How to Style a Table like a Designer
The art of a well-composed design, taught through tablescaping. Plus, a creative competition with a colorful prize package!
Hello everyone! I am writing this during a 18 hour plane ride from Seoul, South Korea back to the States. When I land, we are taking a post-midnight 4 hour drive to meet family for a week at a lake together. I cannot wait to jump in a body of water.
I am so eager to share with you more about my trip to Korea; I took so many pictures with you in mind! We went primarily to have fun and visit some dear friends, but also did some really fascinating work while over there that I suspect you will enjoy. More soon.
Aside from the jet lag, I am feeling creatively renewed and refreshed. I took time to slow down and get inspired, and I appreciate your graciousness over the last two weeks as I’ve written less here. I was doing the work of getting renewed vision for Feeling! and the new chapter that is about to unfold. It’s about to get wild, I think.
We’ve reconstructed my tiny apartment to house an e-commerce “warehouse” of sorts. I’m finalizing greeting card designs, testing prints, making short films, and getting ready to bring Feeling! Press to life.
This stationery company will embody all the things I love to write about here. It will feel like the magazine come to life. I am ready to make something that helps us foster human connection in a time where isolation is trending. I think we will go live in August, and I’m working as hard as I can to cross the launch finish line.
We are back to our Summer Camp series today, and this is a really fun one!
This summer, I’ve tapped back into my curriculum writing days to make interactive, helpful series detailing essential elements of creative work and how to put them into practice. The groundwork was an exercise for overcoming perfectionism. You can find that full post here, and I have some fabulous examples of the exercise here from reader, Rebecca Rocket.
Today we are digging into composition through TABLESCAPING!
To enhance the lesson, I am making this a friendly competition. A really friendly competition. So friendly that you may get something wonderful in the mail. Like brand new goodies for your table.
To win, simply read a bit about composition, get inspired, and follow the directions at the end of this article. The winner will receive a BIG (hint hint) package from me, full of goods from my favorite tableware small business for a deliciously Feeling! table.
Let’s dig in.
Composition refers to the way things are placed in a frame. It’s a universal design term across many mediums. Whether you are film-making, painting, photographing, making a graphic, or setting the table, composition is a key principle to understand.
To compose something well, you need to learn how the human eye processes information.
Once you are familiar with these principles, you can’t help but see them everywhere. They are also applicable in most any visually creative area of life, from Substack newsletter graphics, to hanging art above your couch, to making a bouquet for the kitchen table.
Core Structuring:
Your focal point: Where does the eye go first? Likely something colorful, tall, or visually interesting.
Balance: Symmetry vs. asymmetry. In symmetry, you would mirror placements so everything is even. In asymmetry, you try to create more informal, varied weight visually. So perhaps a balance of tall flower stems centered lightly left, but a really bold statement bowl centered right to contrast
Example of balancing asymmetry and symmetry — with symmetrical plates, but varying centerpieces Height layering: Consider mixing both low, medium, and tall elements to make a table with varied visual interest.
