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Festive tablescapes get you in the spirit

Designers Michelle Lane and Amy Almasy say mix up holiday table settings with vintage and contemporary pieces, gold and silver and playing with varied patterns, colors, textures and  shapes.

Designers Michelle Lane and Amy Almasy say mix up holiday table settings with vintage and contemporary pieces, gold and silver and playing with varied patterns, colors, textures and shapes.

We asked three New Jersey designers to create holiday-inspired tablescapes. Here is what they had to say:

Formal feast

Thanksgiving calls for a beautiful, warm table setting. For Rosalind D’Achille and daughter Phyllis Rosone, partners in D’Achille Design of Little Silver, N.J., that translates into bringing the beauty of the fall season indoors in elegant and unique ways.

Using rich plums, oranges and gold tones, as well as fall foliage, colorful fruits of the season and fresh flowers, the duo have created a welcoming table for the bountiful feast.

In a twist on the traditional, the pair opted to use clementines instead of pumpkins, artificial pears to hold place cards and candlesticks in various heights and colors. Flowers are kept low to the table to encourage conversation (and the passing of the cranberry sauce).

Elegant by design, the tablescape is also comfortably familiar, mixing vintage pieces with new finds.

Vintage harvest

The crisp, cool days of autumn are the perfect time to gather with friends and family to celebrate a delightful season.

For Michelle Lane and Amy Almasy, owners of Center Staging, a professional home staging and redesign service, in Little Silver, the inspiration for their bountiful assembly came from a wine crate. Filled with flowers and vegetables, the crate becomes the offbeat focal point on the table.

Setting the table is all about personality, and Almasy and Lane believe in mixing it up: vintage with contemporary pieces, gold with silver, and playing with a variety of patterns, colors, textures, shapes and heights.

Place pieces of your favorite collections – paperweights, seashells, antique keys, vintage ornaments or corkscrews – not only to help unite a table but also because they are great conversation starters.

Casual holiday

A table, says interior designer Ginny Padula, should always be a reflection of a homeowner’s lifestyle and taste. Although some tables will take on a decidedly more formal look, others will shine with a more relaxed feel. Sometimes, it can be a mixture of both.

For her casually elegant tablescape, Padula, of Ginny Padula Interiors in Red Bank, N.J., thought about the days leading up to Christmas, when families get together. It’s the calm before the last hectic days of the holidays.

Choosing a Tuscan-inspired design, Padula paired a dark wood table with touches of red and cream to complement each place setting. Pewter accessories are incorporated in the design, tying the look together and giving the space an element of rustic charm.

Adding to the charm: pine cone and berry garland, which winds its way through the center of the table, creating a festive touch.

To complete the table, a beautiful glass and pewter centerpiece, candles and individual red rose arrangements create a warm and inviting atmosphere for friends and family.

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Whether your style is casual or formal, you can seat your guests at an inviting table full of autumn color and seasonal design.

• Keep it low: Let your guests see the other side of the table by choosing a soup tureen, large platter or long, shallow basket, as the base for a centerpiece.

• Forage outside: Look on the side of the road or to your own bushes for reeds and branches to display in one of Grandma’s crystal bowls. Or tie bunches of twigs with bright ribbons.

• Eat it later: For a fresh look, choose fruits or vegetables and pile them artfully in a decorative container. Pears, apples, artichokes, grapes or a combination all work well.

• Use what you have: Showcase pieces of your favorite collections – paperweights, seashells, antique keys, vintage ornaments or corkscrews – not only to help unite a table but also because they are great conversation starters. And don’t buy a tablecloth if you don’t have one: Use a throw.

• Remember contrast: With a dark tablecloth, use light-colored plates and napkins or vice versa.

(Contributing: Bonnie Goggins, Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette; Elizabeth Betts Hickman, The Tennessean; Patti Martin, Asbury Park (N.J) Press; Gannett News Service)

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VIDEO

For videos on Thanksgiving prep, go to the Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette’s at www.greenbaypressgazette.com (Click on the video link and search for ‘Thanksgiving’): http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=videonetwork

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