Lynn Pitts has such an eye for beautiful decor and a gift for setting spectacular tables that she started a business helping Charlotteans do the same.
While you can hire Pitts to build the perfect picture-worthy tablescape for your next dinner party or event, her reasons for creating her business, The Table by Lynn Pitts, run deeper.
“There's so much more to the table than just a meal,” she says. “I wanted there to be a resurgence for young families, for old families and for the empty nesters, to realize how important the table is.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics says family dinners provide children not only nutritional benefits but improvement in both academic performance and mental health.
Pitts' goal is to help clients put together tablescapes using a mix of old and new materials, flowers and other decorative items she calls “fluff” to create an inviting environment where people want to come together.
“I'm there to help [clients] make [tables] really pretty in a simple way,” she says.“It’s not about being perfect, just about opening your home up and using it.”
Pitts often makes two visits to her clients’ houses. The first is to assess what a client already has that she can use in a tablescape and what else she might need to acquire, and the second is to put the table together.
Some of her favorite tips for creating a stunning, layered table include mixing colored glassware alongside standard glasses, trying two vases of flower arrangements on a table instead of one, using fruit like pears or figs to add dimension, and incorporating different candle heights together.
The result will be a table that encourages people to come and stay for a while.