A Wielki Dzień project
Mustard, bottle green and burgundy on the birthday table
Written by: Magdalena Raba
Decoration of a long table for a birthday: mustard gauze table runner, bottle green napkins, gold placemats and flowers in jars.
Mustard and bottle green combine the table with the colors of the room
For a birthday party, we decorated one long table made of light wood, standing in a room with a dark wall. We prepared a mustard table runner made of cotton gauze, bottle-green fabric napkins, gold openwork placemats, white plates with cutlery and flowers in glass jars tied with a cream ribbon. The table palette consists of five colors: mustard, bottle green, burgundy, gold and cream. Mustard and green are carried by fabrics, so both colors can be seen along the entire table: mustard in the table runner and green in the napkins on the plates. The burgundy and cream come from the floral arrangements and ribbons, and the gold lies beneath the plates.
On both sides of the table there are mustard upholstered chairs with black legs, and the table runner repeats their color in the center of the table top. In the background there is a dark wall with a large painting with a tropical leaf motif, and the bottle-green napkins refer to its dark greenery. Both colors of the room are back on the table, this time in fabrics. Burgundy dahlias and red leaves deepen this palette, while cream roses and ribbons brighten it. The gold of the pads harmonizes with the warm tone of light wood, which also has its place in this palette.
Mustard gauze and gold placemats sit directly on the wood
There is no tablecloth on the table, because the naked, light wood entered the palette as its warm base. In the middle of the table top there is a mustard table runner made of crinkled cotton gauze, which we placed loosely in soft folds. The gauze has a fine, uneven texture and does not lie flat, so the runner does not look like a stiff strip of material. With such a long table, it is he who pins all the place settings into one line. In the perspective photo of the table, the mustard line leads the eye deeper into the room, towards the wall with the painting.
We tied each bottle-green cloth napkin in a single knot and placed it diagonally on a white plate, with the dark green cutting through the white. The knot gathers the fabric in one place and gives the napkin some volume. Under the plates there are flat, gold openwork placemats with a petal pattern, in the shape of a flower. The wood is visible through the openwork, so the gold does not cover the tabletop, but instead draws a thin floral outline around the plate. On a countertop without a tablecloth, placemats also mark individual places at the table.
Dahlias, roses and gloriosa lilies stand in jars along the table runner
We arranged the flowers in glass jars and tied a thin cream ribbon under the rim of each jar. The compositions include burgundy dahlias with spherical, double flowers, cream roses and gloriosa lilies with raspberry-pink petals with a yellow edge and green-yellow buds. In addition, there are sedum in a subdued, pink-violet shade, orange flowers, red and burgundy autumn leaves and greenery with long, narrow leaves. The close-up shows that the composition is free and irregular. Gloriosa lilies stems lean sideways and go beyond the outline of the bouquet.
We placed the jars at intervals along the table runner. The breaks between the arrangements leave room for bowls and cups with snacks, so the flowers do not take up the entire center of the table. The glass of the jars is transparent, and the cream ribbon under the rim repeats the color of the roses and connects the simple vessel with the rest of the palette. At a long table, repeated jars with the same ribbon are arranged in a rhythm that runs with the table runner.
Before the birthday, send us photos of the room and the length of the table
We choose the colors of the decorations to match the interior, so before the party, send us photos of the room, chairs and walls. From them we will see which colors are worth repeating on the table in table runners or napkins, and which are better to leave in the background. If the table has nice wood, consider whether a tablecloth is needed at all. The bare top can go into the pallet, and the table runner and placemats are enough to make the setting look finished. However, when there is a tablecloth on the table, tell us its color, because then it will become the background for the table runner and napkins.
If there are snacks on the table, tell us about it in advance so that the compositions leave room for them. For a long table, choose flowers in stable vessels with a wide bottom, because when reaching over the tabletop, it's easy to knock something over. Please tell us the length of the table and the number of seats so that we can bring enough table runners, napkins, placemats and tableware. Set the installation date with the room staff and leave us time to arrange the fabrics and flowers before the guests arrive. When the staff sets the plates, agree on the order, because the placemats are placed under the plates and the napkins are on top of them.
