Titillating Tablescapes
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
Sorry for the title; I'm in a goofy mood today!
What is a tablescape? It's an arrangement of objects be it books, clocks, vases, trophies, paperweights, toy cars, journals, you name it, that are often mixed together and arranged in a pleasing way on a table, cabinet, or desk surface. David Hicks was perhaps the master of the tablescape; when I study his I can see how his sense of color, shapes, and interesting objects (like a toy car) led to such fantastic arrangements.
Some people create a tablescape with like objects, perhaps using only trophies or ashtrays, while others venture into a mix. The most successful examples I could find tended to have a theme, from nature to victory; from homework to cocktails.
Do you have any tablescapes around your home? Did you plan them out meticulously and arrange all at once, or did they grow over time? If you have any pictures, please share in the comments, I'd love to add them to my ideabook!
What is a tablescape? It's an arrangement of objects be it books, clocks, vases, trophies, paperweights, toy cars, journals, you name it, that are often mixed together and arranged in a pleasing way on a table, cabinet, or desk surface. David Hicks was perhaps the master of the tablescape; when I study his I can see how his sense of color, shapes, and interesting objects (like a toy car) led to such fantastic arrangements.
Some people create a tablescape with like objects, perhaps using only trophies or ashtrays, while others venture into a mix. The most successful examples I could find tended to have a theme, from nature to victory; from homework to cocktails.
Do you have any tablescapes around your home? Did you plan them out meticulously and arrange all at once, or did they grow over time? If you have any pictures, please share in the comments, I'd love to add them to my ideabook!
This is such a lovely balance of objects. Everything is layered very well, and there is a theme of natural elements, from the leaves to the coral and the bird print to the botanical book.
The print with the martini on it totally cracks me up, and arranged like this, the barware becomes sculpture. I think I'd like to have a cocktail with the person who arranged this area.
Judging from this arrangement, the desk's number one use is to hold the objects and not to provide a working space. There's a fun play of shapes and sizes going on here.
Even a youngster can have a nice tablescape; a trophy to remind him of soccer glory, a clock, good light and a bulletin board for reminders.
This grouping of like objects keeps a tablescape from becoming cluttered tchotchke-o-rama.
This is edited very well. Everything has an organic feel; the wooden table, driftwood lamp, paper shade, ceramics and warm trim in the background.
I am absolutely bananas for a driftwood table. Books and fresh flowers are always worth the splurge.
| |
| The objects on this table help frame the fireplace. This also brings the eye down into it. |
| |
| This is part of my own mantle and pottery collection. It's not really there yet, but it's really fun to play around with it until it's right. |
| |
| Here's one I'm satisfied with - this is my bedside table. I am pretty obsessed with yellow, black and white together, and doughnut phones. Also, in this economy, I'm still finding it really hard NOT to splurge on flowers. BTW, I snagged that lamp base for $9 at a junk store and had Victory Vintage make it into a lamp. Even better than that, my brother found the wrought iron table in his dumpster, so that only cost me half a can of white spray paint. |
by Pierce Allen
»
This would be perfectly symmetrical were it not for a few moves the designer made in the tablescape. I think this makes it a lot more interesting than perfect symmetry would. "Perfect Symmetry": Is that redundant? Is there such a thing as "imperfect symmetry?" hmmm...
Here, the low height of the objects lets the artwork be the star of the space.
A nice collection. The arrangement mixes up all these different shapes and heights, mimicking the skyline in the background.
by Kerrie L. Kelly
»
Not every surface should be 'scaped! Here, anything more than this one bottle vase would distract from the painting and turn this cabinet top into cluttersville.
by Kerrie L. Kelly
»
| |
| |
Ideabook updated on Sept. 7, 2009.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
BTW, that cocktail-themed table is at my house! It sort of grew over time. The painting is by a local Baltimore artist (we have another one in our kitchen). She paints these crazy egg people - that one is called "The Drinknapper" and it totally made me laugh the first time I saw it.
The sugar chest is an antique that my husband's had forever - we use it as a liquor cabinet - and his mom found the cocktail shaker at an antique shop someplace around here. Then we added the tray and the decanter mostly because we needed someplace to keep them.
Unfortunately, right now, the sugar chest is also covered in stacks of IKEA napkins. Not that pretty, but it is a good staging area for parties...