Guide
A lobby Christmas installation is one of the most visible things a building does for its tenants all year — and one of the easiest to make hard work of, because it sits at the intersection of aesthetics, building operations and compliance. This is the checklist we work through with property and facilities managers, written down.
Ceiling height sets the tree (a 3.5m tree needs comfortably more than 3.5m of clearance once the topper goes on), but the space sets everything else: foot-traffic paths and egress requirements decide where a tree can safely stand, sight lines from the street decide where it earns its keep, and lift lobbies, reception desks and planters decide whether the theme carries through the ground floor or stops at one corner.
The unglamorous half of a commercial install: certificates of currency for public liability insurance, contractor inductions, swipe access, dock bookings and WHS documentation. A supplier who does buildings routinely will hand you all of this without being chased — it’s a good early test of who you’re dealing with. Fire-retardant trees and low-voltage LED lighting should be the default, not an upgrade.
A lobby install involves trolleys, ladders and a few hours of styling. Done at 10am it’s an obstacle course; done after hours it’s invisible — tenants leave on a Tuesday and arrive Wednesday to a finished tree. Confirm your supplier prices after-hours work into the quote rather than treating it as a variation.
The best lobby installations look designed for the space: colour schemes that pick up the building’s finishes, or a consistent theme rolled out across a portfolio so every asset presents the same standard. Custom colour theming costs little against the impression it makes — and reserving the same theme annually gives the building a recognisable tradition.
The tree coming down matters as much as it going up: pack-down, removal and storage should be in the hire price, so nothing occupies your dock or store rooms in February. If a quote leaves removal ambiguous, ask.
Install slots for the first week of November are allocated by the end of September in most years. Multi-building rollouts need even more lead time to sequence. Our guide on when to book corporate Christmas theming in Brisbane covers the timeline in detail.
Managing a building or a portfolio? Request a proposal — tree, theme, install window and a fixed price per building, within two business days.
Ready when you are
Tell us about your building or office and we’ll come back with a tailored proposal — tree, theme, install window and price — within two business days.