The most common mistake we see, sixteen seasons running, is not buying too small. It is buying too big and finding out in the living room.
Here is how to get it right before the tree is in the elevator.
Measure your ceiling, then subtract
Take a tape measure to the ceiling in the exact spot the tree is going. Not the tallest ceiling in the apartment. That spot.
Then subtract:
- 6 to 8 inches for the stand, which lifts the trunk off the floor
- 6 to 12 inches for whatever goes on top, star, angel, or a good tall spire of branch
So a 9 foot ceiling comfortably takes a 7 to 8 foot tree. An 8 foot ceiling takes a 6 to 7 footer. A prewar apartment with 10 or 11 foot ceilings can carry a 9 to 10 foot tree, and it looks spectacular.
If your number lands between two sizes, go down. A tree with a foot of air above it reads as generous. A tree bent against the ceiling reads as a mistake.
Then measure the floor, which nobody does
A Fraser fir at 7 feet tall is roughly 4 to 5 feet across at the base. That is a real footprint in a New York apartment.
Stand in the spot and mark out a square about five feet on a side. If that square eats your only walking path between the couch and the kitchen, you want a narrower tree or a smaller one. Tell us when you order and we will pick a slim one for you. There is real variation from tree to tree and we are the ones looking at them.
The size most New Yorkers actually buy
6 to 7 feet. It fits a standard 8 to 9 foot ceiling with room to spare, it holds a full set of ornaments without crowding, and it goes up a stairwell without a fight. If you are guessing, guess this.
If you are in a studio, or the tree is going on a table or a radiator cover, look at the table-top and 3 to 4 foot trees. They are the same Fraser fir, just young, and they solve the small-apartment problem without pretending a wall decal is a tree.
The other measurement: how it gets in
Trees come in netted, which cuts the width by more than half, so doorways are almost never the problem. Two things occasionally are:
- A tight elevator. A 10 foot tree does not stand up in a small residential elevator and will need the stairs. We do stairs, but tell us the height and the building so we plan for it.
- A hard turn at the top of a narrow stairwell. Same answer. We would rather know first.
Neither costs you anything extra. We just want to send the right two people.
The one time to size up
Rooms with height and no furniture against the far wall, church halls, lobbies, brownstone parlors, double-height living rooms. In a big room, a correctly-sized tree looks small. Go a size up from what the tape says is safe.
If you are buying for a lobby or a sanctuary, call us at 646-470-6326 instead of ordering online. We can provide trees up to 20 feet with advance notice, and above 13 feet everything is quoted individually, so we would rather talk it through.
Still not sure?
Send us your ceiling height and a photo of the corner. We will tell you the size. We have done this a few thousand times and we would rather get it right than sell you a bigger tree.
Shop trees by size or call 646-470-6326.