Tabletops: Over 30 Projects for Inspirational Table Decorations

For occasions when cooking a delicious meal just isn't enough, freelance writer and photo stylist Rigg here offers domestic dynamos ideas for themed table decor. Twenty table settings and their accompanying crafts projects (e.g.,""French bistro"" calls for red sponge-painted bowls,""Ethnic ambience"" for a hand-stamped tablecloth and""Winter picnic"" for an appliqued throw) are displayed in bright photographs designed to inspire readers to ever higher heights of mealtime style. The projects themselves are simple and inexpensive, as the introduction promises, although the settings in their entirety may not be so easy to achieve. For the""Afternoon tea"" tabletop, for instance, the suggested handicraft is a lovely and uncomplicated hydrangea and rose centerpiece. But as far as the rest of the decor is concerned,""only the best"" will do: white linen napkins with a matching tablecloth,""dainty cake forks and teaspoons"" and a bone china tea pot are all""musts."" The""Winter picnic"" is a little simpler--though""stylish picnicware, napkins and a cruet set are vital""--but its cute throw, achieved by sewing felt leaves onto a blanket, probably wouldn't last through a single wash cycle. Other, smaller projects (Rigg calls them""mini-makes"") are also recommended, and may be more realistic endeavors for the time-pressed homemaker: a bangle napkin ring, a pumpkin serving bowl and fabric jar tops are all quick ways to liven up a table. But ideas like these--and indeed, like many of the projects--abound in women's lifestyle magazines, which means readers might want to spend a few dollars on a Martha Stewart issue instead of many times that much on this glossy but superficial guide.