Help - I need some ideas for my dining table! - PICTURE ADDED!

[Sara]

I bought a beautiful new table cloth today (mostly because the top of my dining table is trashed and I want to hide it :lol) but it looks really plain and I decided it would look really nice with some kind of table centerpiece.

This is what my table looks like:
http://www.furnitureontheweb.com/Frames/Items/010253.html

And my new table cloth is striped with shades of tan, red, deep red, and white.

Any good ideas for dressing up the table a bit!? Pretty please! :)

[AmyDoll]

What other colors are your room or your dishes?

I have a glass bowl of green apples on my kitchen table and I have a rose topiary & crystal candlesticks on my dining room table.

Amy

[Mothering by Heart]

I love bowls with green apples. Another fave is a clear glass bowl stacked high with lemons.
Right now, I have a rustic looking basket, long and wide, not deep and that holds our cloth napkins

BTW, Sara, may I ask where you bought the tablecloth? I am on the hunt for one in those colors. :think

[AmyDoll]

BTW, Sara, may I ask where you bought the tablecloth? I am on the hunt for one in those colors. :think


Amy, my tablerunner is those colors and I bought it at the Pottery Barn Outlet.
I also have this (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46280&item=4386387404&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW) one from Target.

XOXO Amy

[Sara]

Here is a picture. The walls opposite this room (my living, dining, and kitchen are all one big room) are kind of sage and there are hints of sage in my countertops. Floors and cabinets are really light maple.

http://www.interactivedesigncompany.com/personal/table.jpg

Adding the living room picture here so you can see it together:

http://interactivedesigncompany.com/blog/images/uploads/newrug.jpg

[Sara]

Amy,

I got this table cloth at Wal-Mart for $12.96. :)

[Mothering by Heart]

Beautiful!! :heart

[Sara]

I wanted to point out that the reds in the living room and dining room actually match exactly, even though it doesn't look like it in the pictures. :)

[AmyDoll]

:tu I :heart the rug in your living room!!

I'd do a glass bowl of green apples - I wouldn't introduce a metal bc the only metal I see is a wrought iron lamp and a brass lamp behind the sofa - so I wouldn't add another contrasting metal. I'd go with something green to pick up the green in the rug, contrast with the red in the table cloth, walls and living room. Lemons are pretty and would be OK too - but I can't work through a dozen lemons before they spoil - we eat apples!

Amy

[Sara]

Amydoll,

We have some beautiful Mikasa crystal candlesticks from our wedding and I had those out for a little while this evening, but everything else is so casual that they don't seem to look right. Like maybe they're too formal.

I wish I had more decorating sense! I think I like the stuff I pick out, but I'm not any good at putting it all together, LOL!

[AmyDoll]

Yea, I was thinking maybe pewter candlesticks - or wrought iron... maybe a low maple bowl of apples - like those big wooden salad bowls?

Amy

[Mothering by Heart]

That's why I like edible centerpieces. So simple, and if it doesn't look good, just eat it :giggle

A longaberger-type basket filled with fruit would be pretty with the rest of your things, as well.

[Sara]

Amy,

We must have posted at the same time, LOL! I'll try that. I have a nice Mikasa bowl, but I also have a black bowl that is similar to the wrought iron lamp. I'll try both and see which looks better. There is some black going on - our countertops have black edging, my Kitchen Aid mixer is black, and my faucet in the kitchen is black.

And about the metals, the brass lamp drive me CRAZY. I can't stand that it doesn't match. But we don't have any overhead lighting in that room and that is the only lamp that gives us enough light. It actually goes with the furniture in our basement and someday, when I have a little extra money (haha), I hope to replace it. :)

[AmyDoll]

And about the metals, the brass lamp drive me CRAZY. I can't stand that it doesn't match

you're probably the only one who would notice -- i don't make a habit of walking into people's houses and assesing their decor ;) unless they ask :mrgreen

Amy

[Thia]

Pillar candles would work too or a line of votives. You could play around with the heights of the candles too.

[lumpofclay]

:tu to the bowl of apples.

Sara, your home looks so warm and inviting. I *love* the rug! I could lay down on it too! LOL

Now I'm thinking about a bowl in the middle of my table! :giggle

[Abinsmom]

Two words: beaded fruit. If you're worried about having to eat the fruit before it spoils, go for something more permanent. I found some great beaded fruit at Pier One, but I'm guessing you could find it just about anywhere that sells decor. Or, make your own -- I'm guessing you could buy plastic fruit and spray it with aerosol glue, then roll in sugar crystals or some other material to make it glisteny and give it texture. Just a thought.

[joystrength]

QUestion: How can you or rather DO you manage a tablecloth with little ones around? Not sure if mine would stand a chance?

[Sara]

QUestion: How can you or rather DO you manage a tablecloth with little ones around? Not sure if mine would stand a chance?


I actually take it off during meals and I do end up washing it at least a couple of times a week, sometimes more, LOL! A table cloth around here is sure to wear out quickly, which is why I don't spend very much money on them. :-)