Table Setting Ideas
Category Design Tips
Preferring to show the beautiful patina of the wooden table top, Gerry Young chose not to have a tablecloth. She then combined brightly coloured vases with individual blooms, butterfly motif place mats and dip-dyed napkins to create a table that bursts with interest. “Colourful Chinese lanterns suspended above the table give it an especially celebratory feel,” explains Gerry. She also used interesting crockery and cutlery with a vintage feel to give the setting a casual, welcoming look, enhanced by the mismatched chairs and bright cushions to make guests as comfortable as possible.
Gerry’s table decor tips:
-
Break up a supermarket bunch of flowers and place in different vases for more impact.
-
Attach Chinese lanterns to a piece of fishing line with wire paper clips and string the line from one corner of the space to the other, or create a framework from dowel rods and suspend the lanterns from it.
-
Mismatched crockery and cutlery give a relaxed feel to a setting.
-
Create a twist on the traditional Christmas bauble by dip-dying them. Submerge half the ball in enamel paint and hang over newspaper to dry overnight.
________________________________________________________________________________
For her festive table, Heather Moore, owner of Skinny laMinx, combined the simplicity of Scandinavian design with the timelessness and organic feel of her fresh, local fabrics
“I teamed my Pebble napkins and table runner with organic wooden pieces, local blooms and Swazi glassware," says Heather Moore, owner of Skinny laMinx. She added interest with fresh produce, quirky retro colours and vintage finds. “I always have my eyes peeled for vessels with interesting forms, and vintage shops and car boot sales can turn up wonderful surprises, such as my carved wooden vessel and mid-century Danish ceramic vase. And being a celebratory table, I brought out my best Arne Jacobsen cutlery and added some festive flair with a simple dowel-rod Christmas tree.”
Heather’s table decor tips:
•Clean and simple doesn’t mean plain and boring. I used a riot of geometric prints, but kept the crazy in check by sticking to a limited colour palette.
•Set some constants to help you make choices. This could be a limited colour palette (I used browns, yellows and reds) or a pattern.
•Use texture such as wood, chunky glass and stoneware to add a base note to an otherwise smooth, contemporary look.
•Stationery shops have loads of cheap, simple decorating tools. I stuck sticky dots onto white thread to make eye-catching festive decorations. You could even use them to create an entire panel of ‘wallpaper’ in minutes!
ARTICLES ON GARDEN and HOME WEBSITE
Author: Candice Botha
