Tonight we had the “moms” over for a small dinner party for Rick’s birthday. The plan was to eat outside but with a storm brewing, I realized we may need to move the dinner inside. I had just taken down my summer tablescape to make way for fall decor. With the chance of our dinner party moving inside I decided to throw together a quick tablescape for the dinner party. Check out this super easy masculine bourbon theme tablescape I set up in just 10 minutes and didn’t even spend any money to do it!
NEUTRAL FOUNDATION
The key to any tablescape (especially one you throw together in 10 minutes) is to have neutral foundation pieces to start with. Foundation pieces are runners and chargers. Depending on the table size, I use two runners without the leaf and three when the leaf is in. Runners anchor the decor (place them side by side the width of the table). Chargers are large plates or place mats that dishware sits on top of. I purchase neutral foundation pieces that can be used over and over and over again. For today’s last minute bourbon theme tablescape the runners I used (will also be used in my fall tablescape) are white with gold, copper and silver lines running through it. They go with any metal color I decide to decorate with. Today I used all three metals on the one table! I also have chargers in neutral colors gold, silver, white and wood. No matter the table I’m putting together, one of those neutral foundation chargers will always work. Today I used the gold hobnail chargers (BTW – bought them at the dollar store)!
USE WHAT YOU HAVE
For a 10 minute tablescape that costs no money you build on the foundation with what you already have on hand in your home. Before you start “shopping”, first, consider the theme and colors. With that in mind, walk around and borrow from elsewhere in the home. For instance, today’s last minute tablescape was for Rick’s birthday so I wanted the table to be masculine and represent him. Rick loves bourbon (being from KY bourbon is a birth right here). Easy peasy…we have tons of that in the liquor cabinet! I grabbed as many bottles as I could along with a few other odds and ends I found. Including the moscow mule copper mugs he got for his birthday last year and some bourbon cream single shot bottles that I could use as decor on the plate with a napkin. Grabbing the bourbon bottles made me remember he also got a bourbon lamp for his BD last year that would work as a great centerpiece. I also grabbed some wicker and rattan wood balls that I have everywhere in my house (they are great filler pieces in any decor). I also had a bag of pine cones left over from last years Christmas decoration that are also used as filler pieces. Plates and silverware are our everyday stuff. Just grabbed from the kitchen and was ready to put it all together!
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
When you’ve got 10 minutes you don’t put too much thought into where everything should go. Sometimes not overthinking it actually works in your favor. For the bourbon theme tablescape I first centered the bourbon lamp on the table placing it directly on an old wood mirror frame I had stored. Next, I randomly placed bourbon bottles along the length of the table also in the middle. I used the wood balls and pine cones to fill in any gaps between the bottles and placed the dining plates on all the chargers. Then, a quick fold of some white cloth napkins and placed them in silver napkin rings I already had. Garnished the napkin with the single shot bottles. Because the runners have copper, silver and gold in them, I mixed all the metals on the table (gold charger, silver silverware and napkin rings and copper mugs). I also used a wood and glass cake stand that I used for the keto cheesecake that I made him on Sunday (blog on the recipe here).
TA DA - A 10 MINUTE BOURBON THEMED TABLESCAPE!
So there ya have it. How I threw together a really simple last minute masculine birthday tablescape using odds and ends I had around the house and the neutral foundation pieces that I had from past tablescapes. I’m thrilled how great it turned out for little effort. Which I suppose is a good thing because after all that, the weather cleared up and we ended up having our dinner outside after all and didn’t even sit at the decorated table inside!
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