Elegant Tablescaping Ideas With Lucinda Chambers | How I Host... | Homes & Gardens - video Dailymotion

Future Homes Network

Proudly introducing our new video series, How I Host.., where we're invited into the homes of friends for a sneak peek into... well, how they host!  In our first episode Collagerie co-founder, Lucinda Chambers shares her unique approach to Easter entertaining, showcasing her signature blend of creativity, color, and effortless elegance.

Transcript

00:00I'm Lucinda Chambers and this is how I host. Come on in.

00:09This is our dining room.

00:11I think when you're starting a house or you want to refresh a house,

00:15you have to think about what you're doing in that room.

00:18So I love this colour because yellow to me signifies energy

00:22and excitable conversations and people laughing and talking.

00:27The tablecloth is for me a starting point because sometimes it's red and pink

00:32and then sometimes it's electric yellow, sometimes it's plain.

00:37So that's really like my base camp.

00:39Everything starts with the tablecloth and then I kind of work round it.

00:42So this is particularly an energetic one, which is perfect for Easter.

00:47So I've got my wonderful tablecloth down.

00:50I've got the placemats down, which are a new addition. I love them.

00:53And now it's bring on the plates and start laying.

00:57I love the mismatch of plates.

00:59And some are old favourites and some are vintage and some are new.

01:04And I never care whether it all looks the same.

01:07Actually, I really love the differences.

01:09I'm not a huge tablescape planner.

01:12But when I start with a tablecloth, things kind of come together

01:15and then I grab a plate off the wall and there's often a colour thread that runs through it.

01:20But I'm not really conscious of it.

01:22But it's only when it's sort of finished, I think, oh yeah, I was really thinking of green and yellow.

01:26And luckily, because my house is so full, there are lots of things to sort of grab.

01:32This plate spells summer to me, so this is going to go definitely spring into summer.

01:39And I often use tea towels as napkins, just as a cheat.

01:43As a mother of three boys, things got broken.

01:46I'm not materialistically attached to everything.

01:49I love changing things up, but I also don't buy huge sets of things.

01:54That's not really my way.

01:55So I'll often buy two plates at a time or a couple of napkins or one napkin holder.

02:01So it's more kind of like adding on bit by bit rather than going out and buying the whole lot.

02:09I really enjoy mixing up the glasses.

02:11So these are such a high-low mix.

02:14Low, high.

02:16Hand-painted.

02:17So beautiful.

02:18Really precious.

02:19And I love this little olive guy.

02:22Martinis, I think.

02:26Everything really has to be like a feast for the eyes.

02:28So I literally grab anything from the garden and just pop it on.

02:33The joy of it is adding on a few new favourite bits and pieces each year.

02:39And that makes it, I think, really special.

02:42I always keep the treasures in boxes every year.

02:47And children are much more sentimental than you think,

02:50because when you take out all the things that they've made over the years,

02:55they absolutely love seeing them.

02:57Then they also act as place names.

02:59So I pop them in the glasses around the table and then everybody knows where they're sitting.

03:03And then all the lovely vintage eggs that I've collected over the years.

03:07These ones are lovely and hand-painted.

03:09And then what I like to do is, like, scatter different things.

03:14And I think these colours are just so spring-like and optimistic.

03:18So I just pop anything that has Easter, egg, spring.

03:24And they just can light up the table.

03:27So we're almost there with the table.

03:30It looks really energetic and lively and ready for the final touch.

03:36This is probably my most favourite part of the day, which is arranging flowers.

03:41Don't be afraid of buying faux flowers, because when all these beauties have died down,

03:47you're left with my favourite ones, which are mimosa.

03:51And I've chosen everything green and white to go with the table.

03:56And I think it just signifies the coming of spring, which we're all excited about.

04:01And then each Easter, I bring out some of my old little favourite guys,

04:06which are these articulated rabbits.

04:08And then I buy a couple of new ones, these wonderful ones that are hand-painted.

04:14And you just pop them on the dry twigs, and they can go right in.

04:20And then they can also just pop on the outside.

04:26So this is the final, the final flourish.

04:30And I call it my Easter tree, because I use really tall twigs,

04:35so that it makes it come alive.

04:38And then I pop all the flowers in around the bottom.

04:41So it gives height and depth.

04:43And I just love it.

04:45It's like the singing, ringing tree.

04:47I really like doing menu cards, because then everybody kind of has the anticipation

04:52and then the realisation.

04:53But also I think it's nice for people to keep.

04:56And then what I tend to do, even though these are lovely, new ones,

05:00and I particularly love these as the mimosa carries all the way through the table,

05:05which is great, a happy accident.

05:09But use old cards, and keep any cards.

05:12Just cut the message, keep the message.

05:15But then use the back of them to write the menu.

05:18My favourite thing about having people over is the conversations that you have,

05:23the joy of being the provider of the feast.

05:26What I hope guests take away is that they've had really lively and interesting conversations

05:31with people that they've never met before and would never imagine meeting.

05:34And then I think also that they've felt incredibly comfortable, warm, well fed,

05:40and thoroughly uplifted.

05:42My friends are all kind of quite varied, and from all different stages of my life.

05:46But I love the mix, and I think that's when it becomes really interesting.

05:49Thank you so much for joining me.

05:54That's the doorbell.

05:55I've got to go and answer it.

Elegant Tablescaping Ideas With Lucinda Chambers | How I Host... | Homes & Gardens

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