5 Easy Ways To Add Style To Your Table Slideshow

When it comes to creating a table with color, there are two basic angles I will take:

A) Monochromatic: Choose one color (or subtle variations on the color) and use it throughout the table. It could be everything from the tablecloth to the centerpiece all in the same color. Alternatively, sometimes I will mix basic white linens and plates with a brightly-colored centerpiece and coordinating pops of color through the use of drinking glasses or accent plates.

B) Contrasting Colors: Finding two colors that are contrasting, (think blue and orange, purple and turquoise, or pink and yellow) can be an exciting way to showcase your collections of linens, glasses, or plates, with a drool-worthy effect. When brought together in a mini work of art, two clashing colors have this energy that I love. This is an especially eye-catching look if you have a tablecloth in one saturated color, like a deep blue, and then place pops of the contrasting color — like bright orange plates, napkins, flowers, and candies in this case — throughout the table.

I know this sounds crazy, but fruits and vegetables are a great alternative or addition to floral arrangements for your centerpiece. There are a variety of ways to elevate them from humble produce to an elegant tabletop accessory. I like to pile them in pretty silver bowls and scatter the bowls across a table, or pile them at the base of floral arrangements in a complementary color scheme. 

Many people have collections of something beloved — and a beautiful tablescape is a fabulous arena to showcase them (I've got a thing for turquoise glass). By placing them front and center on a table, you can give them new life by using them to create an unusual and fresh centerpiece. 

I've included urns from my living room, repurposed all manner of containers as vases, and have even added books and paperweights to tablescapes. I even recently used a jewelry holder fashioned out of clamshells as a salt cellar (left). Think seashells, old perfume bottles, vintage jewelry, milk glass — there is always a new way to make your tchotchkes the center of attention!

This approach is all about telling a story. Incorporate your grandmother's wedding silver with your Crate and Barrel dishes, vintage silver cocktail shakers with modern barware, or even just a smorgasbord of colorful china you found at the flea market in a variety of patterns. 

One of my good friends took this idea and ran with it, registering for two dozen different patterns for her wedding — one plate of each pattern that she loved. She keeps them displayed in a lovely china cabinet, but when she sets a table with all of them, they come together in a fabulous, eclectic way that is completely original. For the rest of us, try mixing patterns from course to course, or coordinate dinner, salad, and dessert plates that don't match with a funky water glass thrown in for good measure!

I often get questions on my blog about where I buy my tablecloths and now my secret is out: I rarely buy them, I make them. I hit the fabric stores in order to find exactly what I am looking for — or just to wait for inspiration to strike. For the cost of the fabric and thread, making your own is a very cost-effective solution for exactly the tablecloth you've been envisioning. Not skilling at sewing? Don't fret — neither am I.  I use hem tape, or better yet, barter with your mother (or neighbor) for sewn hems like I do!

I am also a big fan of shopping vintage stores, tag sales and antique malls for great vintage linen cocktail napkins, interesting place mats, and, occasionally, if you are lucky, white linen napkins and tablecloths. I can never have enough of those!