DIY Tablescape

Floral arrangements reign supreme when it comes to event design-- and for good reason, they are versatile, can tell a range of stories and work in any settings. But if you are looking to do something different or have a tight budget for decor this DIY tablescape design will come in handy!

I planned and styled an intimate dinner party for a client that wanted a tablescape that was lush, abundant and colorful. I wanted to source as many items as I could that were in season and local. The inspiration for the tablescape came from designer Justina Blakeney.  

The brightly colored produce are the stars of this tablescape! Don’t get me wrong, the proteas and ranunculus are show stoppers too but the focal point of the tablescape was produce and how displaying them whole and cut brought out their natural beauty.

For this project I used a mix of blood oranges, apples, papaya, grapes, peaches, plums, grapefruit, kumato tomatoes and artichokes. Then chose red and orange proteas and ranunculus to compliment the produce and added greenery to dress the table. The beauty of this project is that you can use whatever you want, depending on the vibe or color story you want.

Tools and Materials:

Cutting board

Knife

Floral scissors

Vases

Decorative accents

Flowers

Greenery

Produce

Table cloth or table runner

Step One:

Lay your greenery (you can chose any kind that you like, its not the star) and decorative accents over your table runner or table cloth.

Step Two:

Decide what produce you want to cut or use whole, mix it up so that there is depth, texture and dimension to your design. Produce that is bright on the inside and with visible seeds, like blood orange, grapefruit and papaya look stunning cut open. Likewise, produce that is shiny or has a textured exterior are beauty left whole.

Step Three:

Once you have a nice mix of whole or cut produce, arrange to your liking, either end to end or as several smaller arrangements, then cut and arrange your flowers. For this project I used gold balls to anchor the tablescape and placed red and orange ranuculus and proteas in several tall cylinder vases.

Step Four:

Step back, take a look at your design and see if there is anything out of place, fix and enjoy!

I hope you try this design idea for your next dinner party. Let us know your results by leaving a comment below!