What comes to mind when you hear “woodland”? Maybe it’s bunnies, deer, birds and other forest creatures. Or maybe it’s trees, branches, ferns, lichens, moss and other things found on the forest floor. Like the images below:
All of these elements have inspired a distinctive style of home decorating called “Woodland Decor”, which, at its core, is all about nature. This is a very popular decorating style, and one that I often worked with in my years of producing photo shoots for interior design magazines.
A RUSTIC, WOODLAND-INSPIRED TABLETOP
I came up with the idea for a nature-inspired tabletop when I was writing my post last month on Styling With Olive Wood Collectibles. That post got me thinking that olive wood tableware would dovetail quite nicely with a “Woodland” aesthetic. I decided to take a few elements from that post and create a woodland-themed outdoor tabletop. The beauty of this tabletop idea is that it goes with all different decor styles (you don’t need to live in a cabin or in the country to create this look).
The tabletop below was photographed in my courtyard, and in this post I’m going to walk you through the elements to re-create this look. And as we’re heading into fall, you can also add a few fall-like elements such as small potted white or rust-colored mums.
THE WOODLAND PALETTE
The main thing I kept in mind when styling my outdoor tabletop was keeping the color palette limited to shades of beige and brown & green – all colors found in a woodland setting. If you wanted to add a pop of color, I suggest going a little deeper into the brown family with deep burnt orange and rust colors (found in wicker, flowers and leaves).
NATURAL ELEMENTS
My tabletop is comprised of the following natural elements:
- Different types of WOOD (birch, olive wood, pakka wood, even wood-grain and faux bois – more on that later in the post)
- NATURAL TEXTILES such as jute, seagrass and linen
- PLANTS and BRANCHES
SETTING THE TABLE
I started with this lattice-striped linen-blend tablecloth from the HSW Online Shop, which can be used indoors or outdoors. An added bonus to using a linen blend is that is doesn’t require ironing after washing.
PLACE SETTING, DECONSTRUCTED
TABLE LINENS: To create a layered place setting, I added natural jute placemats along with my go-to white dinner plates. A sage green linen hemstitch napkin is the buffer between the dinner and salad plate.
PLATES: The wood grain salad plates are part of a 16-piece set of outdoor dinnerware (the set includes dinner and salad plates, bowls and tumblers, but I like to include only one element of a set, so my tabletop isn’t too matchy-matchy). Styling Tip: You could also use the tumblers in the set for vases on the tabletop (or elsewhere in your home).
A TOUCH OF GREENERY: Below are detail shots of the place setting. It’s the little things that count – I added a fresh fern sprig to the top of the melamine salad plate to complete the look.
GLASSWARE: I don’t mind using indoor glassware outdoors, and the beautiful light green Godinger goblets add an elegant touch to all the rusticity of the rest of the table. The clear Novecento water glasses are some of my favorites from the Bormioli Rocco line of Italian glassware, which is very affordable (and makes a great gift, too).
Styling Tip: I like to mix shapes and heights of glassware to add interest. Also, the glassware doesn’t have to match, but the patterns should be complementary.
SILVERWARE: Everyday silverware with hammered handles adds a textural note, and the wood-handled Laguiole knives add the just-right rustic element.
CENTERPIECE(S)
I tend to gravitate towards a few elements on the center of my tabletops, as opposed to one (often-too-large) “centerpiece”. In fact, the word “centerpiece” conjures up a more formal tabletop, which is the opposite of what we’re going for here!
So, now that we’ve got that out of the way, here’s what I chose for the middle of the table:
BURLAP-WRAPPED VASE WITH BRANCHES
This one is simple: I took a plain glass vase, casually wrapped it in burlap fabric and tied it with rustic twine. For texture, I added budding branches (sometimes you don’t need flowers to make a statement). I wanted this aspect of the “nature” element to feel like an element of a tree, without putting an actual tree on the tabletop! Another option if you want a ready-made vase vs. something DIY, this beautiful birch bark vase would fit right into this tabletop scheme.
LIVE GREENERY
Nothing says “woodland” to me more than ferns. I added a Rabbit’s Foot Fern (below left) and an airy Maidenhair Fern (below right), and for this tabletop, the planter choices were just as important as the plants themselves. Instead of predictable terra cotta pots (which would have stood out too much), I chose rustic cement and stoneware planters in shades of “greige” (grey-beige).
A NOTE ON “FAUX BOIS”
Not everything woodland has to be real wood. Faux bois means “false wood” in French and refers to the artistic imitation of wood or wood grains. This technique is used to create items items that resemble tree trunks, branches, or bark—made from a variety of materials. It can be found in larger items such as tables, chairs, benches and settees to smaller items like planters, troughs, pots, and flower vases.
The planter I used for the Rabbit’s Foot Fern below is created in this style, and I’ve included a link to a similar planter in the shopping gallery at the end of the post.
TEXTURAL ELEMENTS
REPURPOSED GARDEN ORNAMENT: Another textural element on the table is the shapely garden ornament in a weathered finish (shown below behind the burlap vase).
WICKER ELEMENTS: A wicker wine chiller adds another textural element to the tabletop (along with my favorite chardonnay from Talley Vineyards – the family winery in California I WISH was in my family!)
MORE TEXTILES: For a finishing touch, I like to add botanical– or woodland-inspired pillows to my outdoor chairs (below). I’ve included a couple of options for pillows in the shopping gallery at the end of the post.
MORE WOODLAND TABLETOP IDEAS
Rustic river rocks used as “place cards” with guests’ names written on them in marker.
Small black pebbles as plant toppers.
You could go full-on woodland with resin (faux) antlers as a table decoration in place of – or in addition to – the garden ornament.
Wood slice chargers with a raw bark edge to elevate your centerpiece (or used as chargers).
Rustic reindeer moss as a plant topper.
A large moss sphere as an accent to the plants (in place of the garden ornament).
A trio of birch pillar candles or a tall birch vase as a substitute for the burlap-covered vase.
WOODLAND MENU IDEAS
I like the idea of using rustic or foraged foods to continue the theme, and I’ve created a “Woodland Dinner Party” Pinterest Board with recipes. And feel free to follow me on Pinterest for more ideas and inspirations!
SHOP THE TABLETOP
CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW FOR SHOPPING LINKS:
There’s still plenty of time to enjoy outdoor entertaining, and I hope this post has inspired you to Make Your Every Day More Beautiful® with a “Rustic Woodland” table you can enjoy with your guests (both indoors and out!)
