Since we spend the majority of this day gathered around the table eating turkey, an amazing tablescape is a must. Here’s a list of ways to make your table really stand out this year.
Create a Cohesive Ambience
Blend the décor in with its surroundings. This means if your home is clean and contemporary, go with a sleeker look. If you have a blue and white traditional home, use blue and white accessories! Your home is most likely styled in a particular way because that’s how you like it. Toss pillows on the chairs that are typically in your living room, or use your foyer vase as the centerpiece and fill it with mandarin oranges. Keeping your tablescape consistent with your home’s style should make the decorating easy and appear more fluid.
Set the Table for Only What You Need
Once you’ve planned your menu, consider every plate, glass and silverware utensil your guests will need. Then only set the table for that. Be unconventional. Skip the bread plates if there’s no bread. Cut out the salad fork if there’s no salad. Break all the rules your grandmother gave you and fill the table with fun and excitement rather than extra dishes. This will help your table from feeling too cluttered, and also leave room for more centerpiece décor.
Mix and Match Place Settings
Change up your place settings. You don’t have to be the recipient of your family’s heirloom china with 14 matching sets. Swap out every other bread plate for a different color, or use glassware of staggering heights. This is a simple way to add more color and interest to an otherwise ordinary and expected table. Use two to three consistent colors to keep it from looking like an afterthought and then mix away.
Layer
Now that you’ve only set the table for what you need, fill the rest with beautiful décor. A table set for the holidays should be full of visual interest. Create a collected look through layering. Consider placing plates on chargers and combining candles with floral arrangements. Mix heights and shapes. Make it uniquely yours by using objects you keep around your house year-round. I always suggest layering in odd numbers and to rarely keep anything at the same height.
Details Matter
Create something unexpected, whether that means succulents in the gravy boat or a bold and eccentric centerpiece. As one of my favorite companies, Blue Pheasant, states in their motto, “It’s about setting a table as eclectic and intriguing as the people who’ll be seated there to share it,” consider your company and what would be attention-grabbing to them. Thought goes a long way and won’t be unnoticed. Your unique centerpieces are a guaranteed way to spark a fun conversation. Use your kitchen island or dining room sideboard to hold the food so that you can fill your dining table with texture, color and all of the pretty details.
Make Your Guests Feel Special
I love creating handwritten place cards whenever I’m hosting a dinner. Seeing your name written out in someone’s unique handwriting makes it more intimate and personal. Be creative in the way the place cards are displayed and how they blend in with your overall ambiance. When determining your seating arrangements, make it fun! Sit unexpected guests together. Split up couples and close friends and watch new relationships form and interesting stories get told.
Whether you’re expecting two guests or 20, enhance their dining experience with a beautiful table.