Last month, I attended a lifestyle workshop in New York City, hosted by Better Homes and Gardens. One of the highlights of this event, was getting to see talented entertaining expert, Eddie Ross in action (as seen in the last image below). Eddie gave us all some creative tips for setting a beautiful table. The emphasis was really on mixing things up, using high end with thrift store finds and putting a lot of personal touches into the occasion like colored candle sticks and beautiful place cards.

At one point, Eddie inquired if we (the bloggers in attendance) all have a “prop closet” and many raised their hands! Well, it wasn’t until later, that I realized…of course I did have a prop closet as well, my own shop. Not only does zhush.com sell a lot of really great table top pieces, but I’ve also personally accumulated a lot of tableware through years of hosting holidays and special occasions. One long mental inventory later, I decided to employ many of Eddie’s great tips.

The first setting is a nod to country style, using a flannel blanket, and some clippings from the garden in a brass mint julep cup. The second setting is closer to how I typically set the table for a holiday, using place mats in lieu of a table cloth (so much easier when there are wiggly young children at the table). For both ideas, I used a lot of my own pieces plus I also styled up some of my favorite table top items from zhush, including a brass mint julep cup, this fun glass mouse salt and pepper set, these uber chic marble salt and pepper cellars, beautiful horn spreaders, these popular beaded burst napkin rings along with the coordinating crocheted edged napkins.

Thanks to Better Homes and Gardens for a great day and to Eddie for all the inspiration. I’ll be heading into New York for another social media event later this week, be sure to follow me on Instagram (@zhush), where I’m much better at posting these fun happenings in real time.