A 7-foot tree in an apartment takes up around 16 square feet, blocks a window and drops needles into the couch for a month. A well-placed 3-foot tree gives you most of the feeling for a fraction of the space.
With small trees, the footprint matters more than the height. A “small” tree with a 30-inch base still takes over a studio. Measure your corner before you shop.
Types of small tree
Tabletop, 18 to 24 inches. (Example (on Amazon).) About 12 to 18 inches across, so it fits on a sideboard, a shelf or the dining table. Use tiny ornaments, around an inch, and one 20-light strand. In a studio, this plus a wreath on the door is a complete Christmas.
A 3-foot floor tree (on Amazon). The sweet spot for most apartments. It sits on the floor, looks like a proper tree and takes up 24 to 30 inches, about the space of a bar stool. Tall enough for a topper, quick to decorate. In a room with 8-foot ceilings it keeps the proportions right.
A 4-foot pencil tree (on Amazon). Full height, but only 20 to 24 inches across. It fits between a bookshelf and the wall, next to the TV, or by the door where nothing else goes. Decorate it vertically, with ribbon spiraling down and icicle ornaments, and don’t try to make it look full.
A half tree. Flat on the back, so it sits against the wall. A 4-foot half tree needs only 12 to 15 inches of depth instead of 24 or more. From the front you can’t tell; from the side it’s obvious, so only use it where the side isn’t on show.
A potted live tree. A Norfolk pine, dwarf Alberta spruce or a rosemary shaped like a tree, 1 to 3 feet tall. The pot adds 6 to 8 inches to the footprint. Water it like a houseplant and it lasts well past Christmas. Keep the decorations light, a few wooden ornaments and one short string of lights; heat and weight stress a living tree.
What it stands in
A basket. Put the stand inside a woven basket 2 to 4 inches wider than the stand and 10 to 14 inches tall. It looks deliberate and the rest of the year it holds throws or a plant.
A collar. Metal, wood or woven (on Amazon), 20 to 28 inches for a small tree. Collars come apart flat, so they take up much less closet space than a basket. Galvanized (on Amazon) looks farmhouse, natural wood looks Scandinavian, matte black looks modern.
Buying and placing it
Pre-lit is usually worth it. A 3-foot pre-lit tree has 70 to 100 lights and usually costs only $10 to $20 more than an unlit one, which is less than buying the lights separately, and wrapping a small tree is fiddly. Under 50 lights on a 3-footer looks sparse. Check whether one dead section takes out the whole tree.
Angle it into a corner. Set diagonally into a corner, a 3-foot tree uses about 4 square feet of space that wasn’t doing anything. Flat against a wall, the same tree feels twice as big. Before you commit, stand in the spot, hold your arms out to the tree’s width and walk your usual routes. If you have to step around it, it’s the wrong place.
In January
Keep the original box. A 3-foot tree’s box is about 36 by 10 by 10 inches and designed to fit the pieces exactly; it slides under a bed or stands in a closet. If the box is gone, a 30-gallon tote works, with the ornaments bagged separately and the tote clearly labeled.