Even if you prefer a pared back table setting throughout the year, Christmas is the one time when you can get away with more. Here are our top tips for styling your Christmas table with vintage and antique finds.
Choose your festive colour scheme
At Christmas, having a colour scheme can be the linchpin of your table setting and the way to help you create a coordinated look rather than an unfortunate air of chaos. Choose colours that are reflected in your tree and decorations, to create a cohesive scheme throughout your home – a main colour that can be used for focal points such as your table linen, plus one or two accent tones that can be picked up in your crockery, glassware and table decorations.
Add depth and substance to the table
As we have discussed in articles such as Autumn interiors – creating warmth in your home with antiques, and Decorative antiques in modern homes, it is the details, the accessories and those little ‘extras’ that add depth and substance to a room. So it is with your Christmas table. Layering your table dressing will add interest so add a vintage lace table runner on top of a block colour tablecloth, pile plates in size order on top of placemats, finishing with cutlery and napkins.
Mix and match tableware
Your place settings don’t have to be perfectly curated to match or coordinate. An eclectic mix of vintage crockery with contemporary glassware, for example, will add a collected-over-time aesthetic. Similarly, mismatched plates in coordinating tones will add warmth and character. Vintage or antique serving platters and tureens deserve to take centre stage at Christmas too.
Create height and add texture
If we only dressed our Christmas table with plates, how boring and uninteresting it would be. And how low level! Flat placemats, flat plates and serving dishes that are not tall either, will all contribute to bring the eye down and your table will feel 2-dimensional. Instead, style with a few choice pieces of varying heights – think candlesticks and vases and a centrepiece – for impact without creating chaos.
Varying textures, too, will add interest. Mix matte finishes with high gloss (baubles alongside ceramic) and add the softness of linen for real impact.
Personalise each setting
Make your dinner guests feel valued and extra-special by adding a place name to each setting or perhaps a charm or marker to their wine glass.
Create ambience with lighting
Candlelight is perfect at Christmas and, combined with vintage décor, will create the perfect atmosphere for your Christmas dinner guests. Candles in brass candlesticks or silver candelabra, or tealights in cut glass cups, will give the table a festive glow.
Vintage tableware from Hemswell Antique Centres
While the Crawley family’s Christmas table at Downton was no doubt laden down with a variety of wine glasses and cutlery, the same effect can be achieved with much less! At Hemswell Antique Centres, you will find a diverse range of glassware where you can browse wine glasses, vases, decanters and much more. Well-chosen, quality cutlery and a fine dinner service accessorised with fine linen and napkin rings will add the perfect ambiance to your festive table and help your guests to enter into the spirit of the season.
There’s something undeniably magical about a Christmas table that feels both nostalgic and elegant and at Hemswell, our dealers have everything you need to create the perfect setting.
