If you ever catch yourself walking through the door of my parents’ home, you’ll look to the left and immediately see the dining room ready for a celebration. It doesn’t matter if your birthday isn’t for another 3 weeks, my mom will have specific decor and napkins set out as she schemes the best way to celebrate you. From holidays large and small to birthday dinners, my mom knows how to set a table in a way that makes you know she was thinking of you as for weeks on end.

While I’ve inadvertently taken on many of my mother’s habits, this is one I’ve specifically implemented. I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel special knowing someone is thinking about how they are going to celebrate a holiday with our family weeks before the fact. I’ve wanted to do the same for my family, and so a few weeks before a birthday or holiday, out come the chargers and table linens. We will be doing a family dinner for my mom’s birthday and above is how I’ll style the table! Kelly made this invitation to match the table and she is the best! I use her company for all of our invitations.

It’s no secret that as I set a table, my mom and I always swap our MacKenzie-Childs’ pieces. She’s got just about every piece of Courtly Check you can imagine, while I am partial to the blue and white in Royal Check. We love to mix, swap, share, and style our tables with one another’s collections. Because we have so many prints going back and forth between homes, I get a lot of questions about mixing your MacKenzie-Childs. I mix prints in my wardrobe and in my tablescapes, and so this question is something right up my alley, friends! A few years ago, my mom and I had the honor of going to Camp MacKenzie-Childs, where we actually took a class on mixing MC patterns! I’ve taken those tips and tricks and incorporated it into my own personal style and am thrilled to share that today.

TIPS FOR MIXING

First and foremost, MacKenzie-Childs is all all about incorporating their brand into YOUR lifestyle. You see, many brands want you to adhere to their aesthetic. In the class, they made sure to emphasize that while you build your collection and long after, you should mix MacKenzie-Childs into the pieces that make you feel most like you. Mix your Parchment Check chargers with your fine china from your wedding registry. Use your grandmother’s stemware as an accent to your Courtly Check dinner plates. Eating outside? Throw on your favorite melamine and use your MacKenzie-Childs serving platters for the meal. There are no rules, the only rule is to do what makes your table feel most warm and inviting and like you. Here are the little tricks that I personally use to achieve the look and have it all feel finished.

• I use “Check” patterns as a neutral base. If you are no stranger to MacKenzie-Childs, you probably own their Courtly Check or Royal Check or Parchment Check. I love to use these as chargers, as they allow you to pile bold hues on top without feeling too overdone. If you look at the paint strokes on these patterns, they have other colors softly blended into the two main colors. Royal Check isn’t perfectly blue and white, there are hints of yellows and greens woven through their paintbrushes.
• For your dinner plate, make a statement. This is where I say, “Go wild!” and have your dinner plate nod to whatever occasion you are celebrating. For the table above I have the Taylor Fluted Dinner Plate in “Cabbage Rose“ and you’ll notice they have black and white and blue and white and yellow and white. All of those colors play well with the “Check” patterns as your base. I chose to set my table with “Cabbage Rose” because we are celebrating family birthdays this month and the colors feel like summer to me! You could also do Thistle & Bee, Flower Market, or their holiday collections for your dinner plate to tie into whatever occasion you are celebrating. This is also where they encouraged us to use our wedding china and make our tables feel very personal. Even if you didn’t get a full set from your wedding {I didn’t!} you can set every other seat and create a bit of a pattern. I showed this above by using Royal Check and Sweetbriar as alternating chargers at the table.
• For your salad plate, you can go classic with your colors and pick a neutral. I used my Sweetbriar, which is part of their wedding collection. If you are a bit more modern, you have to check out their SoHo collection. From dark midnight hues to bold golds to soft whites, you can select the colors you love best.
• Allow florals and your meal to bring all the hues together! Your food makes just as much of a statement on the table as your place setting. One of my favorite ways to make a statement on a table is to use the cake to do so. This Taylor Fluted Cake Stand is such a happy piece and all you need to do is top it with a simple white cake. Grab one from the grocery store or make your own, and then you top it with flowers! Cut your flowers to where there is just about an inch of stem left and wrap the stem in floral stem tape. Then, place the stem {once wrapped} onto the cake wherever you choose. It won’t affect the icing that much since the stem is shorter and when you slice your cake you can smooth over any spots with a knife. You can also use this as an opportunity to style the table with a person’s favorite colors if you are celebrating a birthday. For food, I love to leave a serving board out so that guests can freely graze while they chat. This fish serving board from MacKenzie-Childs is one item so many of you have already messaged me about! It’s incredibly crafted and makes a beautiful gift as well. I add color to the table with it through the use of cheese boards. Here is an easy way to make one. Add in bright fruit, skewers, and caramelized nuts to incorporate the rich hues of your table.
• Lastly, remember there are NO rules. Mixing your patterns on your table is warm, cozy, and inviting. I like to think it says, “Sit at my table” not “Second guess the rules” at my table.

SHOP ITEMS TO MIX

No matter how you set your table, I’m always reminded it’s such a gift. Hosting says to others that you looked forward to their visit and you planned for it. Whether you fill your table with fabulous cakes or delicious takeout, all that matters it the joy and conversation that fills the air above it.