the hippie chic fall table
Fall’s one my favorite seasons for so many reasons~from the shorter days, falling leaves, start of the holiday season including Halloween for adults! Then there’s an entirely new array of foods for Fall~soups, stews, heartier fare that sticks to your ribs and warms your belly, especially if you’re temperatures start dropping. But, Fall also means, for me, bringing out more of the hippie chic styling for the table! Colors that are warm and seductive, fabrics that suggest snuggling on a chilly Fall evening and plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables that ring in the hues of the season!
For me, table designing should be first and foremost easy~as in making it happen without making it a huge production. No sweating bullets. Not trying to โmakeโ it happen~in other words, just โlettingโ it happen. When you let go of those preconceived notions about table dรฉcor, then you let yourself free. Yes, free to โletโ it happen. And, in life, sometimes the best things just happen! What’s more inviting about letting your ‘hippie chic’ shine through is that it’s all you~no rules, no guidelines of right or wrong~it’s this freeness that moves our spirits and fuels our souls.ย
Here are some of my favorite tips for your Fall table designs~
Spontaneity
Remember when you were a kid and you just let things happen when you were playing. Your mind was free to roam, explore, dream and discover. One of my treasured memories of childhood during the Fall season was laying in the mounds of leaves that I’d raked (yes, most certainly begrudgingly!) into big piles in the yard. Yes, they were crunchy and smelled delicious. My hands behind my head and looking up the sky, I’d see the possibilities in the clouds that were floating by. From animals to people to objects, anything was possible. Well, thatโs what I want you to do with your table โsettingsโ. Start digging deep into that inner child that’s still in you.
What youโre seeing here that I photographed literally happened at my house. I wanted to write a post for you on Fall. I started pulling stuff. Stuff that I like. Stuff that made me smile. Stuff: colors, textures, shapes, things, that reminded me of Fall. With a couple of baskets like Little Red Riding Hood, I went to closets, the pantry, different rooms of the house, even to the shed and gathered a collection of things~pillows, scarves, tapestries, dish towels, and more, that didnโt have any rhyme or reason or probably even make sense for a tablescape.
Yes, I was letting my adhd brain (and we all can have that if we just let go) shine flitting like a bumble bee, not focusing and letting everything capture my attention. But, thatโs part of the magic of the experience. When it comes together, youโre gonna step back, look at what youโve done and say WOW!
Quirky
Imagine a world of sameness. A world of matchy matchy. A world where things are so predictable and only used for one thing because somethingโs not meant to be used otherwise. For me, thatโs a pretty boring and numbing world. Create some quirky in your life and start with your table!
Maybe even err on the side of โeccentricโ~hey, for a table it translates into bursting character and personality. Itโs like that tableโs going to start chatting with you and your guests as youโre exploring the dining experience.
CHAT
Ok, my new acronym for tables: Chic Hippie Ally Tablesโget it. What are CHAT tables? Well, theyโre tables that open the world to you. Theyโre tables that are global. Theyโre tables that are warm, inviting, and lingering. Tables that make you want the time to never end. Not only because of the design but, of course, the great food.
A CHAT table has discernable characteristicsโtribal inspiration, retro touches, European glamour, displayed treasures, sophisticated Bohemian flair, distressing, mess, clutter, mixtures, patterns, layers, tapestries, pillows, odds and ins, even jewelry. Go ahead, get your CHAT groove going!
Imagine
I canโt even โimagineโ conceive visualize think about having a brain like Walt Disney. Like Einsteinโs his was on fire as in seeing what can be. There were no boundaries. No chains binding him to what was โrightโ what was expected, what was. Thank goodness for his brain because weโd be sad littlโ puppies without all his magic! Thatโs what I want you to do with your table.
Look at something, like the flap of a cardboard box, and imagine it as your name place tags on the table. Find some vintage clothespins and just see all the ways you can use these on your tables. Don’t want to use it as a name tag, then how ’bout the name of the dish. Or just spread good juju energy and write words of goodliness~peace, love, share, kindness~you’re sending subliminal messages of happiness as you break bread together. Hey, and if conversation lulls, you can turn it into a game. Have each guest give an example of the trait in their life~yeah, something real and personal! Could open up some deep conversation, insight and laughter!
Now itโs time for you to get busy. Yep, I’m stickin’ to just four tips here, but theyโre four boho-powered & packed tips that can do so many things with in your everyday living. Again, remember the rules. There are no rules. Thatโs the only rule. Be you. Be fabulous. Be whimsical and free! ~peace & namaste~ ally xoxox
Ally, I love your acronym — CHAT! — so clever and “you!” Chic Hippie Ally Tables… yup, they invite chatting and lead to engaging on deeper levels. The world is a more “personal” place with your creative ideas. I also smiled at your words of goodliness… ๐ Juju JOY to you, too!
Only my Kim sees this littl’ things that make us both happy…goodliness is now our mantra b/c we want to spread the happiness! You are my sunshine xoxo ~ally