Holiday décor can go wrong very quickly.
Too little and the space feels unfinished.
Too much and suddenly you're inside Santa's storage locker.
The best holiday installations feel like an extension of the space or brand they were designed for.
For retail stores, hotels, restaurants and corporate environments, that usually means approaching holiday décor as an installation rather than simply adding ornaments.
Start with the architecture
Before choosing a single ribbon, we look at the space.
Where do guests enter?
What can be seen from the street?
Where are the strongest sightlines?
Which architectural features should be emphasized?
A beautiful staircase may need garland.
A storefront might need scale around the windows.
A large lobby may need one major tree rather than twenty small decorative moments.
The architecture tells us where the décor should go.
Retail window garlands
Window garlands can completely transform a storefront during the holiday season.
For retail spaces, they also work especially hard because they need to look good from both inside and outside.
Scale matters.
A garland that feels enormous on the studio floor can suddenly look tiny when installed around a ten-foot window.
For this reason, we design based on the actual dimensions of the storefront rather than guessing from photographs.
Holiday trees
A beautiful commercial holiday tree is less about adding every ornament available and more about getting proportion right.
Height, width and placement matter first.
From there, we can build a design using:
ribbon
ornaments
florals
branches
berries
lighting
natural elements
brand colours
Some spaces call for something traditional.
Others look much stronger with a restrained or editorial approach.
Outdoor planters
Outdoor holiday planters are one of the easiest ways to make an entrance feel finished.
Evergreens, branches, berries, cones and seasonal materials can be built into existing planters or installed in custom vessels.
The arrangement should be designed for the building, not copied from a generic holiday planter recipe.
For commercial spaces, durability also matters.
These pieces need to survive Toronto weather while still looking intentional.
Brand colours can still feel festive
Holiday design does not have to be red, green and gold.
For brand installations, we often begin with the existing brand palette and layer seasonal materials into it.
A beauty brand might use blush, burgundy and champagne.
A fashion retailer might lean into black, silver and deep green.
A luxury property may need something almost entirely tonal.
The goal is to make the holiday installation feel like the brand at Christmas — not like the brand disappeared for two months.
Installation and removal should be planned together
One thing clients sometimes forget:
Everything that goes up eventually has to come down.
Commercial holiday décor needs a proper installation and strike plan.
That includes:
access
ladders or lifts
installation hours
storage
electrical access
weather
removal timing
disposal or reuse
We plan both ends from the beginning.
That way December looks magical without January becoming a logistical disaster.
Fresh versus faux holiday materials
Fresh evergreens smell incredible and create beautiful texture.
Faux materials can provide longevity, consistency and structure.
Most commercial installations benefit from a mix.
A large window garland may use a durable base with fresh greenery layered through it.
A tree might combine traditional ornaments with floral elements.
Outdoor pieces often benefit from materials selected specifically for cold-weather longevity.
There is no rule that says the entire installation needs to be one or the other.
Holiday installations in Toronto
Dereves creates custom holiday installations for retailers, corporate spaces, hospitality properties and private events throughout Toronto and the GTA.
Projects can include:
holiday trees
storefront garlands
window installations
outdoor planters
interior garlands
floral installations
custom seasonal styling
We handle design, sourcing, installation and removal.
Because good holiday décor should feel magical.
Not stressful.