This Holiday season I was influenced by several things when I was thinking about what I would design for our Christmas tablescape, including what I had and what I saw at the recent Holiday House Design Show that I contributed to. Here is how I curated the look. I hope it inspires you.
I had purchased the handsome Waterford placemats and napkins some time ago. They were on sale and I thought the look and quality texture were so good that I’d find a use for them at some point. The pattern is suggestive of snowflakes and the blue and silver pattern would be a perfect foil or character in this design that would feature Silver, Gold, White and Blue. I know, I know. Not your traditional Christmas or Holiday colors of green and red but I wanted something that was less vibrant and more elegant. Something that would work with our view of the blue water bay and the glittering New York cityscape viewed from our windows, and the blue and greyscale of our open kitchen and dining room decor.
As you may know, I like to use personal memories and things that one might not consider for a table top but that nevertheless always add to the artful, storytelling element that is a hallmark of outstanding tablescapes.
I used one of my childhood books, “The Tall Book of Christmas” that is brimming with nearly 30 “stories, poems, and songs” (according to the publisher); along with my personal doodles! It’s a great conversation starter, too.
I included silver and gold jingle bells, twinkling lights - a variety of light sources from sconces to angels and churches and my go-to battery powered remote controlled lights.
I used tall vases filled with faux snow and bells, and a crystal pickle dish with gold fork and spoon that I filled with “diamond” faceted jewels that refract and reflect the lights from both the tabletop and from the fireplace and natural light. The overall look is Magical.
I tied in the blue color theme with a new find. Sickles Market offered Source and Tradition with her incredible porcelain seashells and bowls with their blue, white and gold designs. The look is Sublime!
I added the wishbones from previous chicken and turkey dinners ~ spray painting them gold and silver and put them in the shells. We delight in having our guests make a wish. Who doesn’t want to wish upon a star?
Building on the “tall” Christmas book anchor theme, I created a balancing “low” with not only the lights but also with horizontal vases filled with fresh lisianthus or prairie gentian, and seeded eucalyptus.
My floral designs on the table and piano and in our Christmas stocking holders are the white roses and the lisianthus and the eucalyptus. It’s a stylish and sophisticated combination that you can easily create.
To add to the holiday glamour, I layered in my cousin Terri’s white peacock table runner that she handcrafted with woah ~ antique threads, along with the Lenox dishes that feature a star, glittery design around the rim.
I found name tags and place cards with the same gold glitter design! They are so perfect.
And seriously, what is even more enchantingly perfect is that I was inspired by the Iris Danker tablescape design for a children’s table at her Holiday House Design Show. Iris featured mini santa hats as a way to include the mini cutlery.
I thought, what if i could find a mini Santa hat I could use as an embellishment to our table name tags place cards. I ordered from Purple Cloud on Etsy. Pure white with a gold ball on the tassel.
They are so adorable and at the same time, so exquisite.
To achieve a coordinated look, you need to layer in the elements. Stand back, and apprise or consider the composition. If you're pleased; just giddy knowing you will delight your family and guests, "put a fork in it." It's your gift of luxury to you and those you gather with...
Please enjoy this video tour of the table with my Holiday Gold & Silver & Blue design.
Holiday House Magic
The alluring tablescapes curated by the incredible cohort of designers featured at the Holiday House Design Show earlier this month was nothing short of breathtaking. Every single table decor was thoughtfully and artfully presented to inspire and delight.
So many of the designs there delighted and inspired me, that's for certain.
I share the looks with you here to help inspire and ignite your holiday table settings. I should note that you will see quite a bit of violet and purple used in the designs. Why? Because the Holiday House Design showcase was staged in Elizabeth Taylor's former white mansion in New York City. So her legendary violet eyes inspired the creations; including the signature cocktail I created for the event:
Gilded Violet Eyes
 |
| Barscape: All the Ingredients for the Gilded Violet Eyes & its Artful Garnish |
 |
| Philanthropist & Board Chair, Jean Shafiroff & me (!) posing for paparazzi) |
 |
| Me with celebrity designer, Thom Filicia and friend |
 |
| My talk & book singing |
 |
| Steal this idea! The table runner is Family Photos. |
 |
| Such a rich tableau... |
 |
| Sophisticated Red, Black and animal print~ Grrrr |
 |
| May be my favorite: Oh, those feathers! |
No comments:
Post a Comment