It’s one thing to know how to decorate your table for a dinner party, but most of the time, our dining room tables are decorative features in our homes.
Instead of just popping a vase of flowers in the centre of the table, I like to play around with heights and lengths to display some of my favourite decor pieces and add emphasis to the centrepiece. Here’s how I achieve this…
I like using a table runner at all times, not only for decorative reasons but for practical ones too … simply, it helps to protect my table from the flowers, decorations and ornaments.
It’s not very common to use a table runner that’s shorter than the length of a table, but what are rules if they’re not there to be broken! And this is a rule, I like to break quite often as I find using a shorter table runner makes one’s eye focus on the centrepiece. If you want to try this too, I’d suggest using table runners that are about a third of the table’s length.
I’ve then displayed some of my favourite decor items of varying heights and widths to create depth and contrast. On the outsides, I’ve used tall and sturdy features which are bound to catch one’s eye. As I work inwards, the decor is smaller and dainter before one’s eyes lifts again for the centrepiece. The idea is to try to create balance, so I’ve created near mirror-images on both sides of the centrepiece, but I’ve intentionally not made them identical … so don’t be afraid to play around with your various decor pieces to try to achieve this effect.
Make sure your centrepiece is eye-catching … it doesn’t necessarily need to be as big or bold as the decor pieces on the wings but it needs to be intriguing, like the candle holder I’ve used which has shiny, reflective glass.
We’d love to hear how you style your dining room table when it’s not in use.
Drop me a line on magazine@thepiebald.com, we’d love to chat.