The thinking behind the design

This year I picked a theme for all of my Christmas Decorations. I chose red, black, and gold to be the color palette for my designs. I found a wonderful ribbon at target with these three colors to bring everything together. Ribbons are wonderful! You can use them so many different ways and they can really add a nice accent or be a focal point. I used this ribbon on my front door wreath and a wreath I had hanging in the dining room where the food was served. I also used it on the center of the table and on my living room Christmas tree. Because the ribbon was plaid and more casual I tried to aim for a more country "Pottery Barn" feel with each decoration. My center piece was my favorite part of the design. Since the room was red, and that was one of my colors from the palette, I kept a monochromatic look to tie everything together. Red roses in a plain vase filled with cranberries. I loved this look so much I may try it for Valentines day too! It was elegant but not over powering. The runner was also from Target. I loved the stitched snowflakes on the ends of the runner. The black runner would blend with my table and the snowflakes on the ends would add a subtle interest but not take away from the center of the table. I also used intricate chunky crystal goblets to hold my tea lights to give dimension to the candle light.

Tasty Treats!

More photos of the food presentation. This was dessert party so I had: (Paula Dean) Chocolate gooey cookies and peanut butter cookies, lemon poppy seed short bread, star sugar-almond cookies, Spinach and artichoke dip, Chocolate caramel trifle (glad to share the recipe!), Harry and David's moose munch, an assortment of chocolate truffles and to-die-for cupcakes by:Lindsey Torres (let me know if you would like to have them at your party!) To drink: zesty punch, hot cider, and hot chocolate. We started the party with some ice breaker games and concluded with an ornament guessing game. It was a very fun party and I can't wait to host another one soon!

Deck The Halls

This is a continuation of the "thinking behind the design" post. As I said before when I began to design the theme for my Christmas decorations I decided to go simple and with three main colors. Red and gold are mostly used here. I consider the greenery a wild card! It goes with everything and it is always a winner!

Variations on a Christmas dinner party

Many different variations of a Christmas setting. I used plain napkins to create an elegant setting and one with a pattern to be more dramatic. Some of the setting are monochromatic making for cleaner lines while others have bold colors giving definition and contrast. It really depends on the look you are going for, and the type of party you are hosting!

Whats on Katie's table-November

This setting turned out to be very elegant. The rich colors found int he napkins made for a dramatic setting. I wanted to keep the center Muted in color so that the Turkey would be the focus and that it would contrast the place settings.

Variations on a Thanksgiving place setting

Here are a few variations on a similar theme. Same placemat, different napkins and plates. I found the place card design on Martha Stewart's website. Easy but time consuming to cut each turkey out. I chose to make them neutral so I wouldn't have to worry about coordinating the table settings.

LOGO

This is a picture I am working on using for a logo or maybe a cover page if I made a book of all the settings I have done. I am still playing around with that idea. I love the black and white picture and then using an accent color for a little design in the corner.

Whats on Katie's table-October

Setting a fall table calls for some rich colors inspired by nature. I love to set the table in October because I get to use one of my favorite colors, Orange. I am a redhead and have always been attracted to this color when it comes to clothes and handbags, so I find it a particularly easy month to decorate the table. Some other colors that work well with orange are mossy greens, burgundy, chocolate brown and golden amber. I love clean lines so I tried to use all of my color in the center of the table focusing on bold colors. This makes the place settings more subtle, and creates the clean lines I was talking about. I like to use greenery from my yard to make my table unique and in season. I used a dramatic purple-burgundy branch in a simple round vase to mimic the curves in the pumpkins and create continuity. I have always heard it's good to group things in three's, so I am counting the two pumpkins and the vase as my grouping of three. I used the white table runner with mossy green stripes to add contrast and balance the bold colors in the center. I also added tall candle sticks in the same purple- burgundy shade to add elegance and warmth.

Katie's on the porch - July

Screen porches are a life saver in the South. I love to entertain outside but hate when the bugs think they are invited! For this dinner party I had a table for 4 but needed a few extra seats. I added a card table to one side of the preexisting table. As ugly as card tables are I figured this was nothing a tablecloth couldn't cover. For the table cloth I used a bold color so that it would be more of a background color and thus distract the eye from the uneven edges
I have said before how wonderful paper napkins are and I will say it again, they are a truly wonderful invention! For this table I used the napkin to be the color spectrum for the table. I uses a cobalt blue cloth napkin as a slim place mat folding it and placing it vertically at each place setting. Straw paper plate holders bring in texture and a true summer feel while dressing up a plain plate. I used silver napkin rings to give depth to the napkin instead of just having it sit beside the plate, how boring!
A fully opened napkin brings the eyes to the table greenery. Gardenia's in a sleek vase. I feel that there should always be different levels on a table and that is another reason why I used the slender vase. It makes the flowers stand taller.
Since there is so much going on with this vibrant summer table I kept the glasses and the candles in the same pattern. I felt the bubbles added texture and reminded me of a swimming pool which absolutely reflects a summer afternoon.

Katie's on the porch - September

In Aurora Ohio, Summer is a highly anticipated season. Coming from never ending, gray, and brutally cold winters, summer is peaceful, refreshing, and a picture of blooming colors. This makes a Summer dinner on the porch a wonderful treat. My family has a couple of folding tables we enjoy pulling out for a Parisian cafe feel. For this dinner party I chose to keep each table the same green color so that they would blend with the natural settings around them. I went for a simple table topper of flowers already growing in the backyard. A small white lace doilie underneath the vase of flowers gives a finishing touch. Since the dinner was held outside there was only natural lighting so I added the candles to bring a highlight to the tables. The plates used were simple white porcelain. I chose to use crystal glasses so that the color of the tea would bring a natural tone to the table. For an accent color I used decorative napkins to cover my bread basket and to sit with each plate. I love to use paper napkins with a design. They are inexpensive so you can buy the perfect set to go with any theme you are using and you can toss them out when the party is over!

Katie's on the porch-June

Spring time in Georgia calls for elegant dinning on the back porch. This was a lunch party so I decided to be a little more informal by using plastic place mats. I love this type of place mat because you can just wipe it off after the meal. This particular mat caught my eye because of the colors and design. For my table setting i decided to use a dark table cloth so that the place mats would stand out and be the focal point since they had such a great design. I used simple white plates since the mats were so busy. My favorite part of the table is the flower arrangement. I went in search of flowers that matched the ones already on the place mat to create continuity.