As I’ve been slogging my way thru Christmas Decorations and creating Focal Points I came upon something yesterday while doing my kitchen table.  Hopefully you’ll see what I mean.

This is a table we don’t eat at so I feel comfortable piling on at Christmas time.  With most of my Christmas decorations I have had them for years and made the original purchase because it was either handmade and beautifully executed or it was created by someone I love or by myself.  I tend to not do themes because the things I have were curated with care.  That’s not to say I don’t buy something fun.  Seems the world has gone nuts for gnomes and I don’t know what it is about them but I too find the crazy things appealing.  I bought a gnome ornament the other day just because he made me smile.

This large Santa was created by a woman in Minnetonka MN which is near and dear to my heart.  He has wonderful goat hair and age spots!  Love that. He belonged to my mom and I started the table with him.  Then I brought in the supporting cast.  Adding Mr. Wadleigh. the standing goose carved by my dad, I kept pulling from my accessories until I was satisfied.  An 18th Century hair on hide carriage trunk I also inherited.  I don’t put away my “stuff” that I normally accessorize with, usually I just work around it in a different way.  

Table One:

Balance is the key.  I always keep three things in mind.  Shiny, sparkle, dull.  I do this with every vignette I create.  Shiny can be metal but it could be porcelain or glass.  Sparkle can be crystal but also candlelight.  Dull can be pottery, texture (fabric or greens) dull could also be metal iron or pewter.  I hunt and gather my house, add and subtract, work in different heights using all kinds of things like, books, risers, stands.  You’de be amazed the difference 1/2″ can make in height and a 1/4″ turn of an object can make in the overall composition. Varying the shape and size is one of the most important things to creating a beautiful table scape.  Case in point if you study the photo below you will see the Santa on the right is hidden behind the candlestick.

So what happened yesterday?  I took pictures of this table and studied them and the camera picked up what I couldn’t see.  I use this method often because the pictures will always tell you if what you’ve done is good or not.  

What I discovered is the weight of the compositions was too heavy on the left and not enough substance on the right.  I also noticed that the dishes were showing white with the nest of candles right next to it, also white.  The area where Mr. Claus stood was too close to the arrangement on the stand in the center of the table.  All of this was making it feel off.  I didn’t see this with the naked eye, I thought it was not perfect but pretty good.  

Table Two:

Day break the next morning, I moved the small tree in the copper ice bucket to the right, put Mr. Claus where the tree was opening up the space and allowing the arrangement of greens to breathe more.  I still have copper on each side bringing the lantern now to the left.  In front I moved the nest of candles to where I had a small tree allowing the white to balance on both sides, although I hate the way the candles are reading yellow in the picture.

Using a combination of copper and pewter, some antique Doulton/Lambeth Pub Ware, Redware pottery, some antique dominos and a vintage Duncan Royal Santa also inherited, I was able to get the table slicked up and balanced.  

So what do you think?  Too much?  Table One or Table Two?  As much as I’m in love with this runner I have a feeling it will be coming off the table.  We’ll see.  Let me know what you think!

Shelley