For my husband’s birthday this year, I went with a British Colonial inspired birthday table design to kick off the summer season at the start of June. A birthday celebration at home is one of my favorite things to plan for, from the menu, the gifts, and the table design, it’s always a fun way to start off what I like to call “birthday week”!
Designing The Placesetting
This British Colonial table design came together when I found these lovely bamboo plates on Lenox.com – they were being phased out so I was able to get them individually without having to buy an entire set, and they were on sale!
I started the place setting using dark wood chargers to give the table a little drama, then brightened it up with gold flatware and blue accents. To break up the dark wood a bit, I used a plain white napkin underneath, then added some of the same greenery I placed on the table underneath to soften the look and tie into the greenery on the salad plates.
To keep with the theme, I included shells in my design, both in my coral napkin ring, and by placing some individual shells around the table for added color and texture.
Adding Decorative Accents
For added balance to the table’s color theme, I added dark wood candle holders to match the chargers, in addition to a large tortoise hurricane candle and some tortoise votive holders (these are actually water glasses I found at World Market masquerading as votives!)
While I typically do a big floral arrangement for my tablescapes, sometimes, you don’t need one. I used a single faux orchid plant in a great a bamboo holder I found on Amazon as the main flowers for the table. Then came some pops of color with loose stems in magenta around the table as well as at each place setting in a glass bud vase. Candles added the finsihing touch, using both aqua blue tapers that matched the napkins perfetcly, and rattan wrapped pillars for added texture.
A quick note on color – while a monochromatic table can be beautiful, I find that if I put a table together and it just doesn’t say “wow” yet, I add color. This table was pretty when I finished it, but it needed a little something extra. Once I pulled a few stems of these magenta florals, it really made the table come alive.
This was a fun and relatively easy table to put together, and I liked getting creative with existing items in the house for the design, as well as using some of my same tabletop pieces for a new look. We enjoyed one of my husband’s favorite dishes at this lovely table – my slow cooker lasagna (you can find the easy recipe for it here), and I made chocolate cupcakes for dessert!
I hope this British Colonial table design gave you a few new ideas to incoporate into your next big design. Until next time, Cheers!
