Discover how to dress your rustic Christmas dinner table with style. We chatted with one of our favourite Instagrammers, Rachel Hitchcock @at_home_with_the_hitchcocks, to take us through how she transformed her rustic dining table with a show-stopping nature-inspired Christmas display.
Christmas table styling with Rachel
I absolutely love the hanging Christmas arrangements that have gained popularity over the last few Christmases and knew that I wanted our lovely Derby Reclaimed Wood Extending Dining Table to have this type of feature this Christmas. However, I didn’t feel comfortable drilling holes into the ceiling - it’s the sort of thing I would do badly, so I set about finding how I could create the same look without the drill. I came across a table hanging rail which clamps onto the table, which was perfect. I decorated it with some pine cones, Christmas garlands and faux eucalyptus, berries and other foliage and had an instant eye-catching display that framed the dining table.
Decorating your Christmas dining table
In terms of decorating the table, I wanted to dress it as opposed to cover it. I have previously used a tablecloth when decorating my table for Christmas but now we have our beautiful reclaimed wood dining table and I didn’t want to hide it behind a tablecloth, I wanted to dress the table and still have the natural beauty of the reclaimed wood very much on display.
My usual dining table styling features a statement vase and flowers that suit the season, however, it’s not always the most practical as it can block the view of the person sitting across the table - not really what you want over Christmas dinner. Instead, I chose a traditional long and low arrangement using another pine Christmas garland and a faux eucalyptus garland intertwined.
Styling Tip: I placed the garland on a linen table runner, but I think for the day I’ll use a gold sparkly runner and a few fairy lights to make it even more festive.
I now had an arrangement along the middle of the table and an arrangement in parallel above the table. I wanted to make them cohesive so I played around with heights to bring them together. I added a mixture of tall, medium and small matching black candlestick holders along the table to create varying levels of height and interest. I then hung clear glass tea light holders and baubles from the hanging rail at varying heights so they would dangle elegantly between the candlestick holders. This helped the entire arrangement come together as one display rather than two different segments parallel to one another.
Styling Tip: Add some fairy lights interwoven into the hanging rail garland to give a little extra sparkle to the overall look. This is something I will do ahead of decorating for Christmas Day dinner.
I added little sprigs of faux eucalyptus, berries and other foliage into the centerpiece along the length of the dining table and I popped some pine cones and little miniature scented votive candles on the table runner and into gaps amongst the garland to fill it out.
Styling Tip: use clear empty glass candle jars with mistletoe or other festive flowers, branches or berries on your table, together with some fresh florals to add more interest and height to your table decor. This is another addition I’ll be making to my table on Christmas Day.
The best tableware and crockery
This year I’ve purchased some Christmas crockery with a discreet mistletoe pattern, but plain white works equally as well with this look. When I think of Christmas velvet always springs to mind, it brings an instant touch of luxury to the table. I found these lovely green velvet napkins and added black velvet bows for added extravagance. Once glasses and cutlery were added my Christmas table was finished! On the day, as well as fresh festive flowers, I’ll add Christmas crackers to complete the look.
Styling Tip: Add a sprig of holly with berries to place settings with a name card. You can even buy personalised velvet ribbon to tie your napkins.
For more Christmas home styling inspiration check out our ideas to impress guests this Christmas along with Rachel’s posts on @at_home_with_the_hitchcocks.
All images @at_home_with_the_hitchcocks
