All Things Merry + Bright: Lucy Holiday Tablescapes
Setting the table is one of the many joys in life. Collecting patterns and layering in color to create a scene and tell a story of special pieces and heirlooms passed down with love, paired with modern elements to create your own style. Gathering table linens, china, glassware and flowers is an art. And our Lucy Design Team is made of artists—all who have go-to table settings. But this year we’re changing it up and using colors with pizazz and unexpected arrangements. From our table to yours, dinner is served!
STEPH’S KID-FRIENDLY FEAST
“I think kids look forward to Christmas so much, and I’m always looking for ways to make it memorable for them. I have two young kids and I wanted to create something really special for them this year, all playful and fun with bright colors. With paper plates and straws and recyclable flatware in happy hues, so it’s low-maintenance, whimsical and kid-friendly.
I started with a kid-sized table and two Pantone chairs, a limey green one and an aqua one. Then I started layering on the neon hues and sprinkling in the fun touches: a vibrant yellow cloth is the foundation for a forest of modern blue and coral Christmas trees and a festive Frenchie statue, while yarn balls double as the floral arrangement. Confetti and party crackers are scattered about—they are like 10 second of pure happiness—because is it really a party if you don’t make a mess? It’s where they can just kind of do whatever they want, make something or move things around. It’s all about making it engaging and fun and happy and memorable for the kids.”
BETSY’S VERY MERRY MIAMI
“There are two things you should know about me. One, I think the holidays are supposed to be about fun. And two, retro interiors are a passion of mine. And what’s more fun than a retro Miami vibe—with the pastels, the shapes and lines, and curvy furniture? So, I was inspired to create a 1980s Miami Beach holiday, with pastel pinks and minty greens contrasting with bold black and white. Super fun modern and retro. With lots of playful patterns, shapes and stripes.
I started with a Saarinen dining table and a checkerboard table runner. A tall vase with a wild assortment of tropical flowers—including pink palm fronds—adds nature but in a nearly unnatural way. Really retro pastels candle holders and candles. So-eighties folded napkins, bold black octagon bowls, white rimmed with silver for the meal, while the black decanter and martini glasses top it off, because it is a celebration after all!”
RYAN’S CLASSIC CHRISTMAS
“Mine is more of a traditional, very Christmasy kind of tablescape. I have this obsession with pine trees and I wanted to incorporate that into the design. I also wanted to incorporate a lot of greenery, and antique brass accents, with the place settings serving as more of a neutral. The feeling is cozy, inviting and warm, with candlelight and white twinkle lights providing that soft glow. Kind of a country feel—I grew up on a farm—but with a modern twist.
I was trying to connect to those kinds of feelings of Christmas and making gifts, and baking bread and cookies, and tying back into that handmade feeling as well. It has more of a traditional “sit down for a Christmas dinner or New Year’s Eve supper” kind of vibe to it. Shades of white, wooden accents and touches of weathered brass so that it does feel kind of elevated, but yet earthen and handmade.“
LUCY’S FESTIVE FIESTA
“If you want to add a serious kick to your table, bring in the happy hues and spirited shades. They will bring instant party vibes to every meal. That’s why I’m bringing a little bit of Cinco de Mayo to the holidays! Mixing in these wonderful Mexican hand loomed artisan textiles, with their bright pinks and turquoises paired with more of a hot red and bright green—rather than sort of the typical Christmas red and green shades—make the meal a little extra jolly.
It’s all about the layers, first the sarape doubling as a table runner on a yellow and white tablecloth. Then you add a fringey green straw placemat and artisan plates and my mom’s cabbage bowls. And because my sweetie’s favorite color is orange, I pulled out the orange handle flatware for him. So much of this is pulled from my collection. When I find a piece I love, I never part with it; you never know when it will be the perfect little something.
The icing on the cake: all the fun centerpiece accoutrements. Layers of color on patterns and textures, with pitchers brimming with papel picado flags and bold color flowers in a handcrafted blue and white pitcher—complete with a cowrie shell tassel from my friends at SmithHönig—while fiesta fans are scattered about. It’s tabletop terrificness!”
