Create a Beautiful Repurposed Tablescape!

Woodsy 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.

Pirate Napkin and Ships

  • 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}

Written by Becky Striepe

My name is Becky Striepe (rhymes with “sleepy”), and I am a crafts and food writer from Atlanta, Georgia with a passion for making our planet a healthier, happier, and more compassionate place to live. My mission is to make vegan food and crafts accessible to everyone!. If you like my work, you can also find me on Twitter, Facebook, and .

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