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Rustic Christmas Tree Ideas For a Simple, Nature Inspired Holiday

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rustic Christmas tree ideas

If you love a soft, nature inspired Christmas tree, let these rustic Christmas tree ideas influence your creativity this year! Keep reading to learn how to create a rustic Christmas tree theme inspired by the great outdoors.

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Basic Christmas Tree Themes

Did you know that there are 8 main Christmas decorating themes? It may seem like themed Christmas trees are just a random mix of colors and creative styles.

Christmas tree with rustic ornaments

But in reality, any Christmas tree that looks well put together will have at least one general theme. When Christmas product designers start on a new collection, these are the 8 main themes for Christmas trees that they use:

Because of this, when you go to shop for Christmas decorations in the store, you’ll see items from these main themes! Once you decide on a theme or two to use, it makes shopping that much more simple.

Christmas tree with rustic ornaments

Now you don’t have to stick with decorations in just one Christmas tree theme. In fact, the most creative Christmas trees will often feature elements from two or more Christmas tree themes.

But it helps to get started by focusing on one Christmas tree theme and building out your tree decorations from there.

Rustic Christmas Tree Ideas

Let’s explore one of the most beautiful themes for Christmas trees: Rustic!

Christmas tree with rustic ornaments

In general, all Christmas trees have a touch of rustic to them. Why? Because trees come from nature and nature in it’s most basic form always gives off rustic, primitive vibes. So if you love being outdoors, in nature surrounded by all of it’s beauty, then the Rustic Christmas tree theme might just be for you.

You can make your Christmas tree look rustic by decorating it with the following items:

  • Woodland, beach, primitive or antique themed ornaments & details
  • Natural fabrics such as burlap, cotton & jute
  • Floral sprays, berry garlands & dried fruits
  • Neutral colors – brown, beige, green & blue
  • Any decorations that read as “rusty”, “antique”, “woodsy”, “woodland”, “beachy”, “coastal”, “primitive”, “natural” or “nature inspired”

In short, the Rustic Christmas tree theme emphasizes trees with minimal decorations & muted shades. These nature themed Christmas trees look like they came straight from the outdoors and into your living room!

Christmas tree with rustic ornaments

There a few main sub themes to the Rustic Christmas tree theme:

  • Woodland – pine cones, acorns, leaves, mushroom, gnomes, forest animals like owls, squirrels, foxes, etc.
  • Coastal – starfish, sea shells, sand dollars, coral, drift wood, jellyfish, sea urchins, sand, etc.
  • Primitive – pine cones, acorns, leaves, dried fruit, berry sprays, minimal decor
  • Antique – decorations that look rusted, weathered or old, paired with muted colors
Rustic Christmas Tree Decor

Of course with these primitive Christmas tree ideas, you can combine rustic elements across sub themes. For example, mix woodsy animal ornaments with rusted bells and berry floral picks. Or you can stick to decorations within one sub theme. It’s up to you – let your creativity flow!

Coastal Christmas Tree Decor

Rustic Christmas trees have a calm, understated vibe with simple ornaments, soft colors and muted accents (just like you find in the woods or on the beach). Any decorations that are bold, colorful or “man made” looking will read as a different theme.

Christmas tree with rustic ornaments

Rustic Christmas Tree Styles

There are several different Christmas tree styles you can use for Rustic Christmas tree ideas.

To start, using a fresh cut, natural Christmas tree works great for the Rustic theme. Fresh Christmas trees smell amazing and already give off a natural vibe due to the slight irregularities in the branches and shape.

Also, there are several companies that make rustic looking artificial Christmas trees. These types of trees are designed to look more sparse than a traditional faux Christmas tree and are perfect for nature themed Christmas trees.

Rustic Christmas Trees

If you already have a traditional artificial Christmas tree, then it will work great for the Rustic Christmas tree theme. The fullness of the branches makes a lovely backdrop for displaying nature inspired Christmas tree ornaments, ribbon and garland.

If you like to change out your Christmas tree decorations each year, then a traditional Christmas tree will serve as a nice baseline for your designs.

Traditional Christmas Trees

Finally, flocked and frosted Christmas trees also work well for Rustic Christmas tree ideas.

Flocked Christmas trees have faux snow that covers the branches, giving it a look of a tree covered in freshly fallen snow. Frosted Christmas trees are the same, but with less faux snow. So they appear to have more of a “dusting” of snow than a flocked tree.

You can buy an artificial Christmas tree that is already flocked. Or you can buy special snow flock powder that can be used to flock a Christmas tree.

Flocked & Frosted Christmas Trees

I would avoid trees of other colors such as pinks, purples, etc for nature inspired Christmas tree ideas. This will give off more of an eclectic vibe than we’re going for.

Rustic Christmas Tree Theme Colors

What colors should you use for these primitive Christmas tree ideas? Here are some of the colors & shades that will work best for Rustic Christmas tree ideas:

  • Neutrals: light brown, dark brown, beige, taupe, camel, rusted brown, soft black & grey
  • Muted colors: sage green, hunter green, dusty blue, plum, soft burgundy, dusty pink
  • Warm shades of white: off whites, creams, ivories, pearl whites, summer whites
  • Muted metallics: antique gold, matte silver, rose gold, bronze, copper or platinum

The basic idea here is to keep you colors soft and natural looking. You can still use color, but think in terms of the colors you find in nature – red berries on holly branches, dried oranges, muted blues of the ocean, etc.

Christmas tree with rustic ornaments

Bright pops of color work too, but they will start to read as more “eclectic” rather than “rustic”.

Shiny metals are ok to use with this theme, but they will start to give off an “elegant” vibe. Stick to matte and antiqued metals for the most rustic look.

Here are some popular Christmas tree color combinations for the Rustic Christmas tree theme:

  • Sage green + off white + muted silver
  • Hunter green + bronze + matte gold
  • Dusty blue + summer white + beige
  • Soft black + dusty blue + bronze
  • Plum + antique gold + beige
Christmas tree with rustic ornaments

Shopping For Rustic Christmas Tree Decor

There’s something a bit classic and vintage about the Rustic Christmas tree theme. It has it’s roots in the early days of celebrating Christmas – when Christmas trees were very natural looking & minimally decorated.

Christmas tree with rustic ornaments

Items you find outside can work well with this theme. Shells collected from the beach, pine cones found on a walk through the woods, etc. Theses primitive Christmas tree ideas are great for crafters and those that love making DIY ornaments!

Of course, you can always buy rustic Christmas decor items at the store too. Here are some of my favorite stores for Rustic Christmas tree decorations including ornaments, toppers, skirts, ribbon, stars, etc.:

Don’t forget to shop for gently used items on sites like Poshmark, Mercari and eBay.

Christmas tree with rustic ornaments

When shopping, use the following keywords for decor items in the Rustic Christmas tree theme (for example, search “primitive Christmas tree ornaments”):

  • Natural
  • Nature
  • Nature Inspired
  • Rusted
  • Rustic
  • Antique
  • Woodland
  • Woodsy
  • Beach
  • Beachy
  • Coastal
  • Primitive

Combining Christmas Tree Themes

What other Christmas tree themes can be used with the Rustic Christmas tree theme? Here are some of the common Christmas tree theme pairings you will see:

Remember, there is no right or wrong way to decorate a Christmas tree! Whatever inspires your creativity and feels right for your space is what will work best for your tree.

Christmas tree with rustic ornaments

But if you want to your Christmas tree to look like something in a magazine or something your favorite home decor blogger designed, then you’ll want to stick with at least one Christmas tree theme.

Personally, I find this helps narrow down my options and keeps me from buying too many random things that don’t really work well together in my Christmas decor.

Christmas tree with rustic ornaments

What are your thoughts on the Rustic Christmas tree theme? I hope article series on Christmas tree themes this gives you a good starting point for creating a beautiful Christmas tree this year!

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More Christmas Tree Themes

For more info on various Christmas tree themes and decorating ideas, check out these posts:

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