A little Yee-haw and a little Smooth and Chic!
Author: Nicci Scuteri
Growing up, my mom Patty always made my sister and I help get our home prepared for our Thanksgiving celebration! That meant getting rid of all the clutter that filled the dining room 99% of the time (can anyone relate to this?) and setting the table. I didn’t mind setting the table because that meant I didn’t have to help do the dishes! Now at 24 years of age, setting the table for holidays has become more of a hobby rather than a chore –playing around with different looks, getting in the holiday spirit, creating something beautiful. My only decorating rule is: There are no rules! Anything goes. Have fun with it. This isn’t school and you aren’t being graded here!
The vision for my first look (country) came when I was at Green Acre Farms in Greece. I was shopping for some fresh apple cider when these big beautiful white pumpkins caught my eye. It’s always the traditional orange ones that everyone gravitates to but these white ones were so unique and charming—I had to have them! I snagged all 8 that were left. They were cheap too .45 cents a pound (the women says they weigh a lot less than orange pumpkins).
I then started working on my country tablescape. I really wanted these white pumpkins to be the star of the show so I kept everything simple, white and neutral to keep from adding contrast. I used a white crochet tablecloth, white frilly plateware, plain champagne glasses and glass candlesticks. I finished the look gold napkin rings and extra tall candlesticks to add a little height to the table.
My second look (contemporary) centers around nature’s creation of beautifully colored leaves. I drove by a tree that had the most vivid gem-toned topaz yellow colored leaves and I loved it. Though, rather than being “that person” and pulling my car over and cutting off some of those leaves in someone’s front yard, I ran to Michael’s and purchased a few artificial branches with gold leaves that mimicked the ones I had seen. Pretty cheap at about $1.49 a branch!
I continued with my theme of gem-toned colors for fall with an oversized whimsical green pear and deep purple from the red wine. Being that it was a contemporary tablescape I tried to keep the table pretty minimal by adding a few white candles, bottles of wine, gold-plated china, and some chotchkies sprinkled around.
Over sized pears not quite your thing? Swap it out for orange pumpkins instead!
