Designer decks the table with creativity and style
Christmas will come Venetian-style at DeJuan Stroud’s New York home, with white opera masks, red and gold décor and buckets of Murano glass beads strung across the fireplace mantel and on the tree.
Stroud, who designs décor for events from small dinner parties to major galas, will be in Houston for the annual Deck the Tables event at the Houston Design Center.
Some 14 local designers will join Stroud as they each decorate a table for the holidays. There’s a competition involved, and the grand prize is a year’s worth of bragging rights. The table show will be open to the public through Friday.
Stroud, the author of “Designing Life’s Celebrations” (Rizzoli; 2016), began his career as a florist, then spent a decade working on Wall Street before returning to a career of event design.
Luxurious Christofle flatware and L’Objet dinnerware with red roses and calla lilies should dazzle on the table he’s decorating for the Houston event. As high design as it sounds, Stroud said his table’s rustic-glamour style is something any good DIYer could pull off.
Right now in New York, he’s planning a shimmery iridescent look for Central Park’s Belvedere Ball and simple-but-elegant décor for a donors’ event marking Carnegie Hall’s 80th birthday. For that one, he’ll combine spruce, juniper and cedar greenery
with pinecones and white peonies.
While flowers may not drive an event’s décor, no party is complete without them, he said. For the staying power that will get you through a few weeks or even the whole month, Stroud suggests using blooming plants, such as amaryllis, paper whites or even orchids. With a little care, these gorgeous blooms won’t end up as one-night wonders.
If you do choose stemmed flowers, you can’t go wrong with red roses for a table centerpiece. He joked that people always seem afraid to cut long-stem roses for a short vase, but a small, tight bundle of roses always carries a big impact.
“I love building bases of evergreens and, through the season, you can drop in flowers. Drop in those roses in a base of a holiday greenery or use it for a look on the mantel or as a centerpiece on the dining room table,” he said.
Red and green might be traditional for Christmas, but the contemporary combination of the year might just be white with a soft, warm gold. Not only is it a beautiful combination, but it also works for hosts with blended-faith invitation lists or for events that aren’t Christmas-centric.
“It’s a little elegant, and as more homes are decorated in neutrals, white flowers pair well with holiday greens. There’s a crispness to it that people seem to respond to — and there’s a nice variety of white flowers you can get.”
Stroud has a stash of vases, candlesticks and linens to tap into to create beautiful tables, but he didn’t get it all in one day. He urges people to prowl through flea markets and auctions for things you can use all year long.
For example, when a New Jersey factory that made science glassware went out of business, Stroud loaded up on beakers of all sizes to use in floral centerpieces.
“I bought a boatload,” he said. “They’re pure forms of chemistry beakers or flasks, and they’re wonderful for flowers. Some hold a gallon of water and some hold a half ounce; sometimes you can use one dramatic flower in that type of vase.”
Flea markets and antiques stores also can hold hidden treasure, and Stroud looks for hand-crafted pottery — in neutrals and browns — wherever he travels.
When it comes to your own home and your family’s holiday celebration, Stroud urges you to mix it up. Last year, Provence inspired his decorations, music and a Christmas Eve menu. This year it’s Venice, and next year’s might be Scotland.
“Get into the spirit of a new place. The internet is wonderful for ideas. Google ‘Christmas in Venice’ and you’ll get all kinds of information, what they do, what they eat …,” he said. “I’d urge people to make the effort and, within the context of the holidays, vary it up. And to your guests, it will be pure delight.”