The Fairmont Banff Springs always rolls out its holiday decor in grand fashion, decking the halls and putting up a massive Christmas tree in Mt. Stephen Hall. This year, celebrity design expert and author Bobby Berk (known for his role on the lifestyle makeover series Queer Eye) was brought in to design the holiday decor for the super-luxurious 1,500-square-foot Crown Suite, and the Mt. Stephen Hall tree.
Berk’s inspiration was vintage train travel, a nod to the hotel’s historic connection to rail travel and his childhood love of train sets. He collaborated with the Fairmont Banff Springs’ Alberta-based holiday decorator Cory Christopher to carry out his vision, which included whimsical elements such as olde-timey toy trains used as garlands on the tree.
Berk was in attendance for the tree-lighting ceremony on Saturday, November 23, appearing alongside Santa Claus to pull a giant candy-cane lever that turned on the lights. We caught up with him afterwards and talked tips for holiday decor at home. Here’s what he said:
Start in Neutral
“If you start with a neutral base, like a nice ivory or gray or green tree skirt, then in a few years, if you get bored with what you’re doing with your tree, you don’t have to replace everything,” Berk says. “I like thinking about how I can be the most sustainable. So, if I start with neutrals, in years to come if I want to switch it out, I can just add those pops of colour that completely change the look without having to buy all new stuff.”
Get Back to Nature
Berk says he likes to layer in natural elements like pinecones and tree branches (both were used to striking effect on the Mt. Stephen Hall tree). He also likes the look of pomegranates as holiday decor, and has even created ornaments out of faux pomegranates. “I wanted to find a way to bring in red holiday colours, without using red Chrisitmas balls, so I made ornaments and had a pomegranate and pinecone Christmas tree and it was beautiful,” he says.
Embrace the Rainbow
Holiday decor doesn’t have to be red and green. “I actually find it cooler when it’s not red and green,” Berk says. “Don’t be afraid to personalize your palette. One of my friends is obsessed with purple, so her Christmas tree is always done in purple. You don’t have to be traditional for it to be the holidays. You’re putting that stuff up because it makes you happy, so put up whatever makes you happy.”
Play with Texture
“For a tree garland, I like using ribbon that has a lot of texture — woven ones or ones that almost look like grasscloth,” Berk says. “The next year you can use those same ribbons to wrap presents, so they’re getting multiple uses.”
Go Big With Lights
“I actually love those old multicoloured lights that were big, like the Christmas lights on Snoopy’s doghouse [in A Charlie Brown Christmas],” Berk says. Ironically, he says he used to dislike them back when he was young and his mother would select them for the family’s tree. “I’m a Virgo, and I’ve always been a ‘Virgo,’ and I like things to be a certain way and my mother is very similar, so we would usually butt heads [over Christmas tree decor],” Berk says. But, he’s since changed his tune on his mom’s preferred style of lights. “I love them now,” he says, “especially if you can do them in all one single colour.”
