Although we firmly believe that thoughtful landscape design has the ability to inspire the most memorable gatherings in the home, the holiday season reminds us that our tablescapes are the true centerpiece to our holiday traditions.
Every year, we look forward to gathering with our dearest friends of Molly Britt Design, The Art of Being Female, along with a few other favorite small businesses to curate a beautiful fall tablescape. From selecting our color pallet, to setting the table, we find so much delight in assembling the details that we thought we’d share our pro tips and tricks in designing this space to inspire you!
First Things First
It’s important to consider the specifics before we jump ahead to the fun stuff..this will serve as your “road map” when it comes to getting down to the nitty gritty details. Ask yourself the following questions:
- How many people will be attending?
- The number of guests you expect to host will determine how much decor/ food that your table space can accommodate.
- How will you be serving your food?
- A buffet is great if you envision a luscious centerpiece, however, serving dishes at the table might be more accessible for reaching for those seconds. If you plan on keeping some dishes at the table, we recommend creating a more minimal tablescape around your serving-ware.
- How formal of an event?
- A casual meal calls for less silverware, while a formal multicourse event will require more space per each place setting (we don’t want to overcrowd the table!)
- Consider your lighting
- Planning on dining outdoors? We suggest layering lots of multi- height candles and/or tea lights in simple vessels as your centerpiece instead of focusing on florals!
- Planning on Indoor dining? Consider dimming the lights and incorporating a few staggered candle sticks to create a cozy ambiance.
Selecting Decor
Even the most experienced party planners have trouble visualizing and planning the decor elements. We found that assembling a simple mood board was a huge help in planning how all our elements will come together and eliminated the stress out of shopping!
Autumn is grounded in rich colors, familiar scents, and ever changing weather (unless your in California of course). We wanted to bring all the coziness of fall to the table by using a flannel tablecloth, clay dishes, and brass silverware while incorporating the gorgeous organic tones already found throughout the space.
PRO TIP: Don’t be afraid to mix styles, colors, and materials here! This helps give depth to the overall look while creating an interesting yet collected look that your guests can admire throughout the event.
Adding the Final Touch – Florals!
Being a landscape design studio, we sure do love incorporating greenery into every space possible – especially our tablescapes!
For this theme, we decided to keep it simple yet strategic by choosing stems with deep organic hues of mulberry and maroons. We also loved the simple yet strategic approach of the japanese floral technique known as Ikebana for a more “balanced look”.
Here are a list of florals you can look for at your local florist or market to recreate this arrangement!:
- Foraged sycamore tree branches
- Eucalyptus
- Berry stems
- Chocolate Cosmos
- Dried Stems
- Scabiosa Pods
PRO TIP: We believe it is extremely important to keep your centerpiece arrangements low and simple so as to not distract from conversation across the table. It is also paramount that we consider distance from any open flamed candles.
We hope these tips and tricks inspire you to create tablescapes for all the memorable gatherings to come this holiday season. Cheers!