If you are from St. Louis, you may be familiar with one of the most beautiful stores in the area, Mary Tuttle’s. Located in Chesterfield, Missouri, it has become one of the “must see” retail establishments in the area. Why, you may ask? Because the people who work there, sales associates, designers, and floral artists, have created a home decor oasis that is unlike anything you have ever seen.

This fall, they did not disappoint with a table dedicated to a garden harvest theme.

The designer who created this table was Michael. He’s sort of a living legend at Mary Tuttle’s. He’s worked at the store for many years and has truly created a legendary flair.

Micheal’s creation has WOWed everyone, including myself. As someone who has enjoyed and studied table scapes for many years, I can truly appreciate the creativity that went into this design. Here are my top five favorite design tactics which Michael has incorporated into this table.

LAYERING

As you can probably tell, this table is a retail display, so it may not be designed to fit a realistic table setting. However, I love Michael’s concept of layering. He has used serving platters as placemats. Which, in and of itself, is a unique approach to setting the table. I also love how he layered the centerpiece. With olive trees for height, and the green leaves for fullness at the base. Within the leaves, he added another layer of pumpkins, gourds, and acorns to mimic a garden where you would harvest your favorite items.

STICK WITH A LIMITED PALETTE

Michael used green as his dominant color and brown as his secondary color. Perfect to elicit a feeling of earth and nature. Also, these colors tend to be soothing and relaxing. He infused additional fall colors but only slightly, in the most interesting way, to draw your eye around the table.

BRING IN A FUN SURPRISE

Incorporating a “surprise” element is always welcomed! I love this concept with interior decor, food preparation, and all aspects of entertaining. Guests love it when they “discover” something on the table. Michael used a whimsy surprise by incorporating these adorable wool lambs at every place setting. Each lamb carries a pumpkin and is covered in fall leaves. They were hand-crafted by a local artist who creates these lambs throughout the year.

ADD THEMATIC ELEMENTS

Of course, you cannot create a “fall” table without incorporating decor that is reflective of fall. Michael did that by bringing in Plush Pumkin (R) pumpkins to the place settings.

These pumpkins are soft and beautiful and would be perfect as gifts for your dinner guests to take home. Or, they can remove them from the plate and set them on to the center of the table, adding to the centerpiece.

DO SOMETHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY

Although we’ve already covered the “element of surprise” I do love it when the host or hostess take something that we are very accustomed to and think out of the box. With this table, Michael took the napkins, which we are accustomed to seeing somewhere on the table, and placed it hanging off the chair. So CLEVER!!

If you would like to see more beautiful entertaining ideas. Stop by Mary Tuttle’s, in Chesterfield Missouri. No matter the season, they are sure to have beautiful inspiration from Michael and the entire design staff.

Valentine’s Day is a special day in our house.  This is the day we have dedicated to two things…expressing our LOVE for each other and making fondue!! Although we love to make fondue on more than one occasions, we’ve had years go by when the fondue pots were no where to be seen, so making fondue a Valentine’s Day tradition in our family, guarantees that no matter how busy we get during the year, there is one day that fondue will DEFINITELY be served!  Our fondue meal consists of two courses… the cheese fondue, which we serve with various meats and dippers and a chocolate fondue which also include lots of delicious dippers such as fruit, Rice Krispies, marshmallows, and pretzels.

There are also a few other Valentine’s Day traditions we try to incorporate.  Our goal is to show our children that you can have a day of love, celebration, and appreciation, even if you are not romantically involved with someone.

Here are a few other traditions we  incorporate:
1. GOING AROUND THE TABLE AND TALKING ABOUT WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT EACH PERSON. This is such an easy and fun activity and certainly should not be reserved just for Valentine’s Day.  We should tell our family how much we love them, every day… but you have to admit, there is no better day to do it than Valentine’s Day and you can make a point of being especially mushy and lovey! For instance, we talk about what makes each person at the table special and unique.  It’s not the easiest thing for some people to talk about (especially my boys), but once they get started, they typically have no problems expressing themselves.

2. BRAINSTORMING ON HOW TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE IN OUR LIVES FEEL LOVED. We enjoy teaching our kids that gestures of kindness and appreciation do not have to be grand or complicated.  Sometimes we talk about what they can do for their grandparents (maybe draw a picture or write down some of the things that make their grandparents special). Sometimes we brainstorm on ways to make our friends feel good, especially if they are down or feeling lonely.  Even quick gestures of respect, like saying thank you, excuse me, or holding the door open for someone, can generate a smile.

3.  WATCH A FUN VALENTINE’S DAY MOVIE AS A FAMILY. Movie night is always fun, but you can make it extra special on Valentine’s Day by snuggling up together on the couch and watching a fun Disney movie such as Lady and The Tramp, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, or even the Sound of Music.

4. HAVE A SPECIAL VALENTINE’S DAY MEAL TRADITION.  For our family, a fondue dinner is our big Valentine’s Day event. But you can create something that is unique and special to your family. What about a red dinner and red dessert (lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs in a red sauce and red velvet cake)?  Heart shaped Pizza? Heart shaped pancakes or waffles for breakfast? I read in an article that a man and his wife always had a picnic on Valentine’s Day (they must have lived somewhere warm).   Another family started celebrating February 15th, when all the chocolate would go on sale… you have to admit, pretty clever! Whatever you choose, it should be a reflection of what your family loves and enjoys.  Even something as simple as sharing a box of chocolate with your loved ones, on Valentine’s Day, can be a memorable tradition.

5. LOVE NOTES. Instead of spending money on commercially made Valentine’s Day cards, encourage your children to write you love notes and you should do the same for them. This tradition doesn’t take much time or money but can be the most valuable of all, especially if your children decide to keep their love notes for years to come!