Tablescaping is an artform. It turns heads with its magical interplay of food and table decor at stylish soirees and on noteworthy Instagram feeds. With longer days and lighter evenings ahead why not create a tablescape for a long weekend lunch or dinner party?
The Secret’s In The Planning
The key to a winning tablescape is prep.
- Decide on your theme. Will it be casual, formal, indoors, outdoors, daytime or evening?
- Choose a colour palette. There are some stunning options out there. Your decision will be based on your personal favourites as well as the occasion.
- Create the ambience. What type of feel do you want your table to have? What’s on the menu? Are you going for, say, a relaxed outdoor feel? If so, you’ll probably stick to natural textures and earthy tones. Alternatively, you could bring in greens with lots of plants and/or leaves. If you want a more formal feel then you’ll include more elaborate floral arrangements, lots of candles and something like the richness of gold metallics.
Create An Overall Environment
- It’s not only about the design of the table itself but encompasses the food, the seating and any other areas of the house or area where your guests may visit.
- Add complementary touches such as candles, foliage/flowers and hand towels in the bathroom.
- Faux fur throws, colourful cushions or floral/leaf trims on the seating will add to the picture.
Add Personal Touches
Include handwritten menus or place names and touches like a napkin and a sprig of rosemary tied with jute or a tulip laid on a napkin and tied with a bow.
The red and green theme is easily changed out by shifting to multi-coloured florals.Colour Palettes
- Black and white checks/stripes with apple green accents and real apple trimmings.
- All white and glass.
- Blue patterned china and pink flowers.
- Multi-coloured brights or pastels décor, china, glassware, and florals: pink, yellow, orange, purple, blue.
- Lilac and white
- Navy blue and gold
Red roses, greenery, artichokes, vine tomatoes and stands of strawberries, green and white patterned plating on green charger plates and green seating create this red and green theme.Themes
- Rustic: Thinly sliced tree trunk charger plates, green-hued plating and glasses, gold flatware. Berry branches tied with jute and handwritten name tags.
- Citrus: Lemon, lime, and orange-hued or patterned tablecloth or runner with similar coloured/patterned napery. A stunning centrepiece arrangement mixing up fruit and flowers in the same colour palette with fruit pieces dotted down the table and a leafed fruit on each plate.
- Pretty: A scrunched tulle table runner flowing to the ground at each end dotted with numerous single white china bud vases filled with single flower stems. The white theme continues through chinaware and includes the plating, napery and seating. The floral trimmings are white, one colour or multi-coloured.
- Show Stopper: Get inventive and hollow out a cabbage, pop a vase or jar inside and fill it with your floral arrangement.
Tips
- Use lots of fresh flowers and/or greenery. Think hydrangeas, peonies, roses, daisies and eucalyptus, monstera and palm leaves and fresh herbs.
- Twigs and branches can work well.
- Go nuts with gypsophila – it’s magical used en masse.
- Make use of vases, buckets and/or pots.
- A collection of mini bud vases filled with flowers or greenery works a treat.
- Tall tapered candles create a stunning show and don’t take up too much table space.
- Always compliment the table with beautiful glassware.
- Odd numbers look best so use groups of one, three, five, seven.
