The art of tablescaping has been on the rise since 2020 and doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. Born out of many evenings whiled away at home during lockdown, beautifully curated table setups that had once been the mainstay of weddings and events, suddenly started to make an appearance in the more humble setting of our own homes.
Since then, laying the table for a dinner party or intimate gathering has become so much more than putting down a few chipped plates and paper napkins. Influenced heavily by the ongoing rise of social media, making a real occasion from our get togethers has grown in popularity; and so too has creative tablescaping.
Here are some of our top tips for how you can elevate your tablescapes at home.
Pick a loose theme and stick to it
There needs to be a cohesive thread that ties everything on your table together, by doing this it's hard to go wrong!
This can be as simple as a colour that runs throughout the design (for example - in the glassware, candles and napkins) or a more distinctive theme that can influence each element - such as cottagecore florals or coastal chic.
Make it multi dimensional for maximum impact
In order to create impact, your tablescape needs to work in layers. Think about the different heights you can create using flowers and candles, or the way in which you can bring varying textures into your design through fabrics and tableware.
Our eye is naturally drawn to groups of things placed in odd numbers, so consider clustering groups of bud vases and taper candles in sets of threes or fives down the table.
Choose things that are functional as well as beautiful
Everyone loves a table that looks good, but it needs to serve its purpose too, so think about how you can protect your table from certain elements whilst still making it look beautiful.
If you’re choosing to use fruit as props, then consider the stains and spills that might be caused; the same goes for large pillar candles that look great but will often drip hot wax everywere.
Our ceramic styling discs are a simple but elegant way of protecting your tables, without taking away from the style and sophistication of your overall tablescape design.
Don’t forget the importance of light and scent
In our opinion, candles are a must for every table – even if it’s the middle of the day in Summer. Their appeal lies less in the light but more in the atmosphere they bring to a table – a soft, flickering natural flame truly just makes everything look better.
It’s important to include different types of candles at different heights and in different guises; tall tapered candles can bring form and structure to a table, but adding small clusters of tealights additionally brings warmth and intimacy to a setting.
We personally love to use scented tealights (St. Eval are our favourites!) which we think look beautiful in our textured votives.
Add some personal touches
We believe that it’s important to bring a bit of your own personality into your
tablescape where you can. A nice way of doing this is by creating simple, hand-written menus or place names for each of your guests.
You can find and use templates for this on sites like Etsy and Canva, or get creative and illustrate your own!
Our ceramic stationery holder is a beautiful way of displaying these paper goods on your table and will really elevate your overall tablescape design into something that feels stylish and sophisticated – whilst still feeling personal.
So there you have it – our top tips for elevating your tablescapes at home. Get creative and have fun; we can’t wait to see what you create!
Jess + Jen x