10 Christmas tablescaping rules for beginners

From immersive worlds to intimate dinner tables, Tatiana Kharchylava knows how to create a magical atmosphere. As the creative director of The Birley Clubs — London’s iconic private members clubs — she creates the most talked-about festive settings.

Here Tatiana shares ten tips for designing a luxurious, thoughtful and effortlessly impressive Christmas table — no grand budget required.

Start with a base theme: elegant minimalism, festive abundance or a rustic natural feel. When I build a façade or transform a club interior, I always begin with the emotional world I want people to enter. At home, it’s exactly the same. Ask yourself: ‘What feeling do I want to gift my guests? Calm elegance? Nostalgic magic? Winter woodland?’ Choose one feeling and let every element support it.

Hook your display to a specific theme

The Birley Clubs

A tight colour palette separates a decorated table from a designed one. In large-scale builds, a strict palette keeps everything cohesive. I never mix more than two to four colours. It creates harmony without overwhelming the eye. My failsafe Christmas colour combinations are white with gold or silver, gold and white, or for a traditional table, shades of red and green.

In smaller dining spaces, pale colours can flatten the room. For compact areas, go bolder. Vibrant tones like burnt orange works paired with red berries bring warmth and depth. Mirror table tops can visually expand a room and beautifully reflect candlelight.

Tatiana Kharchylava

The Birley Clubs

The tablecloth is like the backdrop of your dinner party stage. It sets the scene before anything is placed on top. Opt for linen, velvet or satin for an instant atmosphere. If you can’t find the right tablecloth, visit your local haberdashery shop or market and buy a made-to-measure cut of fabric straight from the roll.

Measure your table’s width and length. Add at least 30-40cm on each side for a generous drop.

For a floor-length look, measure from tabletop to floor. Buy fabric in one continuous piece.

Ask your haberdashery store to hem the edges.

Layer the fabric over an off-white base cloth for table protection.

Choose napkins in your base colour and keep napkin rings simple. Elevate with a sprig of berries or thick wired velvet ribbon tied into a bow. Visit YouTube to learn how to tie your bow correctly.

Layering with a placemat, charger plate, matching dinner plate, side and dessert plate, cutlery and glassware gives richness to my immersive worlds. Always set out at least two glasses per guest — wine and water — to reflect candlelight and create fullness to your table.

If mixing and matching glasses and crockery, they must be vintage. You can pick up pieces of beautiful Royal Albert china from eBay. If you’re buying one or two at a time, stick to the same colour family and size — 23cm or 28. To create visual flow, I sometimes use two sets of crockery and charger plates — different designs but the same colour code — and alternate. The dining plate will match the next person’s charger plate and so on.

Crackers aren’t only decoration, but also they’re social cues that bring people together, and you don’t need to spend a fortune. Upgrade budget crackers by removing the ribbon and replacing it with velvet ribbon. Add pearl or crystal rhinestone trims (find on Amazon) and for a couture finish, glue velvet ribbon along the cracker edges.

Upgrade crackers with pearl details

The Birley Clubs

Story tell through a centrepiece

Centrepieces hold the scene. They don’t always need to be extravagant, just atmospheric. Use fresh flowers, fir, holly, greenery, pinecones, berries and baubles. Forage locally and assemble using oasis blocks or vases and keep arrangements small enough to remove easily when food is served.

For a frosted effect, lightly spray real foliage with artificial snow and add the smallest touch of glitter to create a shimmering effect. I source ready-sprayed silver and gold real foliage from New Covent Garden market.

Elegance comes from clarity and ease of communication. If something blocks your guests’ connection, it doesn’t belong on the table. My golden rule is sit at the table and rest your elbow on the surface. The height of your wrist is the maximum height of any floral arrangement.

Light is everything. It controls the emotional temperature of the room. Avoid bright lights overhead. Use thin taper candles from Candle Flair (candleflair.com) — one per person, grouped in pairs — space evenly and vary heights for depth and movement. The odd thin tapered candle and stick can break the wrist-height rule.

Never use scented candles on the table — they interfere with the smell of the food — but go to town with tea lights and, if your budget permits, consider battery-powered table lights.

Stack candles for dramatic effect

The Birley Clubs

I also use place cards to ensure guests are positioned in a way that encourages great conversation and ensure everyone feels included. Thoughtful seating is part of good hosting.

An ugly place card can kill the beauty of a table so write names with a marker pen. If a calligrapher isn’t an option, choose a calligraphy-style font on your computer and print each name individually or use clear labels to print names before pressing onto the place cards. Little details make an enormous difference.

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