A Kitchen Tree For Christmas

Our kitchen tree basking in the morning light of winter

Photo: Chronica Domus

Like many of you, I eagerly anticipate the annual ritual and excitement that revolves around decorating the Christmas tree.  It is one of the highlights of the season in our household.  Each year I seek inspiration from not only the room in which it is to be placed, but also from the existing colors and objects within that room.  Once a spark of inspiration is aglow in my mind's eye, I never quite know where it might take me.  If you've read my previous post, you will know that I have already decorated our well-loved goose feather tree, also seen here and here.

I have missed decorating an actual evergreen tree these past two Christmases as my family and I have been far from home for the holidays.  This year, however, I was determined to return to tradition, albeit a tradition with a slight twist.  You see, not only is our tree the smallest we have decorated in recent times, but it has also been placed in the kitchen, a first for us.  And, why not?  After all we do find ourselves spending much time in the kitchen either cooking, drinking our morning coffee, or dining casually at the old pine table.  Why shouldn't we enhance the space with a little festive flourish?

My daughter Patience and I began our decorating endeavors by studding navel oranges with fragrant cloves to make pomanders.  I remember making these with my own mother and only wish we had then discovered the benefits of a simple bamboo skewer to hasten our workload.

 A bamboo skewer is a most helpful tool when studding a bowlful of oranges with cloves

Photo: Chronica Domus

Patience and I set the pomanders upon the shelves of the hanging plate rack, nestled among clippings of fresh spruce and pine.  Ah, it's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas!

As we greatly enjoy snacking on citrus fruits during the winter months, our kitchen is never without a bowl brimming with brightly hued mandarin oranges.

An enormous English ironstone bowl filled with the season's best fruits, juicy mandarin oranges

Photo: Chronica Domus

With so much orange dotted about the kitchen, surely the tree must get in on the act too.  Rounding up all the vintage glass ornaments I could find in assorted fruit, nut, berry, and basket shapes, a tree befitting our working kitchen rapidly took form.

Amber, orange, green, and silver were the predominant colors of this year's Christmas tree
Photo: Chronica Domus

By adhering to a color scheme of amber, orange, green, and silver, the finished tree reflects the colors of the nearby citrus fruit and its foliage.  I added silver to pick up on the polished nickel hardware on the bank of drawers, upon which our diminutive tree rests.

Pine cones are a particularly loved ornament shape I enjoy collecting, and this petite orange example is a color not often found among them

Photo: Chronica Domus 

A green glass snoozing cat in a slipper marks the occasion of Norton's first Christmas
Photo: Chronica Domus

I crowned our pint-sized kitchen tree with a festive vintage orange and white striped ribbon reminiscent of those hard candy ribbons one sees for sale around Christmastime.  This one, of course, is calorie free.

One of the reasons I was drawn to this particular evergreen tree was because of its log stand which the nurseryman thoughtfully and, I believe, so stylishly provided. Woodsy and appropriate for such a little sapling, it reminds me of those decadent chocolate yule logs my mother reliably sourced from our local baker each December.

A tree stand reminiscent of a chocolate yule log, perfect for a tree befitting the kitchen

Photo: Chronica Domus

A surprise awaits those curious enough to cast their eyes upon the log stand.  If you look very carefully, you shall spy an elusive woodland creature at rest:

An old mercury glass deer reclines atop it's woodland resting spot

Photo: Chronica Domus

Surrounded by freshly clipped greenery, and placed upon one of our everyday porcelain kitchen platters, I think this year's Christmas kitchen tree looks particularly festive.  It certainly helps brighten up an otherwise utilitarian space.  Now, why have I not thought of putting up a tree in the kitchen before I wonder?

Photo: Chronica Domus

Even the old Douglas fir floorboards of our kitchen coordinate with the orange tones of our tree

Photo: Chronica Domus

One final touch remains.  No Christmas tree is worth its salt without at least one present beneath it. This year, I am placing a special surprise for Patience in this charming flocked yule log candy container.  The container itself was handmade in France and sold at one of San Francisco's little hidden treasures, Bellocchio.  I was lucky enough to have purchased several such whimsical containers over the years from this beguiling establishment.  Sadly, the artisan that supplied them to Bellocchio has closed their small atelier upon retirement. In a world swamped with mass-produced tat and frippery, it grieves me to know that this annonymous artist's skills have been lost to the passage of time.  It also makes me cherish my whimsical little candy boxes just a bit more for of it.

Shhh... can you keep a secret?  A Christmas surprise awaits Patience, hidden within this whimsical yule log candy container

Photo: Chronica Domus

Norton proved himself of little help when it came to the decoration of our kitchen tree preferring instead to frolic in a wicker basket 

Photo: Chronica Domus

Now that our decorations are in place, it is time to relax and enjoy the upcoming festivities with family and friends. We've awakened to the sight of shimmering frost upon lawns and neighboring rooftops these past several mornings.  It's finally feeling like a proper winter around here.  

I wish you all a relaxing and peaceful holiday season and a healthy dose of good cheer to tide you over into the coming year.

Merry Christmas one and all!

CD