There’s something timeless about a Ralph Lauren-inspired Christmas look. It feels warm, elegant and traditional, with rich colours, heritage patterns and beautifully layered decorations that create a luxurious festive feel.
If you love classic Christmas styling, this look is all about combining tartan, burgundy, deep green, velvet textures, antique gold details and traditional baubles to create a tree and home display that feels cosy, refined and full of festive character.
At Southwood Christmas Shop, we’ve brought together a hand-picked selection of decorations that are perfect for creating this style, from tartan bows and glass baubles to velvet poinsettias, ribbons and traditional finishing touches.
What is the Ralph Lauren-inspired Christmas look?
The Ralph Lauren Christmas aesthetic is best known for its classic heritage feel. Think country-house elegance, rich festive colours and traditional materials rather than a very modern or minimalist Christmas scheme.
The look typically combines dark red and burgundy, forest and emerald green, tartan and plaid patterns, velvet bows and ribbon, antique gold accents, traditional glass baubles and natural details such as pinecones, berries and foliage.
It is a style that works beautifully on a full Christmas tree, but it can also be carried through wreaths, garlands, mantelpieces, staircases and festive table displays.
1. Start with a rich heritage colour palette
The easiest way to create the look is by choosing a classic colour palette and sticking to it. For a Ralph Lauren-inspired Christmas scheme, we recommend combining burgundy or dark red, deep green and antique gold, then adding tartan and plaid as the pattern that ties everything together.
These colours instantly create a warm, luxurious and heritage-inspired feel. If you’re building this look from scratch, start with our Heritage Tartan Christmas Decorations & Baubles collection, which brings together many of the key pieces for this decorating style.
2. Use tartan decorations for a heritage feel
Tartan is one of the most recognisable parts of the look. It brings in that classic country-house Christmas feel and works beautifully on trees, wreaths, garlands and staircase displays.
You do not need every decoration to be tartan. In fact, a few well-placed tartan pieces often work better. Mix tartan glass baubles, fabric bows, ribbon and poinsettias with plain deep-red and green baubles so that the pattern stands out.
Layering tartan with velvet and antique gold also helps the display feel richer and more considered, rather than simply looking like a red-and-green tree.
3. Add burgundy velvet for warmth and luxury
If tartan creates the heritage look, burgundy velvet brings the luxury. Velvet adds depth and softness to a Christmas tree and is one of the easiest ways to make a display feel more premium.
Large velvet bows, velvet poinsettias, velvet baubles and wide ribbon all work brilliantly for this style. You can shop our dedicated Burgundy & Dark Red Velvet Christmas Decorations collection for pieces that work especially well with tartan and traditional green.
For an even fuller look, use velvet bows at different sizes throughout the tree rather than relying on baubles alone.
4. Bring in classic dark red and oxblood tones
Deep red is the foundation of this whole look. Burgundy, oxblood and wine-red shades feel richer and more traditional than a very bright scarlet red, especially when paired with green foliage and warm white lights.
Use a mixture of shiny, matt and textured finishes to add depth. Plain baubles are especially useful because they give the eye somewhere to rest between the more detailed tartan and velvet pieces.
Our Dark Red, Oxblood & Burgundy Christmas Baubles & Decorations collection is a good place to find the base colours for this style.
5. Layer in green and antique gold
A heritage Christmas scheme needs contrast, and that is where deep green and antique gold work so well.
Forest and emerald green help balance the richness of burgundy, while antique gold adds warmth without making the display feel overly glittery or modern. Try bringing these colours in through green glass baubles, emerald velvet ribbon, gold beading, antique-effect decorations, pinecones and candle holders.
The combination of burgundy, tartan, green and warm gold is what gives the finished display that layered, collected country-house feel.
6. Use statement bows and ribbon
One of the easiest ways to make a Christmas tree look more styled is to be generous with bows and ribbon.
Large tartan or velvet bows can fill bigger gaps between branches and immediately make the tree feel fuller. A giant tartan bow also makes a brilliant alternative to a traditional star or angel tree topper.
Try weaving tartan ribbon through the branches, placing larger bows deeper into the tree and then adding smaller bows nearer the tips. Layering tartan and velvet together creates even more texture.
7. Add natural details such as pinecones, berries and foliage
The heritage look is not only about colour and pattern. Natural details are important too.
Pinecones, red berries, fir foliage, acorns and traditional wreaths help soften the richer colours and make the scheme feel warm and inviting. They work especially well around mantelpieces and staircases where you can combine foliage with ribbon and bows.
For a traditional finishing touch, warm white lighting works particularly well with burgundy, green and gold because it enhances the warmer tones without competing with the decorations.
8. Let the tree feel collected rather than perfectly matched
One of the nicest things about this style is that it does not need to look perfectly uniform. In fact, the best heritage Christmas trees often feel as though the decorations have been collected over time.
Mix glass baubles with tartan, velvet, ribbon, natural pieces and a few traditional character decorations. Vary the scale too: large bows and oversized baubles create impact, while smaller hanging decorations add detail when you look closer.
The aim is to create a tree that feels layered and established rather than overly coordinated.
Our favourite decorations for the look
If you want to recreate this style, we recommend starting with a mixture of tartan glass baubles, burgundy velvet bows, velvet poinsettias, emerald green baubles, antique gold accents, pinecone and berry decorations, and tartan ribbon.
You can browse our curated range here: Shop Heritage Tartan Christmas Decorations & Baubles.
How to carry the heritage look beyond the Christmas tree
Once your tree is styled, the same colour palette can be repeated around the rest of the room. Add tartan ribbon to a garland, use burgundy bows on a wreath, bring antique gold into candle holders and table decorations, or add a tartan throw to a sofa or chair.
Repeating just a few of the same colours and textures around the room helps everything feel connected without needing every decoration to match.
Create your own heritage Christmas look for 2026
If you love traditional Christmas decorating with a luxurious twist, this is a beautiful style to go for. It feels elegant, warm and timeless, and it is a look you can build on year after year.
Whether you’re decorating a full Christmas tree, styling a garland or refreshing your festive home décor, mixing tartan, burgundy velvet, deep green and antique gold is a simple way to create that classic heritage-inspired finish.
Browse our Heritage Tartan Christmas Decorations & Baubles collection to start building the look.
Frequently asked questions
What colours are used in a Ralph Lauren-inspired Christmas look?
The most popular colours for this style are burgundy, dark red, forest or emerald green, tartan tones and antique gold.
How do you make a Christmas tree look more luxurious?
Layer different textures and scales. Velvet, tartan ribbon, glass baubles, large bows, foliage and warm white lights can make a Christmas tree look fuller and more luxurious.
What decorations suit a heritage Christmas theme?
Tartan bows, velvet poinsettias, burgundy baubles, green ornaments, antique gold accents, pinecones, berry stems and traditional glass decorations all work beautifully in a heritage Christmas scheme.
Can I mix tartan with burgundy Christmas decorations?
Yes. Burgundy and dark red are ideal partners for traditional red-and-green tartan because they create a richer, more layered colour palette.
This article is an independent decorating guide inspired by a classic heritage aesthetic. Southwood Christmas Shop is not affiliated with or endorsed by Ralph Lauren.
