‘Tis the season for holiday tablescapes! Early in December, I had the pleasure of co-presenting with Carol Vargo of Gray Antiques and Federika Longinotti Buitoni of Collecto in a private event supporting St. Albans School. The event was hosted by Kristin Cecchi, Cybil Roehrenbeck, Olga Jaeckel, Nancy Reynolds Bagley, and Susan Bollendorf.

Carol is an expert at patterns and layering. When she designs tablescapes, she always starts with the china pattern and adds natural and simple decor elements to create a dynamic presentation. Carol touched on the importance of using the pieces you already have in your collection with an eye towards adding unique, one of a kind antique treasures. Carol also remarked, “that it’s not a party unless something breaks!” I think we can all relate to that!

Federika, who is based in Miami, has a wonderful style that is both youthful and elegant. She helps couples select china, flatware, and table decor and always stresses the importance of collecting pieces that you will want to use time and time again. Both Federika and Carol agreed that the flatware, and small items such as name card holders, are really the “jewelry” of the table.

Finally, if you follow me, you know that no table is complete without fresh flowers as they bring an organic living energy to any event. I demoed a small floral arrangement for the presentation and highlighted the importance of removing hydrangea leaves so that all the energy will go to the bloom, and the flower will thrive. While I didn’t mention it during my presentation, I always “set the house” for my guests and that means greeting guests with a beautiful wreath on the door, perhaps having a statement piece on the sideboard, or adding a few fresh flowers to the powder room.

I think we can all agree, the right combination of place settings, linens, flowers, good food and friends is what creates a dynamic table.