The Dining Table For The Holidays

I decorated the dining table for the holidays. Although I had some idea what I wanted to incorporate in the overall design I had no idea how I was going to set it up. I had scoured Joann's and the Internet (including eBay) for some inexpensive mercury glass items thinking I would love to incorporate an antiqued effect with some modern sparkle and a dash of color. My grand plan had been to have done some mercury glass work on regular glass pieces purchased at a consignment store or Goodwill or Salvation Army. There was no time to drive to these stores which are located miles away. My overall color scheme was to be silver with a touch of gold and some green and/or red for color.

I was hosting a couple of parties which were to be buffet events so I did not need to incorporate any place settings.

During my search I came across these items on ZGallerie a couple of weeks ago. They were in a gunmetal finish. I bought 2 sets. Each set cost $7.99 (originally $9.95).

Modello tealights

and these in silver finished on the inside in an antiqued mercury glass-like finish with nickel-plated stems. This was on sale for $19.89 (originally $39.95).

Monte tealights

I laid a green tablecloth (large enough for my dining table) and a smaller off-white cotton embroidered tablecloth which was given to me by one of my sisters, purchased in Hong Kong. I placed the Monte tealights in the center (tallest centered). Inches away on each side I placed a set of the Modello tealights in a random pattern (I do love the organic elements in design). I had planned to use flameless candles.

These pictures were taken in a hurry while I was getting a hundred other things ready. I had pine cones which are gold and glittery...I just used a couple here. I took a couple of stems with silver berries (purchased at Joann's) and wove them around the tealights and threw in a few green glass marbles which I have had for a few years. The walls of the dining room are green (but I plan to change them over the holidays) so I did not want to get carried away with the green hues but just for a bit of color. The pine cones and the stems are a way of introducing nature, and the pine cones and the tealights, when lit, would lend the gold tones to the setting.

View from the top - flameless candles within.

Yes, my tablecloth has some crinkles but these were eventually ironed out. A little picture overload while I try to capture many angles of this tablescape and some with the candles lit.

I love the effect - silver and gold. The warm gold effect would perhaps not be achieved with real tealight candles. My flameless candles were purchased last year from Crate & Barrel. A good investment.

Candles are on here, too. One can see the gold through the glass.

I would agree that nothing can replace the look of a real lit candle (or the warmth) but the flameless candles are a good option and I decided to use them in this setting instead.

This is an easy way to decorate a table. The colors can be changed by just adding a different pop of color. And it turned out to be inexpensive, too. It was worth investing in the votives as I will use them a lot and they were at a great price, too.

I did not want a heavy tablescape as the table itself is large and heavy but I did want to add something sizable in terms of the length so that the decorations would not be lost on the table. For a relatively unplanned tablescape I am really happy with the way it looks.

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Lisa