Simple Holiday Tablescape
Hello, hello! I didn’t quite get this post finished in time for yesterday’s blog post, so you’re getting a Thursday post instead of Wednesday. Surprise and sorry for the schedule mix up! It has been a busy week at the Tuesday Made shop, as Emmett & I have been putting in long hours and late nights packing your orders (thank you for shopping small with us!). Despite the holiday rush, I did make time to style and photograph a simple seasonal tablescape for you using my favorite pine needle garland. Remember my post on 10 Ideas for Styling Garland? Consider this an up-close look at number four. Click through for some early tabletop and dinner party inspiration as we head into the season of gathering…
I’ve already attended four(!) holiday work parties this month, so I’m definitely feeling the festive spirit! We also had very early snow, so I’m mentally ready and am fully supporting holiday festivities (even the early ones). Maybe I should attribute this to packing up all your pretty Tuesday Made holiday goodies. Anyway… let’s dive into my little spontaneous dinner party with my best gals (planning a holiday photoshoot felt reason enough to host a ladies night).
I’ll begin by saying, our dining room is far from complete. Aside from fresh drywall, primer, and a quick light fixture swap, we have yet to renovate this space- it’s really just a shell of a room. The only thing permanent (that will stay post renovation) is our vintage dining set and the pendant light. However, that never stops us from using it in the meantime… especially this time of year! We enjoy hosting friends & family- and I love a good dinner party.
Our dining table and chairs have a good story… we gave the entire set a much needed makeover. Check it out in this post, if you missed it previously! I’m looking forward to the day we renovate the dining room, just so our table & chairs can really shine in the room I had envisioned for them.
Before I discuss how I layered & styled the tabletop, I have to share the hilarity that was me trying to capture the below aerial photo… which was obviously a fail. I was home alone (no Emmett to assist), balancing on a ladder, while trying to push the heavy pendant light to the side in an effort to get the camera high enough to capture the entire table (this was with my left hand); my right arm and hand turned to jello and was shaking holding the weight of my hefty SLR camera (because let’s be real- I haven’t weight lifted in a year and I’m out of shape), all while trying to keep the camera semi still amongst heavy breathing. Ha! It was a scene. Can you picture it? You would have laughed and there was definitely some swearing involved. I did somehow manage to fit the entire table into the viewfinder, but unfortunately it turned out a bit grainy and dark thanks to my shaky posture of that acrobatic moment. I suppose you get the point!
For the tablescape itself, I kept things simple… striped linen napkins, white dishes, our everyday bamboo style flatware, gold rimmed coupes for a touch of elegance, a couple candles, and a single piece of pine garland strung down the center of the table. It took me all of 15 minutes to throw together. Easy!
I also did a little impromptu styling on our sideboard… yes- we still have and love our vintage burl credenza we hauled across the country during our move years ago! I have no idea where it will live once the dining room is renovated, because it doesn’t exactly fit here- but it’s one we’ll definitely keep and find a place for.
I pulled out some small festive details for our food- like these darling mini deer charcuterie servers, from a local shop, Foundation Goods.
I also shopped my shop and brought home some good books, more garland, new art, and some of my go-to accessories, like Thomas O’Brien’s footed magnifying glass.
Of course no tablescape is complete without some vintage details. The candleholders were thrifted and I saved some vintage French horns for our house… sorry to everyone who requested a restock- I only found so many and selfishly wanted a few of my own. I think it’s fun to tuck some unexpected items into the garland centerpiece- sculptural objects, florals, pinecones, candles, etc.
It was a good evening, we laughed, we celebrated, and enjoyed good food & company. Intimate dinner parties with good conversation will forever be my favorite way to socialize.
I’m really looking forward to Thanksgiving next week and the Christmas season thereafter. While it has been a tough year for me personally, we have a lot to celebrate. If my health journey has taught me anything, it’s to live and enjoy the moment- so that’s exactly what I’m going to do! I finally got some unexpected answers this week and I’m anxiously awaiting appointments with my doctors to plan my course of treatment. Thank you for being so encouraging and supportive, it really means a lot to me! I’ll share once I have more information and things are confirmed.
On a totally unrelated note, we blazed through our holiday decor in the shop. We’re 90% sold out of our holiday section! That being said, I wanted to say thank you for your support- I’m truly blown away with gratitude. On the contrary, if you have your eye on something- don’t wait until Black Friday because it will most likely be gone (if it’s holiday specific…. garlands, wreaths, stockings, etc). I wish I would have stocked more this season… I’m sorry to those of you that have messaged saying you missed out on something you really wanted. Speaking of the shop, I’ve got to get back there, so I’m signing off for now. Peggi is stepping in with a fun post you won’t want to miss tomorrow, so be sure to check back on Friday! Cheers to future holiday festivities! Who else is feeling the excitement? I’ll link the things I used for my spontaneous dinner party below, and coming to the blog on Monday… my annual holiday home tour! All good & happy things ahead.
