This week we are hosting our Easter Table Instagram Challenge.
A creative challenge to get you practicing your styling skills. The majority of us are in social isolation so we thought we’d encourage everyone to have a bit of fun over the Easter weekend.
We know some of you may feel a little overwhelmed about styling your first tablescape and sharing it on social media. So today we wanted to share a few of our Brand Manager Martha’s top tips for designing your Easter Table.
Tip 1 – Start Pinning Ideas on Pinterest
The place I always start when designing is Pinterest.
Whether it’s a wedding, a party, or a holiday table like this you need to start collecting ideas and inspiration. You’ll want to pin different elements such as centrepieces, crockery, glassware, linens etc.
I set up a secret board and start pinning anything and everything that appeals to my aesthetic and the design brief. Here’s a screen shot of my Pinterest board for this challenge:
In this case you will want to consider:
- The season – the colours, light and what flowers and plants are available in your garden (if you have one).
- What you have to hand – this is a stay at home exercise so when you’re designing consider what you have to hand. You don’t want to design a pastel tablescape if all you have available is neutral colours.
- The theme – What says easter to you? Is it eggs, bunnies, family dining, specific colours, etc
- Your signature style – as a stylist I definitely have a signature style. If you know what your signature style is then make sure you weave it into your design. If you don’t have one yet don’t worry, this is the perfect opportunity to start trialing some different styles out. See what comes naturally rather than trying to mimic another stylist.
Pro Tip : Don’t just search Easter images that are already on Pinterest. You want your idea to be fresh and unique. Check out wedding and interior design blogs. Look at your favourite Instagram accounts. You can pin images from these sources direct to your Pinterest board.
Tip 2 – Create Your Moodboard
The next step is to review and edit your Pinterest board.
If you have a real mash up of themes and colour palettes you may need to start a new board or start deleting images.
Focus on your favourite images. What do you love about them? Are they similar to each other in style? Do you have other images have you pinned that would compliment these key inspiration images?
Start developing a ‘red thread’ or theme. You want these elements to come together to create one cohesive design.
You will see in the screen shot of my Pinterest board that I pinned a lot of neutral colours; white, ivory, cream, stone, beige, browns. The overall look is also more organic and minimalist with Scandinavian and Japanese influences. I originally had a lot of grey on the board and when I edited down I removed this in favour of the warmer beige and brown tones.
Once you have your edited board you need to save down your favourite images. Remember to pick a selection of images to showcase the different elements that will go into your Easter Table. For example, you don’t want lots of images of flowers but none of place settings or decor.
Here is my Easter Table moodboard:
Pro Tip : You don’t need to be a design whizz. Canva has lot’s of great moodboard templates you can use. You simply just drag and drop in your images and change the colours. I used a Canva template to create the board above and then tweaked the layout a bit. Check out this article on how to create a free online moodboard using Canva.
Tip 3 – Develop a Colour Theme
You’ll want to include a colour palette with your board. This gives you a colour theme to work to when you start picking elements to style your table.
Canva has a great tool for developing your palette. When you click on a coloured square on your template you will notice a box pop up to the left of the screen.
There you will also see some recommended colours based on the images you have added to your board. Use this to select the colours most relevant to your design.
Tip 4 – Raid Your Cupboards
Now you have your moodboard created it’s time to assemble your tablescape elements and props.
Think about how you will bring your design to life.
What do you have in your kitchen cupboards and around your home that will work?
What could work as a centrepiece? If you don’t have a garden with flowers and foliage you may want to consider a central candle feature, a collection of your potted plants, or clusters of decorative items you already have around your home.
Pro Tip: Need a bit of inspiration? We’ve got you covered with our FREE Tablescape Guide which is available to download now. Use this as a step by step to creating styled tables with the wow factor.
Tip 5 – DIY Decor Details
Finally, consider if there are any unique details you can add.
Are you skilled with a paintbrush? Could you hand paint some eggs to place on each place setting?
Could you create some DIY stationery in Canva that you can print off on your home printer? Designing your own Easter menu could be fun!
Do you have some fabrics to hand you could cut up to make a runner and some napkins?
Are you cooking up a storm for Easter? Perhaps featuring your meal as part of your tablescape would bring it all together.
This is your vision and it’s completely up to you on how you make it your own.
So there you have it, my top 5 tips for designing your Easter Table. Now you’re ready to get styling! We can’t wait to see your entries!
