In our efforts to flatten the curve, adhering to the stay-at-home mandate has been a global undertaking that has rendered us stationary and confined to the familiar walls of our home. Despite being immobile to some degree, time is slowly or quickly moving fast depending on who you ask and with each passing day, various milestones are taking place. Although we willingly chose to stay indoors for the betterment of the world, remember that we can still choose to celebrate life’s special moments which is great for our mental health and general well being.
Through our Home Edition | 2020 series, we will be showing you how you can create a celebratory environment at home with the resources you currently own. This series is simply a how-to guide showing you just how feasible it is to mark these special moments during such precarious times. These setups were designed with you in mind as we opted for elements that we believe are common in many households such as florals, fruits, pillows, textiles, specific furniture pieces and items from the kitchen.
We’ll be exploring our thought process in deciding which objects to work with so you can use these guiding principles to create your very own tablescape. For our first instalment, we decided to focus on the heads of the household as we work our way from the top right down to the kids with the completion of this series.
[INTIMATE SETTING]
The objective of this intimate setting is to provide a space and an ambiance for two that is comfortable and places emphasis on the intimacy of the couple. This setup will be ideal for anniversaries, birthdays, date night or partners simply showing appreciation for one another.
If you want to skip ahead to watch our visual guide, click here or you can continue reading to see the thought process on how we arrived at the final product and how you can achieve this as well.
It helps to visualize what kind of setup you desire so before you start to look for items for your special date night, conceptualizing what you want puts you in a creative space and prepares you for the execution stage of your setup. Picture where you want this setup to occur, how you want to feel and the kind of energy you want present during this beautiful sit-down.
[LOCATION]
We opted for the floor because boy oh boy is there something intimate about being on the floor! If the floor isn’t your thing, we completely understand if you want to sit at the dining table but if it is, grab your throw pillows from the couch and put them to work! Settling around your coffee table is a good way to dine with your partner at eye level where you can be relaxed within the confines of your home and fully enjoy being in each other’s presence.
[MATERIALS]
Okay so now that we have that our location sorted, we can begin our scavenger hunt in search of materials! Regardless of what possessions you own, there is always beauty waiting to be unearthed in the ordinary so don’t overlook anything. When gathering the materials to work with, think of the basics first, then secondary items that will aid with your basics and finally work your way up to decor pieces that will elevate your entire tablescape.
Basics: Dishes, Silverware, Glasses
Secondary: Charger plates, Coaster, Napkins
Decor: Flowers, Vases, Candles, Candleholders
Our scavenger hunt produced the following items:
Below is a complete list of items we used in our setup:
Basics: Square plates, Ceramic Bowl, Silverware, Glasses
Secondary: Trivet, Coaster, Napkins, Ikea throw
Decor: Faux Flowers & Greenery, Pampas Grass, Oranges, Wooden tray, Starbucks bottle
Setup: Coffee Table, Throw Pillows
[ASSEMBLY]
Play around with the placement of objects and remember that any idea is worth exploring! If there was ever a chance to be experimental, it would definitely have to be during this lockdown period we are all experiencing as a community. Let's also keep in mind a few design elements and principles to see how well they work with each other.,
TEXTURES & TEXTILES
Texture is all about the physical and visual experience. Taking our Ikea throw, we layered this tablescape with some texture and contrast by placing our textile on the clean smooth surface of the marble coffee table. Placing the throw on only half of the table was a conscious decision to add some depth and visual interest.
SHAPES
We played around with shapes to see how well they interact with each other. In this example, the square shaped plates were placed to look like a triangle in contrast to the round shaped table. We opted for this diamond shape because it is still functional yet satisfies an aesthetic need to create varying shapes. You can observe shapes in the littlest of things - the coaster even has a triangular and circular shape!
FOCAL POINT
For the centrepiece, which is typically the focal point of any table, we placed our plump oranges, faux greenery and orange flowers on the wooden tray to create a medley of colours, textures and patterns that your eyes are instantly drawn to.
COLOUR
Colour truly is the fun element that everyone wants to play with so observe colour combinations that excite you and replicate them in your tablescape. Our colour palette consists of white, brown, green and orange which has a nice balance of vibrancy and muted tones.
RHYTHM & REPETITION
The repetition of elements creates a rhythm that allows your eyes to seamlessly glide from one part of the table to the next. Thinking about repetition in the colours, materials, textures, shapes and patterns used in your tablescape will result in a successful design almost always.
FUNCTION
When looking around your house, try to identify the functionality of mundane objects. The trivets in this case were used as charger plates and also added height to the place setting. The Ikea throw also gave our setup a cozy feel which is in favour of our intimate ambiance.
SCALE & PROPORTION
We placed the pampas grass in the Starbucks bottle we rescued from the recycling bin to add some height to this table. The tall pampas grass relates well with the centrepiece and other objects on the table resulting in a balanced and interesting setting.
LIGHT
Remember that creating the emotional content of the space is also an essential piece of the puzzle! Artificial lights such as candles will really help set the mood and introduce warmth to the tablescape which is perfect for this type of setting.
It is important to work with what you have and turn the ordinary into extraordinary. For now, let's remember to have fun and create whatever it is you feel drawn without any judgement. Hopefully, you'll walk away from this post with new insight and an appreciation for what you already own.
Stay Safe,
Style X Events
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Credits:
Music: Passionate Affair Instrumental
Artist: RYYZN
Email: weareryyzn@gmail.com
Instagram: @weareryzzn