How To Set A Beautiful Holiday Table

You don’t need a special set of holiday china to set a table that also sets the mood. Any color china can be embellished to do the job nicely.

Here some more tips (see yesterday’s post) on how to take what you have and make the most of it.

Start with your everyday china. What color is it? I’m using Herend’s spectacular Elizabeth pattern. It’s super pricey ($250 per dinner plate), but it’s too beautiful not to play with. Really, any plate will do. Work with the main color and choose colors that will match, or coordinate. Gold and silver are usually good choices for holidays. There’s no law that says you can’t use any color you like because we’re going to make it say “Holiday” with a focal point.

Since the color I’m working is raspberry with gold accents, I’ve set a matching charger underneath. This gold banded style is from Ancienne Manufacture Royale ($150.00). Ouch?! I agree. Just scoot over to Target where you’ll find a wide variety of choices for about $15.00 each. Just make sure your charger complements the plate. Gold or silver are festive choices.

Now we need a plate for our focal point. I’m continuing with my raspberry and gold color palette by using a gold butter dish ($79.00 from Bernardaud). You can use gold, silver or a color than matches your dish. A small butter dish is nice because its size focuses the eye on the center. Here is another example, using a larger plate from the same Gold Leaf pattern, which makes the point that smaller is better.

Top the small dish with an ornament of the season. Keep in mind that you want to use something that complements your color palette. Here are some ideas.

• Christmas: an ornament tied with a satin ribbon
• Thanksgiving: a leaf, pine cone, berries, gourd. Tie a satin ribbon at the stem.
• Hanukkah: A dreidel, a little box tied with ribbon

Now that we have our focal point, we’re going to round out the place setting with stainless, flatware from Waterford ($89.00 5 piece setting). A little gold accent is nice with our setting. For a less expensive option, try this one from Target.

I’m not one for fancy napkin folding, so I used a simple snowflake ring and a jewel-toned green napkin. Jewel tones go together. Blue goes with red, silver, orange. Not everything has to match.

Finally, make sure you have enough wine glasses. Drinking glasses are not allowed! If you use proper wine glasses you can buy less expensive wine and it will taste better. These are from Juliska and Simon Pearce.

My centerpiece are simple flowers in a coordinating color. Actually, these flowers were awful – sprayed! The stuff got all over everything. They look pretty, though.

Jennifer’s Tips

1. Use your regular china and choose a matching or coordinating color palette. Gold and silver are good holiday choices

2. Create a focal point by using a small plate topped with an ornament of the season.

3. Use real wine glasses

4. Linens should be natural fibers and ribbons should be satin or grosgrain – no giftwrap.

Thanks to The League Shop, Grosse Pointe’s best tabletop shop, for allowing me to borrow their beautiful dishes and tableware. They will be happy to take orders over the phone and ship the Herend china directly to my door (LOL)!

Do you have some holiday tips? Share!

Bright Color for Christmas Decoration

I enjoyed reading this trend story over at Color for Your Home. It focuses on using bright colors for Christmas decoration.

It’s nice to see choices that aren’t the typical red and green. To read the post and see all the fun images, follow this link.

DH Giveaway! Handmade Christmas Stocking

This week’s giveaway is a beautiful, handmade Christmas stocking, designed, machine embroidered, and sewn together by me! Say nice things about it!

This giveaway is like the others. It last all week and I’ll draw the winner at random on Saturday. Leave a comment under any of the posts and you’re in. I ship to the US and Canada.

I’ll run reminder posts, with the final one on Wednesday. Then I’m off for Thanksgiving. But you’ll hear from me on Saturday when I announce the winner. And don’t forget that starting next week I’ll be running two giveaways each week until Christmas.

Lettepress from Paper Source

This letterpress kit from Paper Source is something I could really get into. I’m a fan of the dying art of letter writing. Never underestimate the power of a hand-written thank-you note.

Now you can make your own handprinted stationary with this letterpress kit from Paper Source. Make your own monogrammed stationary, Christmas cards, thank-you notes – a thousand and one uses. Yay! Become the most popular craftster on your block – everyone will want to be your best friend in exchange for their own stationary made by you. Better than a pork chop any day.

The letterpress kit (comes with a bunch of stuff) sells for $149.99. The wedding, alphabet (not shown)  Christmas kits sell for $24.99 each.

I’d like to see more kits and Paper Source should add a link to extra paper. Other than that, I love it. How about you?

DH Gift Guide: 5 Great Gifts For Guitar Players

My gift guides this year aren’t just about interior design. I thought I’d spread the subject out. After all, we like interior design. But it’s not necessarily the thing for those we love. Plus, it gives me a chance to visit life outside the box for a bit and work on my own shopping list. wink, wink.

Do you know a guitar player? How about a wanna-be guitar player? Here are some ideas from my favorite musician, misterarthur.

1. Personalized Picks

All the big rock stars have them.¬† Here, for example, a front and back of one of Eric Clapton’s picks: There’s no reason you can’t do the same for the guitar player in your life.¬† Lots of places sell them, but Pickworld or Clayton Custom are good places to start.

Before you buy, check your player’s preferences. Picks are made of various materials and thicknesses. Your guitarist may prefer one over another.¬† Even if you don’t get them exactly right, your player will be thrilled. Read More…