Getting the scale right

People almost always order too small. It happens because a 1.6 metre tree looks enormous in a photograph of an empty studio and modest in an actual living room with a sofa, a rug and a two-and-a-half metre ceiling. The furniture eats the height before the tree gets a chance.

A rule that works

For a floor-standing piece, aim for roughly two thirds of the distance from floor to ceiling. In a standard 2.4 metre room that puts you at about 1.6 metres — which is why that height accounts for more than half of what we sell.

• Standard 2.4 m ceiling: a 1.6 m tree.
• Villa or high ceiling above 3 m: 1.8 m minimum, ideally paired.
• Beside a sofa back rather than in open floor: subtract about 20 cm.
• On a console or side table: 1.1 m or under, measured from the tabletop.

Width matters more than you think

Canopy spread is the measurement people forget. An olive at 1.6 metres spreads about 70 centimetres across, which is wider than most corners allow once a skirting board and a curtain are involved. Measure the gap at canopy height, not at floor height — the floor is always more generous.

Measure the gap where the leaves will be, not where the pot will be.

If you are between two sizes, take the larger one. A slightly oversized tree reads as confident. A slightly undersized one reads as an afterthought, and it is the version people write to us about.