If you were like me this Christmas, you had a wonderful Pinterest vision of a stylish and elegant Christmas dinner table. But if you are like me in that you didn't actually see if the idea was going to fit on the existing table and if the materials were in fact all in the house...then you may have come upon a serious road bump...kind of like those pot holes you never see until your knees have wound up where your chin should be. {You're welcome for the Suess-like poetry}
Sometimes since I live on a ranch I just assume we have a giant farm table when reality is we don't. We like to eat Christmas dinner in our "Big Room" with giant windows and the Christmas tree...not in the dining room which has a little round very ancient heirloom table. Nope, for the Big Room we have an old church table. You know the kind with the fold down legs and the pretend wood top and the round corners? Yes that one.
It's really quite ugly all alone but is handy as a craft table or when we have guests over. BUT my Pinterest idea was a barn board runner down the center with greenery and matching votive jars.
A) The barn board is too wide for the center...the plates will not fit on the edge without a 4" lip. Bad deal when using the good china.
B) All my greenery that had been cut and I had saved for this moment was no where to be found. The men of the ranch assumed I did not need it anymore and burned it all.
C) Those votive candle holders had RED candles burned halfway down into them and were stuck like a little boy boot in not set concrete. Not the white light dream I'd imagined.
Now what.
My Dad was quite sweet...he came out to the Big Room to see how I was doing and found me, hands on hips, looking mighty focused on a table with one board and a plate in haphazard places. He kindly looked at me and promptly left the room. He knows not to break my focus in desperate times.
New plan. I went to my cedar chest and pulled out every white linen piece I'd inherited from my Great Grandmother's on the ranching side. Table cloths, runners, napkins, doilies, dresser toppers, pillow shams, bits of tatted lace...Everything was pulled out and hauled to the Big Room.
Next I found every mid-sized jar, sugar and creamer set, measuring cup...anything antique, glass, and small.
Basically I did reverse of my original plan and with more candles.
PS TIP
When in doubt, put LOTS of candles out. Candles look cozy and can hide a multitude of flaws. They create a wonderful aroma and soft light even makes a bad makeup job look good. Candlelight is your friend.
The centerpiece is a mirror tray on a pedestal with...more candles. Tapers in the center add height and bring more light to the dimly lit room.
Lot's of candles did I put out,
Because that's what country's all about!
{Another rhyme for thine pleasure}
For those of you who are 4-H table setting alumni, you would be horrified that I did not match the fork handles exactly one-and-a-half inches from the edge. Nope...and the 4-Her inside me trembled as I ventured far from my roots and matched the tines instead. Somehow I thought the design was more interesting that way. Don't hate me forever!
There you have it. Nothing Pottery Barn about this table setting, just all the little odds and ends we've had around for ages displayed in a new way.
Hope you're having a Merry Day After Christmas!