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Bring Spring Inside!
The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the flowers are starting to pop up. Spring is on its way! It’s time to get rid of those winter blues and bring life back into your home. So why not start with a central point in your house: your dining room table. Here are some simple and inexpensive ways to bring that life right to your dinner table.
Spring is about nature and its rebirth. It is the beginning stage of life. If you go into mainstream stores, such as Target, you will see that designers are going “all natural” with their products. You will see décor and accessories made of natural material, such as wood, burlap, and twine. It is simple, organic, and beautiful. By adding natural items to your décor, you can achieve a rebirth of your own home.
To bring new life into your home, there are three things to keep in mind: 1) use what you got, 2) less is more, and 3) texturize. By keeping these three topics in mind while you decorate, you can create a welcoming home.
Use What You Got
Utilize everything that you already have to create your look. By doing this, you are keeping to the “all natural” theme. Nature takes what it has and recreates itself. Here are ways you can recreate what you already have:
Use your wooden table: It is the perfect base for your natural table setting. Polish your table until it shines and bring out that natural wood glow.
- Use decorative mirrors: Mirrors in centerpieces are very popular, but most people have not seen framed mirrors being used for that purpose. I used three small mirrors that I haven’t hung up yet as bases for my bouquets. The patterns on the frames create dimension and give an extra pop to our table’s focal point. You could also use one large mirror you may find while doing your spring-cleaning.
- Use an old glass bottle as a carafe: I used an old sparkling grape juice bottle. Peel the labels off the bottle for a clean look, fill it with water or fresh lemonade, and wrap it with a napkin around the largest part of the bottle to protect against condensation. The bottle is then ready to sit on the table and serve your guests.
Less is More
Purposely do less. You may spend a significant amount of time on one area of your design, but by keeping your design minimalistic (less) it will look like you have the ability to throw together a beautiful décor in less than 15 minutes. By focusing on the details and keeping things clean and minimal, you will achieve a more effective design by using less material.
- A patterned tablecloth: Use a neutral, detailed, patterned tablecloth and fold it into a runner for the wooden table. Detailed, neutral patterns are in this season. Bold patterns can be fun, but look for one that has subtle details in the pattern.
- Mason jars: Use mason jars as vases for your bouquets. Mason jars are inexpensive. You can buy a 12-pack from Target for less than $10. With their simple design, they are a cute way of displaying your flowers.
- Simple place setting: Use simple dinner and glassware when setting up your table. It doesn’t have to be your fine china, but you will want a clean look so it doesn’t compete with the centerpieces. You can use stemmed or squared glasses. I chose to forgo the knife and extra forks and spoons in order to keep it simple.
The napkin matters: Use napkins that match your tablecloth, and fold them into a simple yet elegant design. My husband used to work in catering and had a few folding ideas, so I used what I had (HIM) and found a beautiful napkin fold. Here are step-by-step instructions:
- Fold napkin into a large triangle.
- Place your finger in the center bottom of the triangle as a place holder, then fold the corners of the triangle up to the top to make a diamond, and leave a droplet-sized space where your finger was.
- Flip the diamond vertically, so the droplet is facing the table and on top.
- Fold the bottom of the diamond up to meet the top, creating a smaller triangle.
- Fold the two acute corners into the center, lining them up with the center line, to create a pentagon shape.
- Carefully flip the napkin over and place on plate.
Texturize
When texturizing your table, you will want to bring all the different textures from outside in. Nature is full of mixing and matching. There are many different patterns and textures. They all complement each other and show how diverse our world is. Some ways to bring the outside in:
- Mixing patterns: I mixed the pattern on my tablecloth and the pattern on my decorativemirrors. The trick to achieving balance in the patterns is to have a very detailed pattern and having a simpler pattern. You can use the detailed pattern as the base, as I have, complemented by the simple pattern, or vice versa. As long as you do not have two bold patterns, you will achieve an aesthetically pleasing design.
- Use stones: Fill your mason jars with stones. These stones will help hold the flowers when you arrange them. They also provide a great texture and look to the centerpiece. The rocks are smooth and sometimes shiny. You can get the rocks from your backyard, (don’t forget to wash them), or buy rock vase fillers at Wal-Mart. I like using many different sizes of rocks to create layers.
- Pick your flowers: Pick your favorite colors of spring. Mine is a begonia pink. You can pick two shades of your color, greenery, and a contrasting color to add a little pop. I chose to forgo the contrasting color because I was going for a softer feel.I go by the 3:2:1 ratio when collecting the flowers I want to work with. I pick my favorite color and get three large bunches, two large bouquets of the second color and one bunch of a green. If you want to use a pop color, get one large bunch of that color. When arranging the flowers in the mason jars, work in odd numbers and different lengths to create dimension. The larger mason jar will have a bigger bouquet than the smaller jars. Once you have completed the bouquets, place them on the mirrors and enjoy their beauty.
Now your table is ready for a dinner party or, my personal favorite, lunch with the ladies. We as women struggle with self-image issues and what true beauty looks like because of unrealistic expectations placed on us by society.
As you beautify your home, remember that the God who created all of the nature and its beauty has created you. He loves you, just the way He made you — all natural.
Copyright © 2008-2015 Rachel Lynn Harper
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