4 Trends to Try; Holiday Table Settings

By Marni Elyse Katz
December 22, 2010

During the holiday season, aspiring Martha Stewarts (or Sandra Lees!) become even more obsessed with interior design and décor, from the placement of candles in windows to the adorning of the Christmas tree, the hanging of wreaths on freshly painted front doors, the stuffing of stockings, the wrapping the perfect present, and, of course, setting the most stylish table. Following the home design trends in general, tabletop décor right now is about mixing the old with the new, creating pattern and texture through layering, and weaving in unexpected l’objet d’arts.

Searching for Holiday table decoration ideas, we asked four designers to share a recent tabletop design they've created.

Darlene Gentle

From the Festive Tables event at Shreve, Crump & Low in Boston. (image courtesy of Binita Patel Photography)

Tabletop Decor Theme: Autumnal Ecstasy

Designer: Darlene Gentle of Turtle Bay Interiors, Cambridge, MA

Table Setting Inspiration: Inspired by its “exquisite rendering of the hand-painted birds and the deep chocolate border” Darlene Gentle used Herend’s Rothschild Bird Brown Border china, as a starting point. She said, “My goal was to make this age-old beautiful pattern read in an updated, modern way. I wanted to appeal to a younger audience by putting the dishes in a setting that was less expected and more evocative than the proper, white linen tablecloths of old.” To accomplish this holiday table setting, Gentle added texture with woven placemats and a sense of fun with petite birdhouses, antique napkin rings and sculptural lions with amusing expressions. The yellow rose tabletop centerpiece, by New Leaf Flores, incorporates berries and twigs on which tiny birds are perched.

Todd Nickey & Amy Kehoe

Hand-painted traditional Bulgarian tableware, available at Nickey Kehoe.

Tabletop Decor Theme: An Ethnic Winter Wonderland

Designers: Todd Nickey and Amy Kehoe of Nickey Keho, Los Angeles, CA

Table Setting Inspiration: For their holiday table setting, this design duo, who also run a retail shop replete with vintage finds, private label products, and goods they pluck from around the world, favors a mix of eclectic elements with more traditional family heirlooms. This season, they love “ethnic patterns mixed with classic holiday references, as well as the incorporation of Christmas ornaments in centerpieces in lieu of greenery.”

Alberto Pinto

Table Settings book cover: © ALBERTO PINTO: TABLE SETTINGS text by Dane McDowell, Rizzoli New York, 2010; table setting (image © Jacques Primois)

Tabletop Decor Theme: Japonesque Geometry

Designer: Alberto Pinto, Paris, France

Table Setting Inspiration: Parisian interior designer Alberto Pinto’s new coffee table tome, Table Settings (Rizzoli 2010), features his collection of porcelain, silver, serving pieces, linens, crystal, and accessories on gorgeously arranged tables. We were drawn to the simplicity of this pared down presentation in black and white, with a bit of red that’s apropos to the holiday season. The charm of this holiday table setting, which dates from 1968 when Pinto was a student in Paris, lies in its strict geometry: black trays, white octagonal earthenware plates, bistro glasses, striped napkins. It looks wholly modern right now.

Tobi Fairley

The red houndstooth fabric is from Fairley’s eponymous collection; the red stripe is Duralee. The salad plates were purchased at Target back in the ‘90s, along with the matching napkins to which she added trim. The red glasses are Lenox and the fleur de lis flatware is from Arte Italica Giglio. The square white cake plates are Martha Stewart Collection for Macys and the round ones are antiques Fairley purchased on eBay.

TAbletop Decor Theme: French Country Kitchen

Designer: Tobi Fairley, Tobi Fairley Interior Design, Little Rock, AR

Table Setting Inspiration: Tobi Fairley brings her signature style to her holiday table decorations: Graphic fabric patterns, bold pops of color, and lots of fun detail. She said, “I am a big fan of making my tabletops feel approachable and not too stuffy. I want my guests to be treated to a feast for the eyes and the tummy.”

As a lover of color, she finds that even those who can’t (won’t!) embrace color in the home daily can spice up their holiday table decor with color for special occasions. Tobi Fairy insists of an abundance of fresh, colorful flowers, and is fine with using less expensive varieties in order to keep to a budget, so you can buy as many blooms as possible. Lately, she sees people getting very creative with DIY projects for centerpieces and accessories like napkin rings. She said, “I think people have turned their creativity that was once reserved for interior design elements like furniture to having fun with their tabletop designs.”