Looking for dramatic, daring, even whimsical tablescapes to evoke the mood of the season? Let the elements of interior design be the guide. Using theme, color, lighting and focal point, holiday hosts can create tabletop masterpieces in mere minutes, without sacrificing style.
As with any decorating challenge, it helps to start with a theme.
A theme helps guests understand the food and helps the host present a cohesive look, said Serena Bass, party planner to the stars and author of Serena, Food and Stories: Feeding Friends Every Hour of the Day (Stewart, Tabori and Chang, $32.50). In addition, a theme can make it easier to plan the decor.
It helps to have an anchor, whether its color or mood or theme, said Donata Maggipinto, author of Christmas Family Gatherings: Recipes and Ideas for Celebrating with People You Love (Chronicle Books, $22.95) and NBCs Today show home-style contributor. It helps people plan and organize and, in the end, brings cohesion to the presentation.
Great accent pieces often inspire great themes.
There is no rule here, Maggipinto said. One person may build the table around her once-a-year holiday china, another may want to showcase holiday flowers and candlelight.
Often, its easiest to choose the tablecloth first, Bass said. Let the color and pattern of the linen be the guide for choosing place settings, floral arrangements, candles and other table trappings.
Holiday revelers should not shy away from odd or unique inspiration pieces, Maggipinto said. Red Bakelite flatware may evoke a casual country Christmas, for example. Party planners could combine the collectibles with red and white vintage linens and winter flowers, like paper whites and amaryllis, potted in red enamelware buckets.
A white, faux-fur tablecloth can channel a white Christmas when mixed with pale pink and silver accents and topped off with a carnation snowman centerpiece.
Its fun for your guests because it takes them beyond the tried-and-tired-out red and green motif, Maggipinto said.
COHESIVE COLORS
To bring a theme to life, keep the color palette small.
A multihued look seems dangerously chaotic, Bass said. Its probably best to combine two or three colors and work in various shades of those colors.
Decorating divas should embrace unconventional color combinations, despite the predilection for red and green this time of year.
Peacock blue is my latest favorite from dark blue silk napkins to pale icy blue plates, Bass said.
You could pair these with a centerpiece of tangerines and kumquats spilling out of shiny little silver buckets, she said. Try to find orange-rimmed glasses or votive candles, and suddenly you look very chic and theatrical.
Maggipinto recommends new twists on traditional holiday hues, like sage green paired with white and pewter, or red jewel-tones, like garnet and purple, mixed with copper.
LIGHT THE WAY
Candlelight is a must for dinner parties, according to Maggipinto.
Flickering candlelight is texture in itself, she said. Candlelight makes everybody feel good and look beautiful.
Bass, too, is a fan of candlelight.
I use votive candles and pillar candles even at lunch time, she said. It focuses peoples attention onto the table and creates an intimate atmosphere.
From square, black lanterns with pillar candles to crystal candlesticks with tapers, candles coordinate with any theme or color scheme but not every candle is created equal.
Unscented beeswax candles are best because they burn clean and long, Maggipinto said. Scent only gets in the way of food aromas.
CHARMING
CENTERPIECES
Centerpieces basically fill the space in the middle of the table, Bass said. Flowers, fruit or a sea of votives something has to go there or the table would look half-finished, she said. I love a great big dramatic centerpiece if you have a round table, surrounded smaller versions.
Maggipinto refers to these small decorative accents as orbits.
Rather than being anchored in the center, they are arranged around the table, sort of like planets orbiting around the galaxy, she said.
When symmetry ruled the day, the key decorative element on a table was in the center, she said. Today, when anything goes even in more formal situations decorative elements can appear anywhere.
Just be cautious of blocking guests views.
Never put any object of height in front of a guest, Maggipinto said. Instead, opt for low and long, like a runner of branches and fruits interspersed with votive candles.
If a tall centerpiece makes the table, simply move the centerpiece before dinner and fill in the table with the accent pieces, Bass said.
Clever centerpieces and accents need not be expensive or elaborate.
According to Maggipinto, something as simple as a glass compote filled with vintage ornaments or a pile of pomegranates in a pewter bowl adds visual interest to the tablescape.
A large candelabra stocked with honeycomb beeswax candles, poinsettias floating in a frosted glass bowl or even a gazing ball from the garden also make great centerpieces, Maggipinto said.
There are no limits to how creative one can get.
Decorate with what makes you happy, Maggipinto said. If you are happy, your guests will be happy, too.
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