Christmas Tree Collar Makeover | Simple DIY

From farmhouse to French country in under 60 minutes! You’ll love this simple DIY project to make over a galvanized steel Christmas tree collar.

I’ve always used traditional Christmas tree skirts around my tree.

And every year they end up driving me CRAZY!

You see, my three kitties love to sleep under the tree.

That part is actually pretty adorable!

But.

The tree skirt?

Way less adorable since it gets covered with fur and never stays straight.

Especially when they decide to run around and have a little fight under the tree.

Last year I discovered a solution!

I bought a galvanized steel Christmas tree collar.

No more fur.

No more wrinkles.

Never gets pushed out of place.

And it does a great job of hiding the platform we use to lift our tree a little higher to make room underneath for gifts!

This post includes some affiliate links. Read our full disclosure here.

faux Christmas tree on wooden platform with sliders under legs

As wonderful as the tree collar was, there was just one little problem.

The galvanized steel tree collar looked a little too farmhouse in my more traditional, French-country home.

See what I mean?

view of a family room or living room decorated for Christmas

Don’t get me wrong.

I like the look of galvanized steel for smaller decor items. But it just looked off to me.

Of course it could also be that cream marble fireplace surround.

The fireplace got a makeover in January 2019 when I painted the marble surround with chalk paint.

The beauty of chalk paint is it adheres to any surface!

I had more than half a can left over from that project.

So when we pulled out the galvanized metal tree collar, I decided to give it a makeover too.

Wait ’til you see how it turned out!

How to Makeover your Christmas Tree Collar

galvanized metal farmhouse Christmas tree collar with chalk paint, stencil, and metallic paint

You can use any color of chalk paint to makeover your Christmas tree collar. I decided to use Charcoal Chalked paint from Rustoleum because that’s what I had on hand.

To give it a French-country feel, I decided to add some stenciling. It really complemented a pair of sconces I have hanging in my kitchen with a similar look!

I bought the stencil, metallic gold paint, and a stippling brush from Hobby Lobby.

You’ll also need painter’s tape and some sealing spray to protect your project when it’s done.

Can You Paint Galvanized Steel with Chalk Paint?

galvanized metal farmhouse Christmas tree collar painted with chalk paint

I put down some paper to protect the floor in the garage and proceeded to paint the galvanized metal with black chalk paint.

It went on very quickly and adhered beautifully!

After it dries, give it a second coat.

Then wait for it to dry completely before stenciling.

How to Stencil a Christmas Tree Collar

Before you begin, figure out how many times you’ll be stenciling the pattern onto your project.

You can be super precise and measure things, but I just held it up in one spot and then eyeballed moving it around the collar.

I decided I wanted to stencil the pattern six times around the ring: three times on each half.

Next, attach the stencil to the Christmas tree collar using painters tape.

If you’ve never stenciled before, I recommend practicing a few times on the paper before stenciling your project.

The key to stenciling is first tapping off excess paint.

You want your brush to be almost dry so that paint doesn’t get under the edges of the stencil.

Using a really small amount of paint is also what gives the stenciled design a more worn appearance.

Use a stippling brush to “pounce” the paint onto the stencil. That way the paint doesn’t get under the edges of the stencil.

galvanized metal farmhouse Christmas tree collar painted with black chalk paint with French country style stencil taped on

I wanted the stencil to have a slightly distressed look. To get this appearance, I didn’t fill in the stencil completely with the paint.

galvanized metal farmhouse Christmas tree collar painted with black chalk paint with French country style stencil

If you want a more distressed look, you can use a dry sponge to “sand” some of the stenciled paint off the collar once the paint is all dried.

Before you attach the stencil again, wipe any paint off the back that may have gotten underneath.

galvanized metal farmhouse Christmas tree collar painted with black chalk paint with French country style stencils

Then simply repeat the stenciling around the Christmas tree collar, positioning the stencil at the same height each time.

When the stencil paint is completely dry, seal the project using a spray-on sealer such as Rustoleum Chalked Sealer in Matte Clear.

How to Style Your Christmas Tree Collar

I chose to fill the inside of the tree collar with some burlap fabric. It covers the stand and fills in the empty space so nicely!

galvanized metal farmhouse Christmas tree collar painted with black chalk paint with French country style stencils filled with burlap and a Christmas tree

You could use another kind of fabric or even a white “snow blanket.”

It all depends on your style!

Before and After

Everyone loves a good before and after! So here’s how my tree looked last year with the galvanized metal tree collar:

And here’s how it looks this year after its makeover:

view of family room decorated for Christmas with twinkle lights on the Christmas tree, fireplace mantle, garland on the staircase, and red berry wreath on mirror over fireplace mantel

I love the way this simple DIY project transformed my tree collar from a farmhouse style to my traditional French-country style for just a few dollars and in less than an hour!

If you have any questions, please contact me or drop me a comment below!

We’d love for you to follow us over on Instagram and Facebook so you don’t miss any of our tips, tricks, or stories!