Just to be Clear
Every year for the last 10 years, I have created holiday themes in my home. These were such fun because I would check out current holiday color trends, accessories, and try to create something unique and inspiring for me and for my audience on Cityline, and any other print or digital platform.
This year was no different, but because I am actually away for part of the holidays, I kept things simple.
I decided to focus on my dining room because I plan to host friends and family upon my return.
Creating a theme for a special time of year is such fun.
It allows you to focus on the sheer creativity of being in that moment. Deciding on a color scheme, decor items, and even co-ordinated wrapping paper and ribbon can help pull a look together with finesse. Adding candles (I use real and battery operated ones), twinkle lights, logs, and baskets of throws make for a cosy interior ready for the entertaining season.
The first thing I did was put up my 12 foot tree. I had fallen in love with the idea of an all silver tinsel tree, so that was my starting point. I remember putting colored tinsel on our tree when I was growing up, and I recall the shimmer when the lights hit it. So pretty and magical.
A little sparkle.
I researched tinsel and learned that it originated in Nuremberg Germany in 1610 and was made of shredded silver. Tinsel comes from an old French word "estincele" which translated means "sparkle". I ordered boxes of silver tinsel on Amazon.
I draped thousands of strands on the boughs which was really easy and fast. I will have to let you know how easy it was to remove them after the holidays but right now, they look beautiful in the evening.
Now, onto the dining table.
I thought it would be fun to decorate using only transparent items. I felt it would enhance the silver sparkle of the tree. I mean, how easy could that be?
First, I searched for any clear dinnerware, candle holders, tumblers, wine glasses, and holiday ornaments that I had already. And, I was surprised how much I did have! Good decor tip here-always check what you have before buying more! I was feeling so creative and inspired at this point!
Because my dining table is made from concrete, I did decide to add two satin royal blue runners to "ground" the transparent dishware. From there, I set clear chargers, clear dinner and salad plates, stemware, clear cake platters for serving.
The search for accessories.
I searched on Amazon and found some really inexpensive and fun "clear" serving items in different heights, an acrylic ice bucket and an assorted bag of clear snowflakes. Score!
Homesense provided glass Christmas trees-some were underlit and some were clear in different sizes. And a trip to Dollarama filled in the blanks with acrylic lazy susans and mini clear Christmas trees. I kept the table lighting simple with votives scattered around the table and also styled up a small bar cart with some silver branches and pretty vintage coupe glasses. To add a bit more of the royal blue, I looked for deep blue water bottles and bubbly.
In the end, the table clearly sparkled (no pun intended) and I was so delighted with the result that I see myself using this clear theme again outside on a warm summer night.