps a small tree from reading as busy in a room already doing double duty as a living room, office and everything else. Skip a tree skirt in a tight corner, a folded blanket underneath does the same job for nothing.

A pre-lit slim artificial tree, 6 feet, wearing 41 ornaments in chocolate brown, cream and gold.

A Vertical Ribbon Tree on the Landing

Seen mostly from below as people climb the stairs, this tree is built to read well from an angle. A real narrow fir carries ivory velvet ribbon run vertically from top to bottom, with brass bells, cranberry berry picks, bottle green velvet balls and a few dried branch sprays.

Weight the bottom third heavier than usual and let the top stay sparser, since that is the part passing eyes actually meet on the way up. The vertical ribbon trick takes about ten minutes once the lights are already strung, which makes this one of the quicker trees here despite the tall, narrow spot it has to fill.

A real narrow fir, 7 feet, wearing 41 ornaments in bottle green, cranberry and brass.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a Christmas tree look Ralph Lauren?

The look comes down to a short list: warm white lights only, a classic palette built on gold and red, and tartan worked through the branches rather than piled on top. One former Ralph Lauren employee describes the decorating as centering on ‘Classic ornaments like gold, red, mixing ribbon into the tree, like tartan ribbon.’ Everything else, from brass bells to teddy bears, is an accent on that base, not a replacement for it.

What colors go with a Ralph Lauren Christmas tree?

Most versions settle on two or three main colors plus a single metallic, pulling from combinations like tartan with gold and evergreen, or navy with gold and cream. The usual rule is to ‘Stick to 2-3 main shades plus one metallic,’ which keeps the tree from looking busy no matter which palette you pick.

Should the lights be warm white or multicolored?

Warm white, always. The stylists who work on this look are blunt about it, insisting on ‘Always warm white lights, no colored lights.’ Cool or multicolored strings flatten the velvet and tartan the whole aesthetic depends on.

Can an artificial tree still get the Ralph Lauren look?

Yes, and several of the trees people photograph for this style are artificial. Decorators note that ‘Even with an artificial tree, Konrad recommends adding fresh elements for texture and authenticity.’ A few picks of real cedar or pine tucked among the branches does the job without a live tree’s upkeep.

How many ornaments should go on a Ralph Lauren tree?

Fewer than you would think. The approach ‘centers on thoughtful layering rather than an abundance of ornaments’ rather than filling every gap, so a tree with visible branch between ornaments reads as more considered than one packed solid.

What ribbon should I use, tartan or velvet?

Both, layered rather than chosen between. The trick decorators use is to ‘Layer two ribbons together: e.g. velvet + tartan, navy satin + gold grosgrain.’ Cut each into short lengths and tuck them into the branches instead of draping one long piece down the front.