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It's always nice to keep the table adorned even when a meal isn't imminent. The bright colors of all these organic goodies enliven this dining table for the holidays, though I have a feeling this long platter wasn't full for long!
by Regina Gust Designs
Do you live somewhere warm enough to dine al fresco? If so, I'm jealous, but I'd love to see your table.
by Michelle Edwards
Do you force bulbs for your centerpieces? If so, are you a paperwhite or an amaryllis type? Please show us what you've come up with for your centerpieces and place settings. Post your best photo from last year or this year below!
Atherton Holiday House Tour

Comments

Suzy My rustic and refined dining room table is set with a special Christmas Eve dinner for six in mind. The guests will include our parents and adult children. The grandchildren will be off visiting their other grandparents for a few hours, so this gave me the opportunity to create an intimate table that will invite a leisurely meal and good conversation.
5 months ago · ·
Michelle Hi Becky;
Strangely enough, I invariably start my living and dining room decoration
with setting the dining room table, trying different versions. This will then determine what kind of ambiance I will choose for my trees, out of the hundreds of glass, pearl or
silver ornaments I have collected over the past twenty years.
The first picture attached to this message, along with three other photos, was published in the November issue of "Romantic Homes, in a four page article dedicated to my last year's Christmas decoration, and was entitled" Dreaming of a Blue Christmas".
This year, my holiday "tablescape" is still mainly white, with silver and blue accents. Yet, the blue is more on the navy side,
Here are my different versions, adapted to the guests we will receive over the Season, as well as to the atmosphere we intend to convey on each occasion.
5 months ago · ·
Michele Lister Such beautiful tables! I love the simplicity of the tables in the article and the opulence of the reader tables. Just gorgeous.
5 months ago · ·
olldbobbi I love both paperwhites and amaryllis! What does this mean????
5 months ago · ·
Pink Fortitude, LLC We are hosting several holiday gatherings with family and friends. The hot chocolate station was taken from another Houzz ideabook and we'll keep that up through the winter.
5 months ago · ·
Susan Nowell @ My Place to Yours Merry Christmas, Becky and Houzz readers! Tablescaping and Christmas are two of my all-time favorite topics. You, too? Although we'll be out of town for the holidays, our table is still adorned with a gorgeous handpainted Christmas tablecloth I found at a thrift store in Brazil while working with Hope Unlimited for Children. Houzz readers, you're getting the first peak! (The complete tablescape will be posted on my blog later this week - www.myplacetoyours.co) My taste in Christmas decor is eclectic, so I'm also including pics from Christmases past ... featuring traditional, woodland, and Wintertime themes. Many more Christmas (and year 'round) tablescapes can be found at My Place to Yours.
5 months ago · ·
Pamela Robey I look forward all year to serving Christmas breakfast to my family!
5 months ago · ·
suzannevos My dinning room table is typically set with gold and ivory and leans toward a Victorian style. You may notice the knife rests (a Victorian must have) in one of these photos. The tree in the corner mimics the decorations on the tabletop with gold angels, hearts and flowers throughout.
5 months ago · ·
suzannevos I just set this table for a Tablescape Exhibition to benefit Habitat for Humanity. My book club buddy and I call it A Victorian Christmas and used Pride and Prejudice as our inspiration to create what we think represents Christmas in the garden. You can see a few more pictures on my blog at suzanneandmalcolm.blogspot.com
5 months ago · ·
ethnicitidesignonline We wanted to create an African inspired tablescape mixed with traditional christmas colors and floral. I typicaly start will the tablescape concept and carry it to the rest of the house
5 months ago · ·
Jo Ann DiGiacinto Love seeing everyone's holiday table. My tablescape reflects some of the outdoor elements (greenery, snow, birds, trees stumps) with a mix of metallics and golds. I created gift tags as place cards. love sitting at the table with family during the holidays. The tablescape sets the mood when the theme is created; you are captured by the details and makes it that much more intimate and comfortable.
5 months ago · ·
Vignette Design I mixed rustic elements for a Winter Wonderland Table. Perfect for Christmas eve.
Chargers are log slices. The plates are majolica. The centerpiece is a mix of moss, white hydrangeas in a faux bois container along with antler candelabras.
5 months ago · ·
Vignette Design Using both red and green transferware, tartan plaid placemats and a simple centerpiece of pinecone candles on a cake stand, I created a table for Christmas morning.
5 months ago · ·
golfbeach Casual formality for my table this year! I love to mix vintage and new items on my granite table. Our house is nearly 100 years old and the dining room has solid walnut paneling. I used vintage papier mâché Santa boots, glass balls and Annalee elves of all sizes...they even tumble on the chandelier!
5 months ago · ·
melissaskidmore This year I am going with a natural "white" theme with just a touch of blue. I like the soft feeling it creates. I always use a lot of yard sale and thrift store finds!
5 months ago · ·
smithde Christmas dinner is our time to sit back and feel the warm glow of the holiday season. This table-scape helps to set the tone with rich reds & golds.
5 months ago · ·
ejheather I went with gold, ivory and crystal. I covered battery operated votive candles with an upside down plastic crystal candle stick holder - made nice twinkling effects. The total cost for this table setting was $13. I bought the sparkly wide ribbon for chairs and runner. I purchased elegant gold ribbon to tie the cloth napkins with. I sprayed the chargers with gold paint. I made the runner out of fabric that had been purchased in the Orient about 40 years ago by my grandmother. The ornaments were purchased at the dollar store last year. Everything else I had stashed away. This is a great color scheme because it can be used at any time during the year, changing the round ornaments to something else. Tying the gold ribbon on the back of each chair gives the unmatched wood chairs a unifying effect. The other picture is the front door and the outside of the house. We decorated for a special couple's dinner party.
5 months ago · ·
ejheather I just realized I added the same picture twice. Here is the other table setting picture I meant to use. Sorry about that.
5 months ago · ·
jannie I'm not hosting so my tablescape is predominantly black and white in preparation for tax season.
5 months ago · ·
pennymoon My table setting will serve a quiet Christmas dinner with my husband, son, and his girlfriend. I love the traditional red and green decor, but I added a touch of whimsical by adding lime green accents to the centerpiece and with the ornaments that adorn each plate. We remodeled last summer and love our cozy eat-in kitchen!
5 months ago · ·
tambrosia Love the tables. I wanted traditional red, green, gold and silver in the dining room this year. I love the large ornaments hanging from the light.
5 months ago · ·
lireese I don't like the table to be so crowded that we have to be careful each time we pick up our wine glasses, so I put most of the decoration above on the chandelier, and I also dress up the chairs. This year I used a lot of glittery gold and silver with snowflakes.
5 months ago · ·
alkihouse I found these red plates at Marshalls so I went with a red and white theme for a casual Christmas dinner.
5 months ago · ·
mugsy1703 WOW! Would one of the above be willing to come over to my house to decorate my tables for our Christmas Eve dinner? I am hosting 32 people and haven't got a clue what to do ... Orangeville, Ontario, Canada :-)
5 months ago · ·
Becky Harris Wow you guys are good! Please keep them coming, they are so wonderful to see!
5 months ago · ·
editedinteriors I had a trial run of our Christmas table thanks to a brunch I hosted for fellow home organizers. I went with a super simple, inexpensive, nature-inspired tablescape. It is basically white, silver and blue with some natural colour coming from the magnolia leaves, pine cones and burlap. I picked up the two white bird ornaments at a local florist's shop. As it happened, a guest brought everyone chocolates in blue and white boxes -- perfect fit for the table!
5 months ago · ·
honolulululu These tables are absolutely beautiful and took a lot of thoughtful planning and care. My table will be set for 12, but with room on the table for most of the food. We enjoy admiring the food as well as the decor, and its fun passing the food around family style. I haven't had time to think of the table setting yet this year. I live in Hawaii, and usually send the kids out into the yard to bring back clippings of fern, palm, bougainvillea, and whatever flowers are blooming, and we decorate the center length of the table and add candles. This leaves plenty of room for platters of food and drink.
5 months ago · ·
karin801 The mantel and the table centerpiece done by my friend, Frank, just prior to his Christmas party
5 months ago · ·
sharonsf Snowmen of all types are the stars of my Christmas tablescape. Over the years I have collected a wonderful variety. I've always loved the traditional Spode Christmas tree pattern china so the plates are a favorite.
5 months ago · ·
pauli12 First Christmas, so still working on it, but it is ending up that everything has animals on it. The cloth, dishes, place mats.
5 months ago · ·
Shari This tablescape was done in a friend's home {what an amazing home it is!}. The styling was performed by 3 of us with the thought of keeping it simple & green. Repurposing & low cost. The table runner is from vintage wool blanket. Our use of organic elements for each place setting is very simple to do in California. Mix & match dishes, serviceware and glasseware too.The perfect luncheon/dessert setting for the women of Goat Hill Fair. {www.goathillfair.com}
5 months ago · ·
Casart Coverings All of the pictures made me want to invite myself to those tables for a holiday meal. But Jannie's comment made me chuckle "Ho, ho, ho!"
5 months ago ·
coratan Just something simple and elegant.
5 months ago · ·
mindyfrancis A small extra table for extra seating.
5 months ago · ·
trinahernandez Simple but chic.
5 months ago · ·
Panageries “City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style.” Although red and green are popular colors for Christmas time, you don’t have to use them to have a festive and beautiful tabletop. When it comes to decorating your tabletop for the holiday season, think about the colors you’ve used in your interior decorating and bring them into your holiday decorating. We used gold’s, silvers, coppers, and ivories in our tabletop décor to seamlessly coordinate with the rooms color palette. Your colors… the perfect centerpiece… and beautifully placed table settings! “Ring-a-ling, hear them sing – soon it will be Christmas day!”
5 months ago · ·
Becky Harris Hey All! I am getting ready to pull some of these for a featured ideabook, so if you haven't had time to post your pictures yet, please do it by tomorrow afternoon. Thanks! Becky
5 months ago ·
mindyfrancis Here's a couple more
5 months ago · ·
Casart Coverings Becky, answering your call to action. Everyone's tablescapes are beautiful!. Here's our answer for easily enhancing the ambiance for a Christmas tablescape with our red Faux Padded Harlequin temporary wallcovering. You can use it for the holidays and remove and reuse many times again: http://www.casartcoverings.com/wallfinishes.html#harlequin
5 months ago ·
Spallina Interiors Formal table setting in red and silver. The chandelier is decorated with vintage crystal ornaments collected through the years,
5 months ago ·
beckster18 I love decorating for Christmas every year. My tables scape is usually the first thing I do the day after Thanksgiving.
5 months ago · ·
gschneider Hope it's not too late - we're just a bit behind getting ready, but quickly catching up! Here's our sparkling version of natural farmhouse style. The table boards were actually salvaged from an old barn & cut down for our table length, then placed side by side for extra width. We're fortunate to have so much wonderful smelling cedar (evergreen) in Ohio that we're able to incorporate fresh greens amongst our natural looking artificial greens. (But wear gloves when working with cedar or ouch!) We also use scentless candles from Hobby Lobby at the dinner table so as not to overwhelm the food aromas & taste.
5 months ago · ·
Michelle A last minute casual tablescape in the family room eating area....
5 months ago · ·
pursue Lenox Christmas dishes from the 80's. Centerpiece includes German mini nutcrackers and German Leyk candle houses that the grandchildren like to light. A little boxwood snipped from the yard completes the simple table setting.
5 months ago ·
Laura Zar Probably my favorite room in the house, and ironically the least used! Would have looked a little better with my wine goblets on the table, but with a 2-yr old I'm already pushing my luck here!
5 months ago · ·
dorisboo My tablescape changes from year to year, this year I decided to combine a rustic feel with a little bit of glitter. I like to start with a focal point (this being the chandelier this year) and work from there. Using the lemons from our yard ties in with the rustic feel of the burlap and using the glittered reindeer and snowman brings in a bit of whimsy. Seeing the lovely creativity of the other posts is so inspiring, it makes me think of what I may do for the upcoming year...
5 months ago ·
browncoat55 Simple casual
5 months ago ·
browncoat55 Everything changes year to year. But always fresh fruit and flowers
5 months ago ·
Maria Watts Red and gold table setting. Dinner for nine, friends and family.
5 months ago ·
Interior Views Just a few images of a few very different tables I designed this year for a Christmas House Tour. Since it was a fundraiser, and resources were limited, I used whatever was available. I tried to make each dining room look completely different and at the same time reflect the inhabitants of the home.
5 months ago · ·
Dream Windows & interiors My dining room is set witha red and white theme this year. I glued candy canes around a red candle and placed on holders. The center piece is a cake plate with a glass vase turned upside down. Red apple ornaments are inside, a candle and ring of apples around. Mini vases with white roses, white carnations and baby's breath surround the center piece
5 months ago ·
honolulululu My table isn't finished, but considering I just got a new floor put in the dining room and kitchen yesterday.....I think I am doing pretty good. Moved the table in this morning. I clipped fresh greens from the yard to lay on the table surrounding potted herbs..parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, basil, a baby anthurium. Not only does it smell wonderful, but it will all go back outside. 4 keiki at the table, hence the stuffed toys. Each place setting holds an ornament of a different Santa. Depending on what Santa is doing, (fishing, carpenter, basketball, etc), guests play the game to figure out where to sit. Keiki will have child's play ornaments. Homemade etched glasses round everything out. Merry Christmas everyone from Hawaii!!
5 months ago · ·
belot simple christmas dinner for my family.
5 months ago ·
browncoat55 For belot. I love the simplicity. Are those nuts in the candles? If so I did that too for the first time this year; see above
5 months ago ·
belot Thank you!! yes they're nuts. I plan to do something like you with fruits for the new year.
5 months ago ·
coratan Finished product the family has dinner on Christmas Eve. Ringing in the holiday with lots of cheer, music, laughter and LOVE.
5 months ago · ·
kairi00 at this christmas we have white-black christmas table and white christmastree;)
5 months ago · ·
gaye I live in a Queen Anne Victorian and this is the table scape in my dining room at Christmas.
7 weeks ago ·
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