Fun Table Decorations

There's a time and a place for that refined Victorian teapot holding artfully arranged rosebuds, and there's a time to get fun and funky with your table decor. Whether you prefer shabby chic or bohemian modern, Asian fusion or junkyard gypsy, a bright, colorful or surprising centerpiece can serve as the focal point of the table as well as the room. Does this Spark an idea?

Fun Objects

If you have ever wandered through a junk store, thrift shop, yard sale or flea market and wondered how to use or repurpose an eye-catching item, consider its potential as a table decoration. A retro Fiesta ware cream pitcher in aqua or cotton candy pink can set the theme for a '50s table. Vintage bar ware adds James Bond cool to a table set for cocktails. Score some old LPs from a record shop and warp them into bowl shapes by baking them briefly in the oven. Use them on your table to hold chips or crackers.

Fun Colors and Patterns

Look to nature for inspiration for a table decoration or centerpiece. River stones and sea glass scattered on a plain white tray exude tranquility. Sprigs of herbs in cobalt blue bottles or an arrangement of autumn leaves in an earthenware vessel bring nature to the table. Clean up a rusty metal pail and fill it with shells, coral, sea glass and sand dollars. On the other end of the spectrum, the anti-natural look offers some table decor options. Grab a can of periwinkle blue or poppy orange spray paint and go wild, painting a bucket, basket or box a bold hue. Use it as a container for Mexican tissue paper flowers, fortune cookies or kitschy salt and pepper shakers.

Fun and Functional

Your table's decorations can put the fun back in functional. Rather than refined white taper candles in a plain candelabra, illuminate your table with Mexican saint candles. Try a surprising object as a vase, such as a watering can, milk pitcher or old wine bottle. Test tubes in their wooden stand make ideal bud vases. You can add sculptural interest to your table with a retro cake stand stacked with felt or real cupcakes. Get colorful by displaying bright hard candies in a jar or vase. You can extend your whimsical table decor with funky overhead lighting such as a bright pink chandelier or a scattering of paper and silk lanterns in different colors and patterns.