Decorating & Design
Bring An Artful Look To Your Holiday Table Settings
Published on November 21, 2024
From Thanksgiving to Christmas and Hanukkah, make this year’s holiday celebrations extra special with artistic and layered table settings. Incorporate bold colors and mix textures like warm metal utensils, porcelain plates and wintry florals. Layer new finds with your own dishes, or create some fresh DIY placemats, napkin rings or napkins.
Scroll through and get inspired to lay the perfect holiday table from a variety of settings.
Curvy & Colorful
This place setting skips the regular green and red palette for a paisley tablecloth, with elements that mimic the wavy design. Set the scene for a holiday meal by artfully embellishing your napkins with rick rack to customize your palette. Here are the DIY instructions for these colorful rickrack napkins.
Vintage Elegance
This historic cottage in Chester, Nova Scotia, is a storybook setting for Christmas dinner with mix-and-match china, vintage cranberry glassware and simple roses in bud vases.
Rustic Cabin
Turn a winter day into a crafting session with a DIY napkin holder with a Scandinavian vibe. Here are the full directions for how to make this DIY felt napkin holder.
Winter Citrus
Orange is an unexpected accent color for a holiday table. Paint impresario Annie Sloan hangs handpainted ornaments on a branch wound with fresh-cut ivy and suspends them over a table or buffet. “Warm parchment tones combine beautifully with olive for a more elegant take on the festive palette.”
Playful Whimsy
Set a petite gingerbread house at each place setting for a surprise as guests sit down to dinner (kids will especially love this touch). Accent this traditional holiday treat with transferware plates, fir boughs, brass candlesticks and etched glassware.
Pattern Pop
Lean into a maximalist look with a mix of riotous patterns. These custom napkins are made with potato stamps (use a fine-tip market to draw the robin’s legs and beak), for a personal, unique look.
Modern Beauty
Lynda Reeves played off a colorful mobile when setting her holiday table. Rose gold Chilewich placemats are accented by stemless rose-colored tumbler, blue-and-white painted water glasses and chartreuse linen napkins. Lynda’s handmade modern art crackers) are the finishing touch.
Frosty Spice
A hit of warm, burnished copper feels modern and enlivens cool speckled ceramic plates. Skip the table cloth (especially if you have a beautiful marble table top) and layer in greenery plucked from the backyard for a hit of natural texture.
Artsy Mix
A painterly linen runner and artisanal plates set the tone for this look. Contrasting silver flatware with gold-toned chopsticks, and a muted linen napkin placed beneath a striking cobalt bowl serve up a distinct look.
Neutral & Natural
Rich browns and golds are balanced by a graphic mud-cloth runner and a classic cream plate for a look that feels fresh and modern. A pinecone is an unexpected, rustic touch.
Burnished Beauty
Emerald green and soft gold is the perfect color combination for a special occasion; add a rustic burlap napkin, and this look has instant depth and dimension.