My ONE Tablescape Tip

Ready or not, the holiday season is upon us - which means more reason to celebrate and entertain!  If you happen to be playing host/hostess during the holidays, or just feel like having people over in general, I have ONE "rule of thumb" that I like to impart to friends/family who ask me about creating tablescapes:

budget holiday decorating and design tips table settings arrangements centerpieces

If you are planning a meal that encourages conversation, I highly recommend keeping the table decor arrangement below eye level.  It is so much easier to talk to someone across the table when you can see them, right?!  Here are some examples of "low centerpiece" tablescapes that I've created in years past:

pine cones berry picks holidays white votive candles garland budget decorating design tips table setting arrangement

CAD INTERIORS Thanksgiving Christmas table arrangement setting budget decorating design tips pine cones berries candles picks
Note: Above photos were taken pre-blog, hence the upside-down wine glasses!  No staged styling here. :)

A few years ago, in our previous home, I streamed a pine cone garland and some berries on a regular burgundy tablecloth to adorn the dining table for the holidays.  Votive tea lights added some "sparkle" to the more rustic tablescape.  It was such a simple and inexpensive holiday tablescape, and one that I've re-used and tweaked over the years!

Christmas table arrangement setting traditional color scheme budget design and decorating tips lenox holiday dish collection

holiday table setting budget decorating design tips table arrangements lenox holiday dish collection red green gold

Last year, I reverted to the classic red and green Christmas color scheme - using our Lenox holiday dish collection as inspiration.  Gold chargers added some elegance to the casual and colorful tablescape.  The simple centerpiece was created using free pine cones I had collected on mountain trips over the years, with some holiday picks thrown in for color and texture.  I used an old non-holiday-specific runner to ground the table arrangement.

Generally speaking, while table settings with tall arrangements are definitely beautiful and interesting to look at, I find them to be more about form over function.  My tip would be to limit taller (and fuller) table centerpieces to more decorative purposes.  When it comes to actual dining, however, low is the way to go.  How many times do tall arrangements need to be moved out of the way so they don't impede across-the-table conversations?!


Sharing with: Home Stories A to Z

2 comments :

  1. I agree! Tablescape decor should be eye level. We want to see the person we're dining with! Pretty Tablescape, Carol.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Tee! When it comes to dining, I definitely want to see the person's face when having a conversation. I guess taller centerpieces that would hinder the across-the-table view could come in handy if someone wasn't feeling very social though?! :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for visiting CAD Interiors! I appreciate you stopping by to read the post and leaving a comment. Have a great day!