Styling a winter table | Part 1

Now that we finally have a finished dining room, I couldn’t resist dressing the table for a cosy, candlelit winter feast – the perfect way to make the most of the dark, frosty nights and whip up some seasonal cheer as December draws near. I decided to put together two different looks, both incorporating a few festive hints without going overboard on the Christmas theme, so here’s a peek at the first one.

For this scheme I wanted to create something dramatic yet elegant, so I enlisted the help of my friend Kirstie, who’s the very talented lady behind florist and event stylist Ruby & The Wolf. She conjured up a beautiful centrepiece that features white ranunculus flowers (quite possibly my favourite winter blooms due their frothy, fluffy petals), as well as berries, twigs and foliage found in the woods behind her Bristol home. If you don’t have Kirstie’s skills to hand, you could create a similar look by grouping foraged finds of varying heights in an urn or low vase, letting some of the greenery spill opulently over the sides.

To spread the decoration along the length of the table, I then dotted a few bud vases here and there containing smaller clusters of flowers and berries, and added a little sprig of greenery (along with some simple wooden stars from a local craft shop) to each plate. And of course flickering candlelight was a must, so I grouped tall brass candlesticks at either end of the table.

I’ll share another take on seasonal table styling next week…

All photography by Abi Dare