Can you believe it’s already the time of year where we start planning the big day (no I’m not getting re-married)…Christmas is only 66 days away. Thanks Annabel - my 11 year old - who likes to give me the countdown!

Not only is it a day of the year we adore, coming together with our families over never ending laughs, delicious wholesome food and one too many drinks, it’s our favourite date in the calendar for our norsu styling team. It’s the moment where we throw on our creative hats, spend hours trawling blogs for new products, and where we get COMPLETELY lost in the land of Pinterest searching for the very best decorating inspiration we can find. If there’s one thing we love doing, it’s creating the perfect table setting for any celebration!

If I was asked to sum up this year’s theme I would say “more is more”. This year we inject a serious explosion of colour and pattern, we channel some Donna Hay or Martha Stewart vibes, and apply some cost effective “tips and tricks” for good measure.

Let’s now step into what we did - we honestly love nothing more than sharing what we did so you can create the same magic in your homes. It’s time to Make It Merry. Let’s go!
Nat xxx

The Foilage

I love incorporating natural elements to the table, and foliage is a perfect way to do this…it’s also a perfect way to inject some more colour!

To be honest I didn’t have much of a plan when I went into Say It With Flowers in Malvern, in fact I was in a mad rush (doesn’t sound like me does it..?), but with some help from the experts and some rough design principles in mind we selected some absolute beauties!

I like to start with a show stopping centre piece, we chose some “Dogwood” for it’s height, colour and sturdy woody stems (perfect for hanging extra ornaments if that’s your thing). I decided to place these solo in a large vase in the centre of the table. I then placed two smaller vases either side (these don’t need to match!) and from there, it was a bit of trial and error and fiddling around. We mixed some Snowballs, Andromeda and Ranunculus - play around with different colours, textures and heights here.

Choose flowers/foliage that you love then it’s hard to go wrong!

Ok so now you’ve got your arrangements in place, it’s time to kick it up a notch by colouring the water...no, this isn’t a school science experiment! So don’t go too crazy with the dye. Start by mixing in a seperate jug, adding 1 drop of food dye at a time. If the colour is too bright, don’t panic! Just keep diluting with more water. In most cases here the softer the better.

Hot tip! We matched our water to our glassware.

The Napery

Anyone that knows me knows that I am obsessed with fabric, so napery would have to be one of my favourite parts of decorating a table! Napkins are such a great way to introduce colour and pattern onto your table and it won't cost you an arm and a leg to do so!

Don't be afraid to mix and match a few different sets of napkins to create a colour palette which will set the story of the rest of your table. Our OYOY napkins are in sets of two so it is an easy one to add to the mix with our Flou or L&M Home sets of four.

Make sure you evenly lay the different styles of napkins around the table so that the same pattern/colour is not next to the one another. Can you believe that I throw my napkins just like I throw a throw! Don't be too strict with this, trust me... the more relaxed and the less thought you put into it the better it will be.

The best thing about linen is that it falls so beautifully so the less constructed the better! We absolutely love adding a little detail to each setting. Every alternate plate and napkin we have added a stunning Flou brass napkin holder and then every other alternate our beautiful Jurianne Matter TWIG leaf wreath, (cutting these into smaller rounds to make mini wreaths... how gorgeous!) which added that little festive flare.  

Layering your table with all your favourite things is what is going to bring your table setting to life. Layer, layer layer!!

Below are the simple steps we took to create (I definitely say this every year) my favourite festive table to date!

Layer one: Like mentioned above, start with your floral centerpiece. This will create the height running down the center of your table - the bigger the table the more vases you can add. Skye has the amazing 3 metre Huxley dining table and we decided on three statement bunches.

Layer two: Place your plates, cutlery, napkins, napkin accessories, and drinking glassware. A tip with the glassware, just like the napkins, is don't be afraid to mix and match! We love incorporating a mix of our Ripple glasses, alternating the colours.

Layer three: Next, start placing your larger functional items.. so your water jugs, salt and pepper grinders, serving bowls and drink holders. Another tip we love is using bowls like our Robert Gordon Fruit Bowl and our L&M Home pedestal to hold some beautiful drinks in ice. Just like a good looking coffee table book, I'm a sucker for a good looking drink label... sounds silly but if you're going to be placing drinks on your table from the get go try to tie the labels in with your overall colour palette, it will make the biggest difference! Another tip is adding cute little bowls with festive treats like ginger bread and mince tarts.

Layer four: The last layer is all your decorative and festive goodies. Lots of candles in different heights, shapes and colours. So that goes without saying candle holders - think different textures, finishes and heights - we've incorporated brass, marble and glass. And then of course your fun festive accessories. Our stunning Type & Story star Christmas crackers are just heaven and I'm in love with our range of paper Christmas trees. Both of these bring in an element of fun to the table and they create that special, celebratory feeling.   

Glassware

The Candles and Candleholders

The Servingware

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