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:

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:

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!

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?!

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