Create a Beautiful Repurposed Tablescape!

It seems like all the cool kids are crazy about tablescapes these days! I keep seeing lovely ones on crafting blogs that I follow, and the Indie Craft Experience wedding show, Wedding Day Hooray, is even had a tablescape contest last weekend. There’s something really fun about arranging things just so and setting a table that’s a beautiful as the food is delicious.

Of course, if you’re shopping at conventional stores for tablescape supplies, chances are they’re not so eco-friendly. From linens to dishware to candles and centerpieces, there are lots of ways to make a tablescape that reflects your beliefs without sacrificing beauty. Here are some tablescape ideas to get you started:

• Make your own linens, or go vintage. You can whip up cloth napkins and make a table runner from reclaimed materials or hit up the vintage shop or even Etsy’s vintage section to find beautiful linens without all the impact.
• Create a repurposed centerpiece. You don’t need chemical-laden cut flowers or disposables to put together a gorgeous centerpiece! Use items from nature instead. One of my favorite ways to make a centerpiece is to fill a glass container with dried beans or grains, then nestle eco-friendly candles into them. At our wedding, we arranged flats of wheat grass into shallow dishes and put votives in them for a striking centerpiece with none of the waste.

• Think outside the box. Decorating a table doesn’t have to end with the centerpiece. You can add other fun decorations, and to keep things eco-friendly, sometimes you need to get creative! For example, we whipped up these wine cork pirate ships and skully napkins for the tablescape at a pirate-themed dinner party. One ship went on each guest’s plate.
• Fancy up your own dishware. Hit the thrift store for vintage dishes, then make them your own with a porcelain pen. You can skip the commitment and go even greener by creating edible paints to decorate your dishes.

Have any of you guys made a pretty tablescape that featured natural and reclaimed materials? I’d love to hear about what you created!

{Image Credits: Woodsy tablescape. Creative Commons photo by Beckathwia; Pirate Ships. Photo by Jenny Sun, used with permission}