Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year – and the perfect excuse to style up a beautiful table setting. I was thrilled when The West Australian newspaper and Habitat lift-out asked me to create my ideal Christmas tablescape, and share my tips on how you can recreate it for your own special feast.

Christmas in Australia is usually celebrated in hot weather and sunshine, so for me, it’s about creating a relaxed, yet festive setting that takes advantage of our beautiful flora and natural light.

Here’s how it turned out…

Jane’s Styling tips

Choose a simple colour palette for the table and stick to it.

Here I’ve layered neutral linens and ceramics with black, white and gold accessories to create a striking Christmas scheme. All designed and made in WA, the ‘Gumnut’ and ’Star Flower’ linen napery from Old Grey House and 2-Tone dinnerware from Eucalypt Homewares provide the perfect base for a Christmas table setting.

The Cutipol black and gold cutlery provides a gorgeous contrast to the natural linen and ceramics. You can find these, and other beautiful wares used in this setting, at Table Culture in Subiaco. I’ve repeated black, white and gold in the paper decorations, glass baubles and candle holders. I just used regular household string to loosely tie the cutlery.

Every Christmas table should have just a little sparkle.

Use crystal glasses, votives or any cut glass to reflect light and create twinkle on the tabletop. Crystal is the perfect contrast to the earthy textures of natural linen, ceramics and paper decorations. I love the Waterford ‘Rebel’ collection of crystal pieces, and these little shot glasses provide just the right amount of crystal and gold. Use them as a tea light holder or add sprigs of eucalyptus, or whatever is in your garden, for a personalised setting.

Add a strand of fairy lights for extra sparkle and wind it though your tabletop.

Greenery.

I’m a big fan of Australian native foliage and love using it on a Christmas table, either placed down the centre of the table or clipped and assembled in different shaped vases and vessels. The silvery-grey greens of eucalyptus and gum work beautifully with the organic tones of this setting. But use anything that’s green and available. Here I’ve laid pieces of eucalyptus along the table, and nestled in a few pillar candles. These ones are only $9.95 for a pack of 5 from Ikea. For texture, I added some pine cones in natural and white, found at Everbloom in West Leederville.

Not everything has to match.

Keep your colours consistent but you don’t have to match every place setting perfectly. I love a bit of variation in place settings. For this setting, I added green leucadendron to the napkin and tied it with a strip of frayed fabric. Other settings I tied up with string and alternated the greenery.

I loved creating this table setting. And it was relatively easy to do. Use what you have at home and forage in your garden for suitable greenery. Dig out your vessels and hidden crystalware and look for a common theme. You’ll be surprised what you can create by keeping to a simple colour palette and using your favourite pieces.

Wishing you a beautiful Christmas.

Jane xx

Credits
Styling: Jane Ledger, Jane Ledger Interiors
Photography: Iain Gillespie, The West Australian Newspaper
Location: Styled and shot on location at the ‘Vincent’ display home, Perry Lakes, courtesy of Austurban Homes
Published: 4 December 2015