At Grace & Thorn, much like at my Nonna’s house, we are about the mis-match, the eclectic, the old and the new. My favourite part of dressing a table is taking lots of random bits and pieces and bringing them all together.
One year, I'd been so busy I arrived at my Mum’s with no Christmas table decorations. So I went into the garden, foraged for some greenery and berries, raided her cupboards for jam jars, pots and vases, together with some candles, and 'ta da' a Christmas table prepared in half an hour. That proves it isn't something you have to spend hours planning.
the flowers
When I do have time to think ahead and buy cut flowers, my choices for Christmas are red roses, amaryllis, mottled hydrangeas, ranunculus, anemones or bloom chrysanthemums (an amazing shade of burnt orange), teamed with rosehip, eucalyptus, pine and thistles.
With flower arrangements, it's good to have your focal flower – your bloom chrysanthemum or hydrangea – then your 'line flowers' such as delphinium, pampas grass, snapdragon, which slice through your arrangement. Foliage (asparagus fern, pine, olive, eucalyptus) is key as it ties it all together.
My favourite part though is all the fuzzy, textured bits that you add in around it – grasses, thistles, berries, and smaller filler flowers such as waxflower, astrantia, and limonium.
FLORAL FAVOURS
We have created place settings with beautiful little dried flowers and rosehips, which are tied with twine. Your guests can then take them home – it's a gift that will last forever. It's worth raiding the garden for foliage – sprigs of rosemary work well here too, tied off with a small red ribbon or twine.
If you have a mishmash of vases and flowers, it's good to use one flower repeatedly throughout your table set up as this pulls it all together, so think about including one in your floral favours.
Living table runner
A simple evergreen garland looks great running through the centre of the Christmas table (we've used pine, asparagus, fern and eucalyptus). Wrap it around candles, with a large punchy flower arrangement holding court at the top of the table for impact coupled with simplicity.
Potted flowers such as pointsettia, amaryllis and narcissus look beautiful with an evergreen garland, too.
Three different types of candles complete our floral festive table.
At Grace & Thorn we love a mix of dried and fresh flowers. The opportunity to create something unique again and again with flowers is just so exciting. Gone are the days of boring repetitive domes, it's all about texture movement, colour and each arrangement being different from the last.
See more Christmas table ideas.