Decorating Guides
Creating a Tablescape
Ah, the tablescape. There's a fine line between a perfect, David Hicks composition and a pile of junky clutter. If you've never been much of an arranger/merchandiser, here is where to start.
Take a good look at your clean surface and give it a good dusting.
Think about scale and height and what you use the table for. Will you need room for a drink? Will it require a coaster? Do you need the light from a table lamp there?
What do you tend to do in this space? Do you need some of it to remain clear for different activities? What will you need to store there/What needs to be close at hand? Is there a blank and boring wall behind it, or something that could use some height?
A lot of tablescape arrangement is simple trial and error. Your eye will know when you don't like the composition of your items. Keep moving stuff around.
Consider fresh flowers. Choose a vase that suits your flowers and your space. I find that limiting the arrangement to just one species of flowers or branches is more versatile than a fancy arrangement (those are best as centerpieces).
Here's a quick cheat sheet for items that look great on different surfaces.
Mantles: Vase collections, candlesticks, perhaps a bust or sculptures. This is also a great place to prop pictures in different arrangements.
Beside Table: Start with a reading lamp. A smile pile of books you like that are also pretty with a small tray on top for jewelry or glasses that you tend to take off bed after you're already tucked in. A cute little clock (I like the kate spade enamel small clocks and the L.L. Bean Big Ben travel clock, to name a few cuties). Yup, you're done - it was that easy. The icing on the cake is a sweet blossom in a small vase.
Coffee Table: Obviously, you don't want to block your view of your guests or your television. A few coffee table books is always nice, and I like to keep a funky box or oversized retro ashtray to hold all of the pesky remotes.
Console Table: Again, candles are great on these, as well as busts, coral, plants, lamps, perhaps a tea service. Because these tend to be longer, some semblance of symmetry is great on a long console.
Your Desk: Personally, I like to keep my desk as clear as possible, so I tend to let my little tablescapes work in one little area. Right now it's simply a ceramic lamp, a fun John Derian paperweight, a small Snow and Graham standing calender, and a small handprinted paper journal from Venice. It's all about the objects you'll enjoy seeing when you pull up to your desk - it might be a matchbox car or a picture of your dog.
The more you experiment, the better you'll get at making these little arrangements. Here's how some people are doing it well.
Take a good look at your clean surface and give it a good dusting.
Think about scale and height and what you use the table for. Will you need room for a drink? Will it require a coaster? Do you need the light from a table lamp there?
What do you tend to do in this space? Do you need some of it to remain clear for different activities? What will you need to store there/What needs to be close at hand? Is there a blank and boring wall behind it, or something that could use some height?
A lot of tablescape arrangement is simple trial and error. Your eye will know when you don't like the composition of your items. Keep moving stuff around.
Consider fresh flowers. Choose a vase that suits your flowers and your space. I find that limiting the arrangement to just one species of flowers or branches is more versatile than a fancy arrangement (those are best as centerpieces).
Here's a quick cheat sheet for items that look great on different surfaces.
Mantles: Vase collections, candlesticks, perhaps a bust or sculptures. This is also a great place to prop pictures in different arrangements.
Beside Table: Start with a reading lamp. A smile pile of books you like that are also pretty with a small tray on top for jewelry or glasses that you tend to take off bed after you're already tucked in. A cute little clock (I like the kate spade enamel small clocks and the L.L. Bean Big Ben travel clock, to name a few cuties). Yup, you're done - it was that easy. The icing on the cake is a sweet blossom in a small vase.
Coffee Table: Obviously, you don't want to block your view of your guests or your television. A few coffee table books is always nice, and I like to keep a funky box or oversized retro ashtray to hold all of the pesky remotes.
Console Table: Again, candles are great on these, as well as busts, coral, plants, lamps, perhaps a tea service. Because these tend to be longer, some semblance of symmetry is great on a long console.
Your Desk: Personally, I like to keep my desk as clear as possible, so I tend to let my little tablescapes work in one little area. Right now it's simply a ceramic lamp, a fun John Derian paperweight, a small Snow and Graham standing calender, and a small handprinted paper journal from Venice. It's all about the objects you'll enjoy seeing when you pull up to your desk - it might be a matchbox car or a picture of your dog.
The more you experiment, the better you'll get at making these little arrangements. Here's how some people are doing it well.
Books, a sweet urn of Lilly of the Valley and a bust. It's all a classic theme that works well with the Greek Key trim on the curtains.
This is the perfect way to do a coffee table flower arrangement. Not too tall, all one species of flower.
Just the right amount of stuff - the branches don't overwhelm the lamp, and vice-versa, and my eye goes straight to that glass object.
Almost everything in this tablescape is Asian style. These foo dogs and antique brushes fit right in with the Chinoiserie style of the room.
Mass similar items and collections.
This bedside tablescape is just right.
Experiment with how you compose your collections.
For example, I really like the way these go from tallest at the end to shortest toward the middle.
This tablescape is all about texture, and the balance is just right.
More experiments with texture.
Mirrors are always great over a mantle. I love the way they have propped several different mirrors together here.
Sometimes you might not realize that an object you already have can be arranged in a way that turns it into art. Look at all of your things with fresh eyes and ask yourself if it's something that you'd like to admire and show off.