THE COUNTRY DECORATOR
From Family Feasts to celebration suppers, deck your dining table in its best Festive Finery this season
Lay a glitzy table with these festive-inspired place settings
1 ALL THE TRIMMINGS
Bring a rustic, woodland flavour to your table with foliage foraged from outdoors. ‘Place a decorative runner along the table, with a few votives dotted here and there, working in branches to add texture and height to the table,’ says Dan Cooper, Christmas Shop buyer at John Lewis & Partners. ‘Consider making each guest’s place that extra bit special by layering your best crockery on rustic wooden chargers and personalising each setting with gifts wrapped to match your scheme.’
2 SOPHISTICATED SILVER
While grey might not be the obvious colour choice for Christmas, mixing in accents of mercury glass on baubles and votives, teamed with platinumedged tableware, adds just the right amount of sparkle. ‘My biggest tip for decorating the table is to adorn the entire room with the same motifs,’ says Rebecca Malyon, head of product design at Neptune. ‘It makes the table look even more spectacular.’
3 CHRISTMAS A LA CARTE
Pull out all the stops and print personalised menus of the festive fayre on offer, as a keepsake for guests. ‘Dress up your table by pairing unexpected colour combinations, like the light blue tablecloth against the bright pink menu,’ says Christina Forman, creative director at Papier. ‘Choosing colours that aren’t traditionally associated with Christmas allows you to be more creative.’
4 FESTIVE FOLIAGE
An abundance of florals and foliage is an easy way of dressing up white linen tablecloths and napkins, with hand-tied sprigs at every setting. ‘A simple white table is timeless and elegant,’ says Ronny de Koning of Petersham Nurseries. ‘Flowers and foliage together with scented fir and waxflower, make a classic setting that’s easy to replicate using cuttings gathered from your own winter garden.’
5 SPARKLE AND SHINE
Add sprigs of foliage and pine cones to plain white china, and finish with jazzy place card holders. ‘If you do nothing else to your home, make it light and sparkly,’ says Chrissie Rucker, founder of The White Company. ‘Choose glass candle holders, and add fairy lights in a big glass bowl or hung from a mantelpiece. The Christmas table should look warm, inviting and glittery.’
6 MIDNIGHT ACCENTS
Put on the glitz with a dramatic midnight blue and gold dinner table. ‘Bring your table to life by layering it against a navy background, adding richness and depth with twigs, pine cones and foliage,’ says designer Sara Miller. ‘Add tiny gold stars to hint at a magical, starry night sky. Gold leaves and mini baubles in Moroccan tea glasses add an element of luxury and set the scene beautifully.’
7 SIMPLE SETTING
Take a pared-back approach with linen napkins and place mats on a rustic wooden table. ‘I love bringing the outside into the house using natural decorations – berries, fir branches and foliage,’ says interior designer Emma Sims-hilditch. ‘Then I’ll buy life-like winter flowers and berries to twist around the garlands. I’ll add offcuts from real trees, too, so you capture that lovely pine smell.’
8 PRECIOUS METALS
For a glam alternative to traditional festive greenery, go for a luxe palette of copper, blush and rose gold. Take a shimmery runner as your starting point. ‘Complement with delicate dinnerware, rose gold cutlery, glittery glassware and fairy lights,’ says Julie Varma, senior design director at George Home. Then personalise each setting with a handwritten place card and ribbon-tied cutlery.