Living in Vancouver, I am lucky to be nearby to a number of wonderful Interior Design shops. I will often visit and peruse to see local colour and design trends. On one of those trips last year at The Cross Decor and Design store (a favourite of mine), I came across the most stunning gold leaf garland. It is simply a work of art. It can be used as both a wall hanging and as garland. This leafy beauty became the inspiration for my Fall Holiday Tablescape. The distressed metal leaves emit a simple elegance as the curves of the garland move your eye along it's length. I knew I wanted to pair the leaf garland with a rich hue, equal in elegance but strong enough to not get lost. After much thought, I decided on deep purple/aubergine and wine accent colours, as I feel the deep warmth of the aubergine complements and brings out the shimmer of the gold leaves.
Once I determined the colour scheme, here were the four elements I focussed on to design this chic Fall Holiday Tablescape.
1. Start With The Centrepiece
As I stated above, this centrepiece is the star of the table. The gold leaf garland feels rich, like I've draped the table with art. The curve of the garland creates a sense of movement on the table that draws the eye immediately toward it.
2. Use Height To Create Drama
To complement the elegance of the centrepiece, I decided to use more formal taper candles and vintage, mismatched brass candle sticks. Height from the candles brings a sense of drama to the table that plays well with formal dining and table design. The candlesticks I used are different heights, creating variety and a beautiful soft ambience.
It's best to create groupings using odd numbers, so I used five candles sticks positioned around the table.
3. Create Layers
To further accentuate the essence of elegance, layers were created, starting first with the table runner, and then with each place setting. Classic white china dinnerware was used to contrast the aubergine colours in the napkins.
Gold details were carried throughout the tablescape to complement the leaf centrepiece in small details such as the chargers, cutlery, gold rimmed pastel pink wine glasses and even the "thankful" napkin rings. By keeping the details subtle, they did not overpower the leaf garland's focal point.
Most of the table and surrounding items were solid block colours, so patterned napkins with a hint of wine and white were used to add texture to the tablescape.
I couldn't find the exact napkins I wanted to complete the table's design, so I purchased washable fabric from Fabricana (a local BC fabric store), cut it into 16" X 16" squares and then sewed the fabric's edges to give the napkins a polished, finished look.
4. Include Seasonal Decorations
Once the place settings, centrepiece and candles are placed, it's time to fill in empty spaces to complete the tablescape design. I like to highlight seasonal items, that match the colour scheme, as well as the holiday we are celebrating. This table is heavy on gold, so I brought in faux and real pumpkins in neutral shades. I also used mini eggplants on the table to play on the aubergine colour theme and to highlight some of the ingredients in our Thanksgiving meal (I made a Vegetable Tian with seasonal root veg and eggplant as a side dish). I kept the scale of the decorations small, as I wanted them to accentuate the centrepiece, not compete with it.
At the end of the day, I was very happy with this chic, yet moody tablescape design. As someone who traditionally likes a bright, light tables, this Chic Gold & Aubergine Table was fun to create for a change.
I hope these tips are helpful for you, when creating your next tablescape. Have fun and try going dark and moody for your next evening in!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Krista xo
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