This year our holiday seasons are certainly not like other years. Many of the things we look forward to celebrating each year have been put on pause in order to help one another stop the spread of Covid-19, and minimize this pandemic. Those beloved dishes, our loved ones, the memories we cherish each holiday won’t look the same but that doesn’t mean the holiday spirit isn’t alive and well within us, especially from what I’ve been seeing everywhere — quite the contrary, in fact!This year, it seems it’s the time we get creative and find new ways to celebrate, whether virtually or at a distance. And you want to decorate for the holiday season, but you also don’t want to break an arm and leg to do so? Then shopping your home will be the best, and most rewarding thing you’ll do!! You can effortlessly create lovely holiday decor or a holiday table with minimal effort and items by keeping things simple!
Below you’ll find all my tips, tricks, ideas and suggestions for recreating my holiday table this year …… a refined minimalist styling that effortlessly transitions from Thanksgiving into Winter Holidays using items you already have in your home!!
Now don’t get me wrong I love a beautiful white pumpkin or perfectly clustered heirloom gourds, but sometimes I don’t want that in my Autumn decor. This year I wasn’t into the fuss of taking out all the pumpkins. And that’s okay, sometimes you don’t necessarily have to decorate for holidays with things that are always quintessential, like pumpkins. I think that there’s so many other ways you can decorate for the holidays that play up each season naturally with your home’s surroundings.
It’s why I love using dried stems, flowers and foliage from whatever is outside, especially in warmer tones, simple textures and minimalist shapes. I felt those were the feelings this season was reflecting, at least for me, and with everything going on, I wanted this tablescape to reflect those feelings of rest that seem to be quite popular these days. Yes aesthetically I wanted to create something appealing to the eye, but lovely in the sense that was also calming and soothing, and reminded you of all the cool cozy feels this season embraces us with…..
Have fun with your styling this year, don’t overthink it one bit — you should use things that you love seeing and want to everyday, particularly if you’re planning on keeping it up all holiday season, as most do. I think with so many of keeping the holidays this year to just the household I think it’s a great time to try out different decor or styling techniques, use different pieces for your table you don’t entertain with when it’s a full house, try out recipes that take longer or require a bit more expensive ingredients. You can keep things simple but you can still absolutely make it wonder and special!!
Put on some music that you can vibe to whether it’s relaxing beats, jazzy or upbeat something you can dance to, whatever is going to get those creative juices flowing, think outside the box, go for it….Hope these table stylings help inspire your holiday decor this year!!
1. When in Doubt, Always Go with Candles!
When in doubt simply decorate with lots and lots and lots of candles! Of different heights, shapes, sizes, textures. Stick to one color or a soft monochromatic color palette! Not only are they effortlessly pretty, tiny candles are very affordable. It’s one of the best inexpensive ways to add the perfect amount of ambiance to your space. The more glowing candles, the merrier!
I love using lots of candles whether in a wedding or small event but especially during the winter holidays. Scandi decor has that innate natural ability to ooze coziness that I love and is so lovely. Their go-to, Candles!! Yes, hence why I’m always so drawn to their winter decor. Endless candles add that a specialness to a space don’t you think?
I know some people don’t like candles, but for the most part everyone really enjoys the flicker of a candle, especially one with a lovely woodsy scent.
And when grouped together, many candles can create one of the most comforting sights and feelings you could want in your home this time of year!!
… and never underestimate the magic fairy lights add to any holiday or winter decor!! You can never have enough! I recommend ones you can refill the battery packs.
2. Forage
Take a walk on the wild side! And by wild side I mean either right outside your front door or into your backyard if you have a garden or outdoor space, and see what treasures you can find!! Bring Nature Indoors! You’d be surprised how lovely stems of dried Florals can look just on their own, remember dried flowers are in right now 😉
Some flowers that are pastels or brightly colored in the Spring or Summertime, transform into rich warm and soft earthtoned Autumnal gems perfect to simply cut a stem or two, like Astilbe or Solidago. Arranged in either small bud vases, mini bottles {I love to save my essential oil bottles for this}, small jars or especially flower frogs {you can get them most places that sell floral supplies}…these dried stems make anything look like natural cozy minimalism perfection.
No matter where and what kind of space you live in, bringing nature indoors always adds a new life, calmness, freshness and a visual brightness to the space.
Where full bloom flowers are long gone, what remains are beautiful branches, cut a few and place them in a vase or pitch for a simple arrangement that can easily change along with the season. It’s certainly my favorite tip.
3. Layer. Layer. Layer!
Whenever I’m doing any table styling I love to layer my pieces, starting with linens. And I love to mostly work with a simple raw organic linen, preferably in neutral tones. With a wide linen runner, layered on top of an ivory print tablecloth I create the base for our tablescape. {Tip :: use a fabric that is easier to remove stains, like cotton, etc..}
Next choose your napkins, I chose to use the same linen fabric as my runners, simply folded and placed atop the plate and beneath these darling flower petal ceramic bowls.
Layer varying plates with different styles of silverware and glassware, keeping everything within the same color palette to create that soft flow.
The same thing goes for Decor where I highly recommend you mix it up!! I was inspired by a neutral cozy winter Scandi minimalist cabin in the forest, but if you have a certain color palette you want to go to that isn’t this, go ahead and incorporate whatever colors and details you love during the holiday winter season!!
4 . Take a Good Walk Around your Home ….. Use Everyday Items You Might Overlook
Use those every day items that you often overlook, they make wonderful decor pieces, and help layer your details, such as a wooden cheeseboard or slate slab to perfectly cluster a mix of simple but cozy glistening white candles. Seriously, make use of every candle you have and if they’re white it seriously makes it all that much cozy. Votives, Pillars, Tapers whatever you’ve got ….. light it up 😉
Rethink what your vases, containers and vessels typically do and make them do something new! I love turning vases with small openings into taper holders or little trinket dishes, spice ramekins or tiny bowls, shot glasses, mini tart pans and any darling vessel into votive holders.
This beautiful brown and gilded set is a vintage Japanese sake drinking set I picked up at an antique store in one of my favorite quaint New England towns of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. I have to make my way up there again whenever the coast is a bit clearer, they have so many great things 😉
For me the thrill and the joy and the invigorating spunk to create comes in the gathering of the pieces for a styling or a table, even if it’s something like at my house. And although I style events and I have a bigger inventory than most people, I am sure that if you really take a look around your home, you might be surprised at what you have that could be a nice piece of decor on your table.
Try to envision what would look nice with the flickering of a candle…I’ll take a nice whiskey etched glass or another glass that you might have in your cabinet that’s actually really nice. Once you place a votive candle in, it becomes something much more romantic and personal, but also quirky and personal and what do the Scandi say?….LOOK UPPP say funk blah blah blah blah
5. Choose In Season Touches
For your theme, color palette or perhaps your choosing to just incorporate a few seasonal specific touches, like I did, go with details that are obviously seasonally available to you right now. Whether you’re inspired by what you see in your market, and want to use fresh fruit or gourds and pumpkins that are easily found this time of year or perhaps you can get creative and use something we perhaps eat everyday like nuts that add a great Autumn/Winter feel.
I went with the comforting Chestnut!! They are quintessential this time of year. I had been eating them a few days before I left Portugal, and my father bought a bag recently, but this time of year until the new year in most Portuguese households Chestnuts are often roasting. It’s quite lovely, the smell of them roasting, the crackling fire, cracking them open around a table enjoying them with loved ones with a glass of Jorpiga {WHAT IS IT}….I certainly channelled that memory from my time in Portugal recently and wanted to recreate that feeing onto this table.
Inspiration can approach us in the least likely of ways…
But this decor also serves a purpose, some actually enjoy eating raw chestnuts so they’d make a great first nibble to enjoy on Thanksgiving paired with personal nut crackers. But of course feel free to use nuts, dried fruits or seasonal fruits or appetizer bite you prefer …..
….. then perhaps crush a few nuts and sprinkle atop your table, or scatter some bundles of grapes with pears — one must transform our quaint holiday table into a darling modern version of a romantic holiday table in one of Jane Austin’s stories …..
For Winter, add simple touches that you can find around your home, or outside as well, like greenery which is one of the easiest things you can get like fresh pine or eucalyptus.
Pinecones! Everybody usually has pinecones lying around and they make a great winter touch to any winter holiday decor style and add that natural element into your home. That effortless swap and addition of pinecones can instantly transform your table into a winter tablescape.
What’s more holiday than that winter fresh feeling when you put up a Wreath!! Whether you prefer a faux or fresh pine one or are creating one yourself using foliage or dried stems, like I did with this one pictured using Silver Dollar Eucalyptus and Salal leaves. It’s a great way to add that winter feel to your eating space. Of course I don’t suggest you place it right above where you will be eating, but it would look lovely and chic over a large frame, over a window or perhaps on your TV unit, a door or hung onto an archway!!
Replace your dried Autumn stems with Winter’s Fragrant dried stems like Pine or Eucalytptus, like Baby Blue variety which looks lovely in vases. I incorporated a few faux stems of Lunaria which I absolutely love, and I’ve been using it a lot more these recent years in winter holiday decorating because it adds such a soft whimsical coziness to a winter decor.
Yes, think outside the box and use some faux floral stems that you may have and love too!
6. Bust Out the Fancy Stuff ….. BUT Honestly, Only if you Really Want!
Whether it’s plates or silverware, like these pretty gold ones I used, or perhaps special glassware or linens that you have around, bring them out for this special time of year. I love bringing out our linen Christmas napkins for two day celebrations with the family, and I will still be bringing them out this year even if our celebration is only three people.
Bits and bobbles, bits and bobbles…that’s what I call them. The little things that you might find here and there, that often hold things or are just displayed on shelf not doing much, but they can in fact add so much to a holiday table display as something else like a vase, wooden garlands, or even an inverted ceramic votive holder as the base for another candle holder.
However and whatever you choose to do this holiday season, remember to be safe,
keep you distance, wear a mask, look out for one another, but also look out for you and your family!
Do what’s best for you in this moment.
Wishing you a very. very good holiday season, with love and health!
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