Sauternes and Foie Gras. Champagne and Caviar. Some things just belong together. Festive decorating and holiday celebrations are no different.
Kristy Smith of Designs by Kristy and Abloom’s Linda Glover and Leah Rosine are also in the ‘things that belong together’ category, as evidenced by the dazzling tablescape they collaborated on here. Kristy led the team with her design, and Linda was able to match Kristy’s aesthetic vision and elevate it.
“It was so great to collaborate with Abloom,” Kristy says. “I could tell they totally understood my vision and knew exactly how to compliment it.”
Kristy’s design philosophy is straightforward, layer to create balance. It takes a special eye to know when and what to layer. Too much, it is overwhelming. Too little, barren and boring.
To create a design appropriate for the December holidays, as well as New Year’s celebrations and winter festivities, Kristy used gold, plum, evergreen, and translucent sparkle in her color scheme. Elements reminiscent of winter: snowflakes, deer, fir trees and twinkly silver line the center. Placemats of white faux fur, like soft snow, and silver snowflake chargers express the splendor of cold months.
Linda reflected Kristy’s design with plum mini-calla lilies, white anthurium, artichokes and misty, With so many varieties, carnations provide texture and complexity that other florals don't offer. Greenery included flocked spruce, princess pine and cedar. A light purple hydrangea acts as a neutral, allowing the dark plum color to show brightly
For tables, Linda says she “loves incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables into the design, thus the artichokes. Nuts and herbs can work well too.”
They both use the layering approach, adding and subtracting until the right balance is achieved, Balance isn't a set point, but instead a range. Layer sparsely for a modern, elegant aesthetic. For something more sumptuous and decadent, layer more heavily. Again, the trick is to know when you are outside the range of balanced design.
Any combination of the florals used here, such as removing the anthurium, callas and carnations would make a beautiful tablescape with hydrangea, greenery and misty. Take it one step further, remove the hydrangea and misty, you are left with simple but beautiful winter greenery as the focal point. The same applies to the layered place setting.
Balance is also achieved by using both feminine and masculine elements. The white anthurium, crystal snowflakes and translucent plates create feminine airiness and sparkle. The artichokes and reindeer ground the design with masculinity. The peacock feathers in the floral arrangements mirror the trees made from feathers. Some elements that demonstrate both, deep plum mini calla lilies, dark purple feathered trees and flocked blue spruce.
Now, pop the champagne, set out the libations and enjoy the decadence of the season!