A traditional Christmas tree can easily take up a corner of the room, and in a small flat that corner is usually already taken by the sofa, the desk or the bike. But a smaller home doesn't have to mean no tree. It just means choosing one that works with your space instead of against it.

1. Measure before you buy

The height is only half the story. A cone-shaped tree is as wide as it is tall at the bottom, and that width is what eats a room. Measure the floor area you can spare, not just the ceiling height, and think about where people walk.

2. Go up, not out

A tree that is slim at the bottom leaves room to walk past. YELKA's branches rotate on the trunk, so you can arrange them in a spiral when you have space, or turn them all in one direction and set the tree flat against a wall when you don't. The same tree works in both a living room and a narrow hallway.

3. Put it on a surface

In a studio or a home office, the best place for a tree is often not the floor at all. The Small YELKA is 75 cm tall, with its widest branch about 48.5 cm, so it sits comfortably on a sideboard, a chest of drawers, a desk or a windowsill. The Medium YELKA at 100 cm works on a low cabinet or as a compact floor tree.

4. Think about January, too

Small homes rarely have a loft or a big storage room. After Christmas, YELKA comes apart easily and goes back into its original box. The Small tree's box is just 24.5 × 56 × 6 cm, slim enough to slide under a bed or behind a wardrobe. One customer told us the whole tree went back in the box as easily as it came out, and looked like new the next year.

5. Choose a tree that looks good on its own

In a small room, everything is on display. A tree that is a design piece in its own right, rather than a plastic imitation, makes the whole space feel calmer. A few lights and a handful of ornaments are plenty.

Christmas at work: offices, shops, cafés and hotels

Small spaces aren't only homes. Reception desks, shop counters, café windows and hotel lobbies all need some Christmas spirit, and few businesses want to buy and dispose of a cut tree every year or deal with needles on the floor. A wooden tree is a one-time purchase that comes back out of the box every December, looks considered rather than generic, and is sturdy enough for busy spaces.

• Small YELKA, 75 cm for desks, counters and shelves
• Medium YELKA, 100 cm for corners and reception areas
• Extra Large YELKA, 187 cm for lobbies and shop windows

Ordering several trees for a business? Get in touch and we'll help you choose.

Have a cat or dog in a small flat? Read our pet-friendly Christmas guide.