How to style a magical woodland tablescape for entertaining this Christmas

One of the biggest joys of the festive season is dressing the home for Christmas… and this year’s go-to for tablescaping and entertaining is a woodland theme.

Indeed, the art of laying the table with a warm colour palette, fresh and faux foliage, natural textures and scent of pine and eucalyptus can be described as nothing short of a fairytale setting in the woods.

“Woodland is always a lovely theme because it touches with nature, and I think we all resonate with nature, bringing the outside in,” says Helen Bygraves, co-founder of Hill House Interiors, an interior design company based in Weybridge, Surrey, with projects in the UK and internationally.

Moreover, she says the neutral palette appeals to most people and, depending on your aesthetic, a rustic scheme can be switched up to a more luxe look with some richer elements, warm creams and introducing some gilded decor.

“We have a passion for interiors, but our interiors don’t seem to stop when it comes to Christmas and just the home furnishings,” says Bygraves.

“We seem to get into the whole tablescaping and Christmas decorating and, because we’ve got a lifestyle showroom, we often do stage windows and whole themed Christmases,” explains the designer.

She suggests it’s about how a home feels as well as how it looks, from scent and light, to texture and music… with each selected element chosen to create a warm and welcoming home.

“So where you’ve got the snow, the wood, the greenery, all those elements coming into the tablescaping, I think it’s a really nice nod to nature.”

And one of the joys of a woodland theme is that you can forage for organic textures and raw woodland materials without having to be too spendy, depending on your budget.

“To the point that we’ve even got some logs in the window of our showroom from a tree that was cut down, and we’ve painted them… so it’s repurposing as well.”

Here, Bygraves shares her top tips to perfect your scheme…

“With me, more is more, and you can’t just have a woodland theme without a little bit of sparkle… I’m a big fan of fairy lights.

“I put more than 3,000 on my tree, and I think a lot of the decoration we do, wherever possible, is to hang decorations down from a chandelier – as well as what’s on the table.

“We do it from above, coming down, so that means we can bring foliage in, lighting, baubles… all these things that can hang down from a higher level as well.”

She continues: “It’s not always just about the table, it’s also about the upper levels and how dramatic an effect you can make.”

Moreover, she says timing is key. “Depending on when you do your table… I like to do it a few days earlier than Christmas Day itself, and bring in fresh foliage as well as some artificial to bulk it out.”

“So that’s where you get the volume, and the scent from the fresh pine that adds to the atmosphere over Christmas – I think fresh foliage is really important,” and highlights the need for constant watering and spraying, if it’s in the house for a couple of weeks prior.

In tune with wellbeing and the smell of nature, “We burn a lot of candles here, and we’ve got a new one this year called Aspen, which is really lovely with pine scents and things like that.”

“I think lots of little candles, all the way down, mixed in with your foliage, is a really nice thing to do. I recommend always starting with a white tablecloth, and then layering everything on top,” explains the creative.

“Your tablemats, glassware, followed by two or three extra plates on top, bowls, followed by your napkins.”

She continues: “I like to have a colour theme at Christmas, so whether that be deep burgundies or lovely greens, which is again very nature-inspired.

“Bringing in fresh satin or velvet bows to tie up your napkins and things like that, and then I like to layer lots of different decorations.”

“So tall candles, smaller candles, Christmas trees, foliage, with an abundance of everything down the centre of the table,” suggests Bygraves.

Once you’ve showcased your flair with the table setting, it’s down to the finer details…

Depending on your chosen colour scheme, Byraves says the next step is think about other ways to introduce burgundies or other deep wine colours, for instance, suggesting a border on a napkin or decorative ribbons to tie it all together.

As illustrated in her festive tablescape, black crystal glasses at the place settings are complemented by napkins with a black bordered edge, shimmering cutlery, decorative charger plates, crystal trees and fresh foliage.

“So if you wanted to bring in touches of colour, I would do it subtly with the odd glass or ribbon… rather than go the whole hog with the tablecloth and everything in those colours,” she advises.

Another thing she likes to do is personalise the table wherever possible, and not just place cards.

“If I’ve got enough time, I’ll embroider people’s initials on napkins before Christmas – it’s a really nice touch if you who’s coming, and you’ve got time in advance.”

And sometimes Bygraves uses little acorns on the table which she can put a beautiful card in. “If you know someone who does calligraphy writing, it’s quite nice to do people’s names like that – it always looks very stylish.”

Along with fresh eucalyptus, pine and mistletoe woven through her scheme, softer touches such as feathery bird clips come into play.

“I’ve used these lovely feathered, white dovey birds on trees, and again it’s very nature-inspired,” and she suggests clipping them to fresh foliage above the tablescape.

“The feathers hanging down magically with some baubles, and little baby lights going through the foliage, so you feel like you’re in a sort of enchanted forest when you’re sitting at your Christmas table.”

Last but not least, and with it being the season of giving, “I’m very much one for table gifts as well,” Bygraves says encouragingly.

“And I when I say table, my table is quite full,” she quips. “So they end up sitting on the chairs… but it’s nice to coordinate your gift bags or something like that, again in the colour theme.”

“If it’s a neutral bag, it might just be the colour of your tissue paper. Or again, the ribbon, little satin ribbons, and I don’t always buy Christmas ribbon.

“l like a nice-sized satin ribbon that really really brings out the colour… whether it’s amber, chocolate, or sometimes it might just be a neutral tone.”

Look at the colours you’ve introduced to your tablescape, and incorporate a gift bag as well, suggests the designer, for a home which feels “joyful  and welcoming”.