The fabulous Siobhan Hannah Murphy, 47, has created one of the most beautiful Christmas moments we’ve seen in a long time. The towering fluffy pink tree stands in the entrance hall of Harewood House this Christmas.
To create this uniquely feminine festive showstopper Siobhan, the Creative Director of Harewood House, started with an 18ft MDF christmas tree base.
This was in turn wrapped in mesh so that over 700 tutus could be shaped and crafted into a tree shaped sculpture in an ombre colour scheme from light baby pink at the top to deep dusky mauves for the skirt of the tree.
The tutu tree is in the Entrance Hall of Harewood House for guests to enjoy from now until the end of the Christmas season on January 4th.
Siobhan started sourcing the tutus in October last year from ebay and Vinted and has collected 500 with another 200 ordered for the big build.
Siobhan, who has appeared on TV’s BBC Interior Design Masters, and ITV’s Lorraine, said: “I have sourced the tutus for this tree from up and down the country.
“The prices for each one are minimal, between £4 – £15 but all together I have spent around £5,000 on this one standout piece, including the wood and joiner costs.
“I’ve never seen a tutu tree, I’m not sure it’s ever been done before. I wanted to be the first to create something really soft, dreamy and magical.
“I started sourcing the tutus over a year ago as I wanted to buy them all pre-loved and so I knew it was going to take a while to get hold of so many especially as I’m only using various shades of pink and only using the fullest and frilliest tutus.
“It’s amazing to see my creative visions coming to life. I’m feeling giddy to start bringing it all together in time for Christmas. This is going to be a real showstopper and the backdrop for a lot of selfies at Harewood this Christmas.”
The theme for the festivities at Harewood this year is “Harewood’s Grand Christmas Ball” with eclectic maximalist decorations adorning every surface in every room.
Preparations have been underway all year with volunteers lending a hand to hand craft over 10,000 decorations made from elegant second hand materials that Siobhan has been sourcing, including Christmas baubles in every colour, shimmering fabrics and delicate china and copper accessories to decorate every room of the public areas at Harewood House in Harewood, West Yorkshire.
300 vintage leather-bound books were sourced from St Gemma’s Hospice in Leeds and over 2,000 items have been saved from car boots and second-hand shops to create this magical installation.
Siobhan added: “At its heart, Christmas is already maximalist, glittering lights, velvet ribbons, flickering candlelight, ornaments that sparkle like heirlooms, rooms scented with cinnamon and spices. It’s a season of abundance – and that’s exactly why I love it. Christmas allows us to lean into beauty for beauty’s sake. It’s a celebration of layers, textures, patterns, and nostalgia – all coexisting in perfect harmony.
“Harewood is renowned for helping to create magical memories every Christmas, so it’s a true career milestone to be this year’s Creative Director of Christmas at Harewood.
Siobhan is also working with Helena Garcia from 2019’s The Great British Bake Off series and fashion Designer Julia Clancy who has supplied couture pieces for display.
As guests move into the Gallery, they’ll witness lifelike projections of ball guests gathered at the edge of the room, gossiping about the unfolding events. The room will also be filled with ballgowns sourced from Leeds Playhouse alongside couture pieces by fashion designer Julia Clancy.
Tickets are on sale for Harewood’s Christmas event A Glittering Invitation: Harewood’s Grand Christmas Ball from Saturday 8 November 2025 to Sunday 4 January 2026. To book, head to http://harewood.org/christmas
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