Short answer
Office lobbies in Dallas are usually decorated for the holidays by an interior designer or a holiday decor service that designs the display, installs it and takes it down in January. Chateau Concepts does all three for office lobbies, reception areas and businesses in Dallas and the Park Cities, with Jan Revels, ASID Allied, leading the design. Decide two things first: which spaces matter most, and the date of your first event. Then ask the building what it allows before anything is ordered.
On this page
- Which spaces should you dress first?
- What must the tenant, landlord and building engineer approve?
- How do you choose an inclusive scheme that fits the brand?
- When should you book, install and remove the decor?
- How do you size the tree and choose greenery and lighting?
- What safety checks belong in a commercial lobby plan?
- What should you ask before hiring, and what drives the cost?
- How should takedown and storage work?
- How Chateau Concepts handles office holiday decor
- Frequently asked questions
Which spaces should you dress first?
Give the arrival experience the most attention. The first ten seconds in reception carry disproportionate weight, so begin where guests enter, pause and look for help. A well-placed reception tree may do more for the business than decorations scattered throughout every room.
Walk the visitor’s route before selecting pieces. Consider the entrance, reception desk, waiting seats and route to meeting rooms. Then decide whether employee spaces should share the scheme.
Which spaces to dress and what each needs
| Space | What it needs | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Lobby | A focal display sized to the room and ceiling | Clear walking routes; sprinklers and exit signs not blocked; power location |
| Reception desk | A contained arrangement that leaves the desk useful | Accessible counter space, sightlines and cords |
| Elevator lobby | A restrained accent that connects with the main display | Clear walking routes, elevator access and building approval |
| Conference room | A tablescape or accent suited to meetings | Clear views across the table and usable work surfaces |
| Break room | A practical seasonal accent for employees | Clear counters, walking routes and power location |
What this means for you: use this table to set priorities before selecting ornaments. A space earns decoration when the display adds something without taking away the room’s function.
Keep waiting seats easy to approach and get out of, and preserve the accessible counter height. Our approach to office reception and lobby design applies during the holidays as well: the welcome should be visible, and the room should remain comfortable to use.
For a business owner also decorating a home in Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow or North Dallas, the palettes can relate. The office still needs its own plan for public access, building approval and daily operations.
What must the tenant, landlord and building engineer approve?
Start with a short property-manager conversation before design begins. In leased space, the lease decides a great deal: permitted alterations, written consent, building standards, approved contractors and working hours. Learning those limits after ordering a display can force a redesign.
Distinguish your leased reception area from a shared building lobby. Ask who controls each proposed location and who can authorize decoration there. Approval for your office should not be assumed to cover common areas.
Who has to approve what
| Person or role | Questions to ask | Why the answer matters |
|---|---|---|
| Tenant | Which spaces are included? Who approves the design and scope? What existing decor is available? | Establishes the decision-maker and the work being requested |
| Property manager/landlord | Does the lease require written consent? Which locations, materials and attachment methods are acceptable? What contractor documents and working hours apply? | Identifies building standards and approval steps |
| Building engineer | Where can lighting connect? What restrictions apply to cords, mounting and access near building systems? | Helps establish a workable installation plan |
What this means for you: these are questions to resolve with your building, not universal rules. Ask the property manager to identify any additional review, including fire-safety questions that need an answer from the appropriate building contact or fire marshal.
Read the relevant lease provisions and keep written approval with the agreed display plan. Our tenant improvement guide provides context for leased-space decisions; holiday decor still needs its own specific permission where required.
Commercial work involves stricter enforcement of codes and accessibility, contract-grade material expectations and coordination around an operating business. Our guide to commercial interior design: what differs from residential explains that broader context.
How do you choose an inclusive scheme that fits the brand?
Decide how explicitly Christmas-focused the display should be. A Christmas tree with familiar ornaments may suit your workplace, while a winter scheme of greenery, metallic finishes and textured ribbon may better reflect a business with many traditions.
Start with the room already there. We look for two or three colors in the furniture, art or finishes, then select one dominant metal: gold, silver, copper or matte black. A generic red-and-green overlay unrelated to the space can look like a costume.
Brand colors can supply part of that palette. If your brand color already appears in reception, carry it into ribbon or ornaments and let the room’s neutral finishes balance it. The goal is a recognizable relationship, not a display that turns every surface into a logo.
Repeat two or three motifs so separate spaces feel connected. A woodland theme, a ribbon treatment and a consistent ornament finish can link the main tree with a desk arrangement and conference-room accent.
Choose texture over quantity. Velvet ribbon, greenery, matte finishes and mercury glass can create depth without filling every available surface. Identify the desired tone—formal, warm, understated or celebratory—before approving individual pieces.
When should you book, install and remove the decor?
Work backward from the first event, not from the holiday itself. Your display may need to be ready for a client gathering or office celebration before the date you first had in mind.
Installation dates fill well before the season. Early planning also leaves room to resolve building questions before the design depends on materials or locations that may not be approved.
Holiday decorating calendar
| Timing | What to plan |
|---|---|
| Late summer | Order custom or specialty pieces, including wreaths, specialty ribbon and made-to-order items |
| By early autumn | Book for the widest choice of installation dates |
| If it is already November | Book now and keep the scheme simple |
| Mid to late November | Install the holiday decor |
| Early January | Take down, sort and label the decor |
What this means for you: this calendar connects design choices with purchasing and access. If you are starting in November, a simpler scheme gives the planning conversation a clearer focus.
Use the sequence from our holiday decor planning guide: decide where decoration matters, set the palette, then book the installation around the first gathering. For a business, add the property manager’s approval and access requirements to that sequence.
To start, call 214-797-4657 or send the contact form with the spaces you want dressed and the date of your first event. Those two facts are enough to talk about scope and dates.
A reception tree or a lobby display, designed for the room, installed in mid to late November and taken down in early January. Dates fill in the order people book them.
How do you size the tree and choose greenery and lighting?
Choose the tree’s footprint before its ornament collection. Height alone does not tell you whether a tree fits: the stand, branches and nearby door swings all affect the usable space.
Follow this measuring and decorating sequence:
- Check the ceiling. Leave 6 to 12 inches between the topper and the ceiling. Account for the topper when choosing the tree.
- Check the floor. Measure the space including the stand and check nearby doors through their full swing.
- Check the power location. Resolve the proposed connection and cord route with the building before settling on the tree position.
- Layer the tree. Install lights first, ribbon and picks next, then ornaments.
A common professional lighting benchmark is around 100 lights per foot of tree height, with interior branches lit too. Treat that as design guidance, not an electrical allowance or a building approval. Light strings must be rated for the way they will be used.
Fresh greenery lasts roughly two to three weeks indoors with misting. Good-quality faux greenery lasts for years. A usual professional approach is a faux base topped up with fresh material where people will see it closely.
That distinction matters for an office display running from mid to late November until early January. Fresh material needs care and a plan for replacement; it should not be assumed to remain presentable throughout that period.
Consider the light in the room as well as the lights on the tree. Our lighting design guide provides broader context for evaluating lighting as part of an interior, rather than treating every light source separately.
What safety checks belong in a commercial lobby plan?
Keep accessible routes clear throughout the season. ADA and Texas Accessibility Standards apply to commercial spaces; a tree base, projecting branch or arrangement must not turn a useful route into an obstacle.
Review the finished display from the visitor’s position. Can someone find reception, approach the counter and reach the waiting seats? Are exit signs visible, and are sprinklers unobstructed? Resolve placement concerns before the display becomes part of daily operations.
The U.S. Fire Administration, part of FEMA, publishes a short list of holiday fire safety messages for homes and businesses. The ones that matter in a lobby: keep the tree at least 3 feet away from heat sources such as fireplaces, radiators, space heaters, candles or heat vents; make sure the tree does not block exits; inspect holiday lights each year and throw away strands with frayed or pinched wires; read the manufacturer’s instructions for the number of light strands to connect; and water a live tree every day. The full list is on the U.S. Fire Administration holiday fire safety page.
Keep greenery away from candle flames and confirm that light strings suit their intended use. The same federal page suggests battery-operated flameless candles, which is the simple answer for a reception desk or a conference table. Ask the building about real candles before including them in any design.
Building-specific fire requirements need direct confirmation. Ask what the property manager or fire marshal allows concerning live trees, greenery, extension cords and display placement. General decorating advice does not establish permission for a particular Dallas lobby.
Agree who will monitor the display during the season. If live material is included, assign its care; if lights become damaged or a cord moves into a route, staff should know whom to contact. Include installation and takedown access in the plan so both visits work around the operating business.
What should you ask before hiring, and what drives the cost?
Ask a holiday decorator to describe the complete service. Design, installation and takedown are related responsibilities, but your scope should say clearly which are included and who handles each.
Use these questions during the hiring conversation:
- Who designs the display, and who installs it?
- Who takes it down, and is takedown included in the proposed scope?
- Can you provide a general liability insurance certificate for the building?
- How will building access and permitted working hours be handled?
- Which existing pieces can be reused?
- Who supplies storage containers, and where will the decor be stored?
- What is intended to be reused next year?
For Chateau Concepts, holiday decor includes design, installation and seasonal takedown. Confirm project-specific details, including storage arrangements, during planning. Sorting and labeling at takedown should not be confused with an agreement to provide off-site storage.
No published price can answer the cost question for every lobby. A real number needs the spaces and the date, along with the choices and access conditions that shape the work.
What changes the scope and cost?
| Decision | What to establish |
|---|---|
| Number of spaces | Main focal area and supporting locations |
| Tree height | Ceiling clearance, footprint and display scale |
| New versus reused pieces | Existing condition, palette and needed additions |
| Access and working hours | Building restrictions and coordination needs |
| Takedown and storage | Removal responsibility, packing and storage destination |
What this means for you: use these decisions to compare proposals on the same scope. A reception tree using suitable existing pieces is a different project from a coordinated lobby, desk and conference-room scheme requiring new materials.
Our commercial interior design in Dallas includes offices, reception areas and office-building lobbies. If holiday planning reveals a broader need, our full-service interior design work can address the room itself.
How should takedown and storage work?
Decide the storage destination before installation. The right display should be practical to remove, identify and rebuild, especially when someone other than the original contact may manage the following season.
Use this takedown sequence:
- Photograph everything before removal. Capture the full display and useful details, including ribbon placement and related arrangements.
- Sort by location. Keep the reception tree’s pieces together rather than mixing every ornament from every room.
- Label the contents. Make the destination clear so next season’s setup starts with an understandable inventory.
- Choose suitable storage. Avoid a hot Texas attic; heat degrades candles, ribbon and adhesives.
At early January takedown, note which pieces remain suitable for reuse and which need attention. Save the photographs with the location labels so the design can be repeated or deliberately changed.
How Chateau Concepts handles office holiday decor
A business lobby needs holiday decor that belongs with its architecture, furniture and art. It also needs to keep working: visitors must find reception, employees must move freely, and the display must fit the building’s requirements.
Jan has practiced interior design in Dallas since 1997 and founded Chateau Concepts, LLC in 2001. She holds a BFA in Interior Design from the University of North Texas and is an ASID Allied member. Our holiday work benefits from that interior design background and our experience with commercial spaces.
Our holiday decor service includes design, installation and takedown for homes and offices in Dallas and the Park Cities. Trees are sized to the room and ceiling; related elements can include lit garlands, wreaths, entries and tablescapes.
For a real commercial example, see the Lobby Woodland Tree at the top of this page: an office lobby Christmas tree in gold, silver and blue with woodland ornaments. It shows how a defined palette and repeated details can give a workplace display a clear identity.
Chateau Concepts, LLC is registered with the City of Dallas as a general contractor and carries general liability insurance. Certificates are available on request. We take commercial projects at a scale Jan can lead personally; if yours exceeds that scope, we will tell you at the consultation. Chateau Concepts is rated 4.9 stars from 19 Google reviews.
To start, call 214-797-4657 or send the contact form with the spaces you want dressed and the date of your first event.
Key takeaways
- Decide the spaces and the date of your first event before anything else.
- Ask the property manager what the lease and the building allow before the design begins.
- Custom pieces are ordered in late summer; book by early autumn for the widest choice of dates.
- Installation is in mid to late November and takedown in early January.
- Keep walking routes and exits clear, and the tree at least 3 feet from any heat source.
- Build the palette from the room and the brand, with one dominant metal.
- Photograph the display before takedown and store it by location.
Frequently asked questions
Who can design, install and take down an office lobby Christmas tree in Dallas?
What should we decide before contacting a decorator?
Do we need landlord approval for holiday decor?
When should we book office holiday decorating?
Can you create a winter display using our brand colors?
Are live trees allowed in Dallas office lobbies?
Does Chateau Concepts carry insurance?
When is decor removed, and how should it be stored?
Jan has practiced interior design in Dallas since 1997 and founded Chateau Concepts in 2001. She holds a BFA in Interior Design from the University of North Texas. She designs and general-contracts residential and commercial projects across the Park Cities, Preston Hollow and North Dallas. Read her full profile →
Written and reviewed by Jan Revels before publicationWork with Chateau Concepts
Jan Revels handles both sides of a project in Dallas and the Park Cities — the design and the build.