Candle plates and Colourful, vintage Christmas table inspiration

I’ve got two completely different table settings to share with you this Christmas, and I cannot wait. When I was hosting my recent Christmas gift wrapping workshop I had the luck of two different colour walls to style against , one light one dark. This is the first which I recreated at home in my craft room full of light bright colours and vintage touches. Inspired my travels and the treasures I collected in France and Berlin - I wanted to create a table that was feminine, playful and fun but also could be pulled together well in advance of Christmas Day.

I’m really conscious of what I’m consuming so I begun by gathering my existing items - tablecloths, candlesticks, plates and napkins. Whilst I have everything I need, I couldn’t resist this gold tassel garland to put behind the table, it’s gorgeous and I know that I’ll be using it for years to come.

Like with gift wrapping or even jewellery making (remember that ;-)!) everything I create is made up of many layers. For this table I started with a fresh white tablecloth then added a metallic runner, followed by candles, fairylights, vintage plates, cutlery and glassware and then carried on the metallic theme with spotty napkins tied in knots. I always like to finish with a natural element so added some lengths of ivy around the candles and baubles to finish off. I really urge to pull all your favourite pieces together, your style might be dark and moody or nude and neutral - it doesn't matter just pull those goodies together and see what your final theme will be - it doesn't have to be a replica of this exact table. 

Apart from the joyous colours, I love how creating these can be done anytime in the run up to hosting -I'll get mine ready for a "Friends Christmas" this weekend and then top up the candles for Christmas day. A candle plate (as I'm calling it) can easily used in the run up to decorate tabletops and ledges and perfect for celebrations big and small. Here I’ve mostly used candles I’ve picked up in charity shops but really recommend Hema (these are pastel pink candle perfection) or Flying Tiger for colourful versions .

If you don’t already own one then this is the time to invest in a simple white tablecloth (I’ve had this one from Homesense for years but H&M do great cost effective alternatives). The table runner was part of a sponsored post with West Elm years ago but buying a length of metallic fabric and splitting it down the centre will give you a great runner for a lot less money. The more reflective elements the better as far as I'm concerned! 

I hope this post has started to get you in a celebratory mood. I have to say my festive spirit is on the slow burn this year but looking at these photos (sorry they're not the best, the light was fading fast) has started to get me feeling all sparkly and excited about getting my table set up for real this weekend. xx