Bottle brush trees have been popular for a while now. But they aren’t always available in the color(s) that will match my decor. So learning how to change the color of bottle brush trees is a total game changer!
The ability to change the color of bottle brush trees = awesome!
Plus, it’s SUPER SIMPLE to do yourself. Yay!
Last year I got a TON of craft sisal bottle trees in a $5 grab bag. And I mean a TON!
Like 30!
Don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas sisal bottle brush trees, but I don’t need 30 of them – all the same color.
I needed a simple way to change the color of the bottle brush trees.
Easy-peasy!
Who knew – bleaching them.
It was SO easy.
And then dyeing them… yep, super easy, too.
I mean, it took about 20 minutes from start to finish to diy bleach and dye the bottle brush trees.
Supplies to DIY Color Bottle Brush Trees
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- Bottle brush trees
- Bleach
- RIT dye
- Rubber gloves
- Metal tongs
- Bucket and/or jar
- Paper towels
How to Bleach and Dye Bottle Brush Trees
Step 1: Bleach Your Bottle Brush Trees
Create a mixture of 50/50 water and bleach in a bucket or jar. Enough to either cover half the width of your trees or completely submerge them.
Carefully place the bottle brush trees in the bleach mixture. You can use rubber gloves or tongs to put the trees into the solution.
Your bottle brush trees will almost immediately begin to lose their color.
(It’s crazy how quickly this happens!)
Turn over the bottle brush trees if they are only partially covered, to continue bleaching the other side.
Leave them in the solution until the color is completely removed.
Your sisal bottle brush is naturally a cream color, so don’t expect it to turn white.
It’s crazy how easy it is to remove the color from your bottle brush trees.
After all of the color is gone from the trees, run them under water until the bleach solution is removed.
Probably just a minute or two.
*If you like the natural color your bottle brush trees bleach to, then you don’t need to proceed to the next step of how to dye your bottle brush trees.
I like the natural color and left a few like that.
Step 3: Dyeing Bottle Brush Trees a Different Color
Changing the color of your bottle brush trees is as easy as removing the color from them.
Now, you can spray paint bottle brush trees, if you want. It takes a little more time and can be pretty smelly.
You also won’t be able to remove the paint, if you want to change the color later.
I found that dyeing bottle brush trees with liquid RIT dye was super quick and easy.
(And I could rebleach them if I didn’t like the dye color.)
I decided to use a clear jar to dye my trees because it would be easy to take the trees in and out of the jar, and the trees would be completely submerged in the dye solution.
I wouldn’t need to flip them over at all.
To create your dye bath for the bottle brush trees, fill a jar about ¾ of the way full with hot water. Add a little RIT dye (the color you want your trees to become).
Mix the dye and water.
Note: start with a little dye. You can always add more and make it darker as you proceed.
To test if the color is what you want to achieve, dip a piece of white paper towel into the mixture. This will give you an idea of the end color.
Now (using tongs or rubber gloves), place the bottle brush into the dye solution. Take it out after a few seconds to check on the color.
If you prefer a darker shade, return it to the dye and wait a little longer.
Note: the longer the bottle brush tree sits in the dye solution, the darker the color will be.
Also, the color will lighten a little, so take that into consideration.
Once the bottle brush tree is a shade darker than what you are wanting, take it out of the dye bath and run it under water until the dye is removed and the water runs clear.
You have now changed the color of your Christmas bottle brush tree.
Pretty cool, huh!
I bet you are ready to bleach and dye a lot more bottle brush trees – and try different colors.
Check out the different colored trees I did. There were all bleached and then dyed.
It’s SO fun and EASY to change the color of bottle brush trees! Especially so you can coordinate them with your holiday decorations.
Check them out on my Retro Christmas Table Setting.
*You can also add sparkle to your dyed bottle brush trees. Just spray them with an adhesive and roll in glitter. Fun!
Hi Nicole. I don’t know how long ago you made this post; I found it last fall, 2023, but I’m only getting around to trying this now. I purchased sets of 3, sm med lg, trees from Ikea at Christmas. Trying to bleach them now, I’m realizing they are not sisal, they’re plastic of some kind, and the bleach had zero effect on them. Instead I “stole” some sisal trees from my Christmas village and they’re working beautifully! I love this idea, thanks for sharing it.
I’m so glad this worked for you (after you “stole” them from your Christmas village). Sorry about the Ikea ones – maybe spray paint them?