With Easter round the corner I am looking for ideas on how to set the table for our family dinner. Thought I would share some of my findings with you in this post. Obviously I spend way too much time decorating the table and not enough time cooking. Fortunately my guests know me well and bring the food! 

Here are some ideas  to consider when putting your tablescape together. Keeping budget in mind and a creative mind you can make your table shine and impress your guests with a beautiful presentation.

1. Au Natural 
If you want a simple natural look then consider using fresh flowers, neutrals and linen. Keeping a limited palette of neutrals and textured fabrics is a very Scandinavian style and makes quite the impact. We do like the black hardware here as it stands out against the neutral table linen.

2. Mixing it up with vintage
We call ourselves vintage hunters but really it should be vintage hoarders. Love how this table is mixed up with vintage brass candle sticks and paired with lavender. Not everyone will have a stash of brass rabbits so a smart replacement would be the gold chocolate Lindt rabbits.

Or consider using something completely unexpected like air plants. No green finger? then use the faux kind which are priced the same and last forever.

3. Creative centerpieces 
Adding a lil something special to the center of your plate is a nice touch and most of these items can be found at your local art store. Keeping your layering to one or two colors will make your setting elegant and classic.​ Mini eggs are typically what is used but I like the pie option in the second pic. It also serves as dessert!

4. Keeping it fresh
Nothing compares to fresh flowers so if you can splurge on one thing, make that fresh flowers. You can choose from your traditional choice of tulips and daffodils or go one step further and consider lily of the valley, lavender, pussy willow or even white roses. 

We like to bring in branches of the spring blooms like cherry or apple blossoms, even Magnolia branches with the pink flowers in full bloom. I do hope our trees flower in time this year, it's been so cold for so long.

5. D'Souza Residence Tablescape 2018
And this was our tablescape last year. Our guests felt so special and welcomed when they saw the effort we made. We used simple kraft paper as the base and layered it with baby's breath flower arrangements and marbled details. The centerpiece was made with a piece of burlap ribbon that was stapled together to form a nest and placed in a paper cup cake holder.

There are so many ideas here guys, have fun creating an impressive tablescape. I know it's all about the food but just imagine the food being set on a table like this. Your guests will love it. 

Have a wonderful Spring and Easter celebration with your families. Big hugs.
{All pics via Pinterest}

When you have guests over and they are sitting comfortably on your cozy sofa and armchair what is the one thing that is right in front of them – your coffee table! That’s right. Your coffee table gets the most eyeballs among all your other furniture. We recently styled our new/vintage coffee table on Instagram and received a lot of questions about it. Thought we would share those tips here to help you with your table styling. These are a few design tricks to achieving that collected look without breaking the bank.


1. BREAKING IT UP
The best place to start is to break up your table into grids or sections. So for example a square coffee table will be broken up into 4 sections. A round table is best broken in to three sections. And an oval or rectangular table can be broken into 2 or 3 sections depending on the length of the table. This makes it easy for you to decorate when you have to fill up sections as opposed to the whole table.

2. LAY YOUR FOUNDATION
The best coffee tables have a great foundation and the easiest way to do that is with books. Large hardback coffee table books with graphic covers in complimentary colors can be used as the base layer. Look for books that have colors that go with the other colors in your room, nothing jarring or too graphic. The piled up books give you the option to create vignettes on top of them while adding different heights to the table. If you have a square table then create four piles of books in the four corners of the table. For a round or oval table go for one pile of books placed either to the left or right side of the table. Layering 2-3 books on top of each either in the same size or graduating sizes will look very appealing.

A cheap and affordable source for beautiful coffee table books is your local thrift store. You will be amazed at what people throw out. Other sources for well priced books are your local home decor stores or libraries that are selling their older collections.

Books are also a great conversation starter. It gives people an insight into your interests and if nothing else it makes you look very intelligent. Feel free to pile up books under your coffee table as well if your table allows it. (Secret - the more the books you have, the smarter you look!)

​Hope this was helpful to you! At the end of the day it is your home and you should have fun doing this. Move things around, bring things out of hiding, swap things around rooms, play around with your stuff!

Interested in seeing our latest Instagram tutorial  on our coffee table, then head over to our account and click on the `STYLING TIPS` highlights to see what we put together.

If you are still scratching your head and stuck with an odd sized table that is confusing the heck out of you, give us a shout and we can figure this out together. With our `Professional Styling` service we will find out your interests, source the items to match your design tastes and style the table just in time for that big party you have lined up.

If you found this helpful then subscribe to our website for more quick and easy styling tips HERE.

Good luck friends! Enjoy your home!

Big Hugs
Lynda

Just bought a new bookshelf and stumped for ideas on how to decorate it? Or you have a bookshelf that you have been trying to style for a couple of months now and it’s still a hot mess. We got you covered! Here we will break down the styling process for you so you can completely blow your friends minds when they find out that it was you who did the styling! 

The principles of styling a bookshelf are pretty similar to styling your coffee table except with bookshelves you are styling it vertically whereas with a table you are styling it horizontally. Before you start putting anything on the shelf think about the backs of your bookcase. If the room lacks a point of interest and you feel it needs a pop of color then consider painting the backs of your case.

​Alrighty then, you have your background sorted and we can start the fun part!

BOOKS ARE YOUR FRIEND
While bookshelves are for books, row upon row of only books on your shelves can look repetitive and uninteresting. The idea is to break up the visual by layering the books in with pretty objects, interesting finds or eclectic collections. But before we get to that step you will need to spread out the books on all your shelves. Have some of them standing vertically with their spines outward, and some horizontally in short stacks. 

​And others like to group them in a single color for that Harvard library look. Consider laying some of the books horizontally in graduating stacks  as that will give you the option to position a decorative object on top of them.

ART IS COLOR
Use art to layer the backs of your shelves for that graphic look and to add large expanses of color in certain shelves. Look for art with simple frames that do not fight with the bookshelves and objects. Feel free to place smaller items in front of the art for that layered look.

​MIX UP THE SHAPES
With all the books and frames in place you will end up with a lot of lines visually. So breaking them up with sculptural items that have curves like a round vase, bowl or curvy wood carving with bring a softness to your display.

ADD SOME GREENS
Adding some greenery to your shelves will bring that organic feel and today you can some pretty ‘real’ looking faux plants that require no maintenance at all. We prefer to add creeping vines that hang off the shelves or plants with pretty leaves like the crispy wave to the mix. Make sure the pot it comes in is also something pretty and with color. Here is a great way to add a metallic touch by choosing pots in silver or gold color.

​LAY ON THE DECORATIVE OBJECTS
Once you have got the larger items in place it is time to have fun with your smaller decor accessories. Use them as bookends or place them over a stack of your books to give it focus. Try spreading them out on your shelves by interspersing them in and around the books and art. If your items are too small in size then try grouping them in odd numbers, or corralling them in a small tray or bowl to give them substance.

​SHOW OFF YOUR COLLECTIONS
Collect vintage cameras, show them off here. A wine drinker that collects corks of your favorite wines – toss them in a jar and display them for all to see. Don't forget the rule of odd numbers when grouping them. 

​STORE IT OUT OF SIGHT
Sometimes we don’t want to display everything as they might be functional and not so pretty and that is where you add a few boxes or baskets on your shelves. Repetition is key and adding a trio of matching boxes on one shelf to store your smaller items is a smart way to hide those receipts or bills. Large baskets on the bottom shelves balance it out and they can used to store extra cushions and throws.

​EDIT, EDIT, EDIT
This is where you stand back and look at your shelves as a whole. You might notice that two adjacent shelves are book heavy and you might want to move the books to an alternative shelf. Or you might see that one shelf is too empty and you might want to add a plant or a case there. This is probably where I spend the most amount of time.....editing....stepping back and looking at the whole picture.

And that concludes our lesson on Bookshelf styling. We hope you will attempt to restyle your shelves and share the pics with us via Facebook or Instagram. Let me know if you found this helpful, we welcome any and all feedback.

If you find yourself stuck on a particular shelf give us a shout and we can figure this out together. Enjoy your styling guys!

Big hugs
​Dhiraj & Lynda