Decking the Halls Part VI

Tablescapes.  I know some will think I'm crazy, but I set my table for each holiday...and sometimes non-holidays!---weeks in advance of whatever upcoming event/holiday.  I love creative tablescapes.  There are several blogs devoted to that topic alone.  For Christmas, I decorate both my dining room and breakfast room tables.  There is no rhyme or reason to how I go about setting the table for the holidays.  The best way I can explain it is that I work in layers.   In the dining room, I start with a tablecloth and build from there.  And I always work with two things in mind:  theme and color scheme.  The theme for this tablescape is Christmas---duh---and I used the focal colors in my dining room...gold, red and ivory.  There is sage green, as well, in the fabric of the upholstered chairs, but I didn't use that color in this particular tablescape.

Here are the layers I used when creating this particular tablescape.
1. Gold brocade tablecloth.
2.  Ivory brocade placemats
3.  Gold chargers
4.  Missing in this picture is a china dinner plate---ivory with gold band.
5.  A salad/dessert plate, specific to the holiday or occasion.  I mixed the dessert plates this year, using four star-printed plates and four dessert plates with a red border and ornaments in the center.
6.  Also missing in this picture is bronze flatware---I took this pic in the midst of my creation, thus their absence.
7.  The glasses are seeded amber and I have used two, a water glass and wine glass.
8.  Next I focus on the centerpiece.  I seldom purchase anything new, but rather simply shop my stash.  In this case, I used a burnished wood pedestal candle base with an ivory candle circled with an amber-beaded candle ring.  To either side of the candle, I placed crystal candle sticks topped with beaded shades.  Most of the items in my 'stash' I've picked up over the years at end of season sales, garage sales or thrift stores.

NOTE:  I've found that it is so much easier if you focus the color scheme in your home on three basic colors and use those colors throughout.  In that way, you can move things from room to room without having to reupholster, paint, etc.  Accessories are mobile, too, if you base them on your basic color scheme.

Here's a pic from a different angle.  Notice I've now added salt and pepper shakers that match my china.  I also placed a couple of ivory reindeer into the mix.  As the days pass, I'll probably add more to the centerpiece.  I'm never done until time runs out.  A little tweaking.  A few additions.  Seldom any deletions!

Next up is the breakfast room.  But I'll save that for my next post.