There are two types of people in this world – there are the decorators and then there are those who absolutely don’t have a decorating bone in their body. The decorators get excited about the upcoming holiday season because it is a time where they get to spend money on table settings and table top decor holiday after holiday. On the other hand, the non decorators dread hosting holiday gatherings because they don’t know how to spice up their home to fit the celebrations or they just get too frustrated with all that goes with it.
But here at Ciao, we love holidays! We love that we can take our design skills and implement them in even the smallest of spaces and change our decor to match the seasons. And we want to share. For those of you who are natural decorators, we hope to give you pieces of inspiration you can incorporate into your already beautiful holiday table. And for those who “don’t even know where to start,” we want to change that. Read below for simple holiday table tricks to prepare you for Thursday’s turkey day. And no, it is not too late to incorporate these ideas into your holiday flair.
- Accent your table with burlap or other fall inspired ribbons. Burlap looks especially festive if wrapped around the backs of your dining room chairs – it adds instant style and is not overly expensive to do.
- Fill your vases with Chinese Lanterns to add color to your table top. We suggest Chinese lanterns due to their resemblance to pumpkins; but, any fall blooming flower will work – sunflowers, gerbera daisies, marigolds, orange roses. The possibilities really are endless.
- Up your style with the use of chargers at each place setting, Chargers can be found in every color and what’s best is if you stick to reds, greens, gold and neutrals, you can use the same set for every holiday.
- Placing gourds and pumpkins down the center of your table will add pops of greens, oranges, and yellows.
- Have a coastal inspired dining room? Use white pumpkins (you can buy them at the store, or paint the generic orange ones) as your centerpiece. Accent with brown, blue or silver to tie in your coastal or seaside theme.
- Gather a few fallen leaves and sticks from outside to add some rustic, natural decor to your event. Fill up glass vases or jars with fallen pine cones and lay sticks down the center of your table. Even twig inspired accent pieces will bring in some fall flavor. These Mariposa Boxes from Arteriors Home are absolutely stunning.
- Napkin rings can also be used every holiday if you get them in gold, silvers, or browns. They add instant flair and class to your table setting, and if that is all you want to do – that is okay! Napkin rings are made in every shape and style and can be often purchased in singles, fours, sixes, or eights.
- Use cloth napkins in red, orange and green hues instead of your typical throw away ones. With this you can add a little more color to your table by also using a runner down the middle or using the runner atop your dining room buffet. Our favorite is this Eastern Accents one.
- Hang burlap around your chandelier or if you have a lantern chandelier, place leaves, sticks, gourds, flowers and other fun fall symbolizing pieces inside the glass panes.
- And if you want to go real big with your decorating for the holidays – reupholster your dining chairs with fall inspired fabric. We love these particular ones from Vanguard Furniture and Lee Industries.
Remember that your table decor doesn’t have to be eccentric. Even the simplest Thanksgiving tables can be beautiful. And what is even more important is how you give thanks and with whom you have around your table.