Image: Design Soda

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It’s November already, there’s a distinct chill in the air, Halloween and fireworks night are out of the way, which can only mean one thing C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S!! There see I broke the word up so we wouldn’t all shudder at it’s early appearance so soon. I know it seems early, right? But really it isn’t, outside of the crazy timings of product launches which sees a whole raft of new designs on show for ‘Christmas in July’. There’s actually only one more true pay packet for present buying before Christmas and six weeks before the spirit of the holiday weekend starts and is gone in a puff of lurid tinsel and mince pies (well that’s how ours often looks!). We’re big into Christmas in this house, from the brightly tasseled kitsch my son and I indulge in to the multiple trees, wreaths, outings and baking ricciarelli on Christmas Eve, it’s going to be a non stop Christmas ride around here for the next six weeks.  And one brand that always means Christmas to me is Thornback & Peel. I have Christmas tea towels from them with stags and robins on, an apron reserved for this time of year and if you’ve been following this blog for a very long time you’ll know that I featured their festive designs as far back as Christmas 2013!

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So, when Thornback & Peel got in touch to ask if I’d like to style a table setting with their festive range for 2017, it was a resounding yes! I love Thornback & Peel’s simple quirky designs which use screen printing techniques to produce gorgeous homewares that are always a talking point (alongside my festive wares, I also own some of their pineapple & hamsters collaboration with Smug which often strikes up conversation with guests in the kitchen!). This years Christmas range doesn’t disappoint, it has all of the whimsy of their signature style, and if you can’t be whimsical at Christmas when can you be?! There are updates of the pretty robins and stags from previous years, alongside simple twinkling Christmas trees and this years newest design which is a playful pattern of turkeys and Brussel sprouts paying homage to the traditional Christmas feast. I had always meant to buy their previous partridge & Pear design so it seemed natural to me that my centrepiece should be along the bird and produce line. This design is so fun, I love how Thornback & Peel manage to be humorous whilst entirely stylish. This is the kind of tableware that I’ll be delighted to use for years to come. 

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I have paired the turkey design placemats and drinks coasters with Christmas tree crackers which add a touch of traditional magic. I love the simplicity of these, there’s something slightly Scandinavian but entirely British about them if that statement isn’t a little confusing! For the napkins there was one design that I knew was destined for my table. I’ve loved the lobster design from Thornback & Peel for years, and because we don’t take design too seriously in this house, I’ve added some in for a flourish of decadence. I love the coral-y red of this design against the crisp white of the linen adding a hint of the traditional Christmas palette to the table, warming up the other cooler greens and blues.

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If you invest in tablewares that have this kind of detail then they will do the storytelling on your table for you. So with this in mind I’ve kept the rest of my setting quite simple, pairing a grey linen table cloth (has to be grey with a silvery base for me at this time of year) with white marble candlestick holder, some simple blooms (eucalyptus and lavender) and white plates. 

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We are not the most formal family (you may note that this is one of the rare occasions that the cocktail room accepts it’s traditional use as a dining room) so the setting is relaxed. As we don’t tend to sit on formalities, I ere towards the kind of chaos that might put traditional hostesses on edge of actually letting people choose where to sit round our table! It’s a Russian roulette of who ends up with mad Aunt … or annoying cousin… (fill in with your own relative hell!). However, these napkins (above) are special, so I wanted to make some play of them.

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Everything on the table is within the cooler tones from the other Thornback & Peel items to the linen, the marble candlestick from MADE, the mint candles from Holly’s House, to the foliage and even the walls. So this red really needed to pop as a final flourish. I’ve seen quite a few stylish uses for clear fill-able baubles over the last few years so I decided to buy a set, mine came from Hobbycraft and cost £2 for six. As Green was one of the cool table colours and eucalyptus is in abundance at this time of year I chose to fill each bauble with a simple sprig. It adds a touch of glamour to the occasion without going frou-frou over the top. I think it would look just as lovely with rosemary or actual tree fir so when it comes to the actual day at Christmas I will be using whichever of these is to hand.

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A word about the crackers, which are handmade, they are so lovely, not just in design, but in contents too. No naff plastic toys or useless compasses and sewing kits, this set is packed with quality items from marbles for children to wooden sculpture puzzles for adults. 

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That’s it, my simple festive dining setting with gorgeous prints layered on a simple backdrop. You can buy all of the items in piece on the Thornback and Peel website, with a special reader discount of 15% using the code DESIGNSODA. Now, whose coming round for mince pies and mulled wine soon?

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Images: Design Soda

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This post was a collaboration with Thornback & Peel. As ever I only choose to work with brands I love and think you will too, thanks for supporting the brands that support me.