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Get Ready for Thanksgiving

Have you ever had a tabletop fail? Was it too spare and empty? Was it overly full? Was there a “vase in the face”? Did it look like someone parked William Sonoma in your house with just a bunch of random store stuff and no art, or life or tabletop soul?! 

I gotcha. Here are 3 easy ways to cure boring tabletops without parking the contents of an entire kitchen store on top of it. 

1. GET TO A THRIFT STORE, OR BUY VINTAGE

Get out there to any thrift store. They are often overwhelmed with glassware and plates and vases and bottles. The quickest and easiest way to mix it up is to add some weird vintage to the mix! Go ahead, stick some tiger stripe with your grandmother’s china. I sure did! 

These bone china tiger print plates and the adorable vintage bird salt and pepper shakers are from the thrift store near Malibu. This bamboo Noritake pattern is available at @replacementsltd. Check out those acorn-y branches! 

       Shopping hacks: 

To look for bone china (Which may feel the least sturdy but is actually VERY strong) read the fine print on the plates, they will often just say “bone china”, and hold plates up to the lights to see if light shines through. If it does, it may be a fine piece! 

To find good crystal that will sparkle in the candlelight and throw rainbows when sunlight streams thru, flick the side of any glass while holding by the stem or base. If it’s a resonant sound that carries, it’s likely crystal. If it’s a click, clang or thud- it’s not. 

Do not limit yourself to just plates and crystal! A collection of vases, globes, cookie jars, candles, or boxes, or or or or… groups of things look incredible with some branches and a set table. 

 2. GET OUTSIDE

Go cut some branches. They are truly seasonal of course, because the seasons are happening! They have the “local sense of place” because they grow right in your yard, and they can make a GRAND gesture. The added benefit is you probably needed to prune, so…. 

Add a little bit of Calabasas florist bought floral (I love real florists because they usually have refined tastes and get beyond the basics, in both filler AND flowers- but I also totally respect the basics offered at places like Trader Joes and farmers markets). The mix will give your table vibrancy.

Wash the branches you bring in and check them for aphids and the like. 

Fallen leaves and eucalyptus branches for a holiday table in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. 

3. GET WEIRD!

Table top is just fun, so don’t be afraid to get totally weird. I get weird with fabrics; from vintage finds (quilts, picnic blankets, tarps) to remnants from wonderful past projects, all kinds of fabric. I also get weird with random decor items (inspired by my incredibly chic aunt’s antique bowling pins and wooden spools). Here, I’m going to show you the same table, styled 3 different ways.  

Above is the “no fabric” look to avoid “vase in the face”, I’ve spaced the place settings accordingly, but let’s be real, I’m gonna put that thing on the counter and replace it with the wine when dinner rolls around. 

In this photo above you’ll see colorful remnant fabric, a bunch of our Toyon bush (a plant native to Los Angeles), and some gorgeous Cedar we had in the yard, with some florist-bought thistle and eucalyptus bud creating an impactful low arrangement.  My vintage globe collection is tucked in there, too. There was no moving this monster, it was dinner for 16! 

And a picnic blanket fall table. The blanket was too small for the table, but thrown over the seat of the banquette it was just as impactful. I found the perfect oak branches with acorn caps still attached in the backyard. That vintage trophy in the center is slim enough it can stay put. 

Last thing.

4. THERE ARE NO ACTUAL RULES

Just know that there are no actual rules. You can put the glasses on the wrong side, you can not have the “right” glass. You can put salad in a bowl, you can put soup in a mug. You can use a ship’s ladder as a bar as we did for the Historic Pasadena Showcase House with Mystic Waster Gardens.

Ship’s ladder as a bar. 

Mismatched vintage brooches with ribbons salvaged from gifts makes a perfect napkin ring on this formal table New Year’s Table. 

Table top and entertaining is a super satisfying way to be creative on a smaller scale, but you gotta remember this…
It’s also ok to blow off this whole blog post and have paper plates and a plastic cup full of sporks. I swear, it’s all fine! 

If you wanna get creative, try some of this, and if you wanna take it easy, do that! And if you’re in the Los Angeles area, and need a little help with styling using what you’ve got, we can handle it in a consult and a follow up package full of vintage goodness. Give the office a call