This time last year I hosted our annual girls Christmas dinner, which you can read about here, but I never actually did a blog post on it because of the terrible bushfires. Only now does it feel right to post it, particularly because I wanted to share my Christmas table styling, with all the details and sources.
I also wanted to share my eco-friendly and inexpensive floral centrepiece, which I learned from my good friend, Nadine of Wild Flora Studio. Nadine and I regularly collaborate and last year I was a guest teacher at her Festive Florals and Table Styling workshop at the stunning Kalinya Estate. I should really do a blog post about that workshop too!
We recently had our girls dinner again, this time at Brooke Munro’s gorgeous property. It was so wonderful all getting together over a delicious dinner, in such a beautiful setting, and having a good girls catch up before Christmas. I posted on my Instastories for those that follow me on Instagram.
What I loved most about this table was that it was a nice change from the traditional red and white at Christmas. Sometimes, creating a tablescape that resembles a northern hemisphere Christmas feels weird (given how hot it can be here at Christmas), so I like to do something that reflects the environment outside and the climate we’re in.
Last Christmas (2019) it was extremely hot and dry, we’d had little rain all year, and bushfires were raging around the country, so that inspired me to select a more earthy colour palette; a murky saffron yellow, burnt orange, green, white, and smokey glassware (because the air outside was literally filled with smoke from bushfires).
When thinking about your Christmas table styling, or any beautiful table setting, you always want to layer your table. Tablecloth, placemat/s, plates, napkins. Anything two dimensional will feel a little flat, so creating layers adds a lot more interest. You can even layer your placemats (i.e one fabric, and one textural on top).
Also, it’s always pleasing to the eye to create different heights. It’s the same when decorating an interior; if everything is at the same height it feels boring, contrived and lacks interest. I always like to keep my centrepieces low, particularly with smaller groups (4-10), so people can see others clearly and you don’t need to move your arrangements off the table, which always make it feel a bit bare.
Another good tip is to consider and think about a “scheme” or colour palette, just as you would an interior. It will help create some cohesion and it makes things feel more refined and considered. I like to go for between 3 and 4 colours, usually, but sometimes a tablecloth, or the space i’m entertaining in, will dictate the colour scheme for me.
To create a floral centrepiece without using toxic floral foam, and one that will stand up proud, you just get some inexpensive avery wire, cut it the length of your container and roll it up. You can then easily poke the flower stems through the holes and they’ll stand up straight. You can also re-use this over and over again. It’s simply the best way to create a beautiful eco-friendly floral centrepiece and you also don’t need as many flowers either.
This is definitely one of my favourite tablescapes of all time and it’s quite a universal colour palette too and could be done in winter or summer.
I hope this has inspired you to think about mixing up Christmas decor and not always going the traditional red and green.
All the sources from the table are also listed below.
Nicki xo
Sources:
Napkins: Walter G Textiles
Plates: Pottery Barn
Smoke Glassware: Williams Sonoma
Rattan placemats: Flamingo Road Homewares
Cutlery: Laguiole by Jean Dubost
Glass hurricanes: the local $2 shop. They were about $20ea and I just filled them with fresh pine and dehydrates oranges.
Grey concrete look floral container: Bunnings! (and cheap)
Bon bon gift: homemade stovetop potpourri: idea from Chloe at Boxwood Avenue or you can see how I did it here