The holidays always make one think of presents, spending time with family, sparkle, shine and of course hearty food. We plan our big Christmas and New Years meals down to every scrumptious detail. However, sometimes, one detail that can often be overlooked is the grand table we will serve these meals on. I know this can be daunting if you’re not the creative type, but trust me, it is the icing on the cake or the gravy to your stuffing. Adorning a table will make your meal shine in all its glory , not to mention make your home look magazine worthy to all guests who gaze upon it.
I for one love to create a good tablescape, and I’m here to help you be the talk of the town with your own swoon worthy table. With just a few simple steps, you’ll have a picture perfect tablescape all ready for entertaining and bragging rights.
Start with One Piece of Inspiration:
Inspiration is the easiest way to spark your creative juices. Inspiration can come in several forms. It can be a color scheme, item or theme. Start with what you may already have at home or your first instinct.
If you nothing comes to mind for initial direction; go to your favorite store and just start to look around. When something jumps out at you, you will know. It can be a figurine, candlestick, tablecloth, plate, the possibilities are endless.
For me it was a tartan tablecloth I spotted at my favorite store, Homegoods. I always start here for every occasion because I’m sure to find something unique or something to inspire my process. Now that I have my one piece I am able to build upon that.
Pick Your Color Scheme:
Now that you have your inspo, build your color scheme around that. If a color scheme was your inspiration, you simply will reverse these steps. Start with your color scheme and build your table items around that.
Now that you have a color scheme, it will allow you to choose wisely and efficiently. This keeps you on track and from getting distracted when selecting the perfect additions to your tablescape. I know this helps me, because once I go in a store, I literally want to buy everything beautiful I see.
Since I started with this traditional tartan, my color scheme derived from extracting colors in the tablecloth. Always start with colors in your inspiration then consider adding on complimenting colors. My color scheme now became, red,green with complimenting colors of black and gold.
Create Layers
This is probably the fullproof Way to get you the glam worthy credit from your tablesetting. There’s always a place for simplistic elegance, but that has never been the name of my game. In my opinion, a full layered table creates so much interest and details to unfold.
Layering can be achieved with placemats, table runners, chargers, various size plates, napkins, flatware and so much more. Remember, often there is no right or wrong here. Whatever feels good just go wth it. Remember your color scheme and to maintain balance and your all set.
Check out this video to see how I layered my table
Adorn and Accessorize
Now that you have the base all that’s left to do is adorn. These are when all the doodads, bells and whistles come into play. It’s all in the details for this portion. Think about handwritten place cards. Layer different heights of candles, create a glamorous centerpiece or use flowers. Just be creative with what you have and the glam will fall into place.
I didn’t have a centerpiece or fresh flowers, so I used gold lanterns I had and filled them with ornaments in my color scheme. I also decided to use gift tags I had purchased for gifts as placecards; I attached them to little jingle bells for a festive and fun place which doubles as a souvenir. Finished off with blinged out candleholders and pinecones from trader joes to add a natural warmth and adds a the smell of holiday.
So there you have it; four easy steps to create a glamorous talk worthy tablescape all your own. Remember, presentation is paramount. Don’t forget this step when planning your next holiday dinner.
