A Work of Art Centerpiece!

Art at the Table

Here’s something different – have you ever used a work of art as a centerpiece? It’s so fun!

As hosts, we want to entertain our guests with something attractive, fun, and/or interesting, right?

A work of art centerpiece can be all three, and it can really set your table apart. It’s a pretty sure bet your guests won’t have seen anything like it before. Also, as I found out, an interesting piece of art at the table can spark a wide-ranging and spirited conversation!

I got these very cool handcrafted angular wooden blocks as a gift from a friend who’s a very talented woodworker and furniture craftsman. As soon as I saw them, I knew they’d be perfect on my table!

Isn’t the grain beautiful? Plus I love the interior cutouts. It would be so fun to put tiny flowers or treats inside – especially if you have kids at the table. And they’re so interactive! You can change the angles and the positions, and make completely different vignettes with them. Totally fun!

Choose Your Art

Choosing your artwork is your first step. Obviously, start with a piece of art you like. I started with my blocks, of course, but you could choose anything sculptural. I guess you could use a painting or sign or something, too. The options are only limited by your imagination!

There are several things to consider before you put your work of art centerpiece on the table.

Is it appropriate for the gathering? If there are going to be children at the table, for instance, you wouldn’t want very expensive, delicate glass. And the subject matter should be appropriate too. (I’ll leave that example to your imagination.)

Also, it shouldn’t be too big. It’s easy to move a tall vase of flowers off the table, but you want your art to stay there through dinner. It’ll be the focal point of the table setting, and you want your guests to be able to see around it.

And finally, make sure you put it somewhere out of the “food path.” Unless you’re ok with a big red spot on it, you don’t want to spill spaghetti sauce! We mostly serve buffet style or from the kitchen at our house. So there’s not a lot of passing dishes over the centerpiece. But if you serve family style, maybe your work of art centerpiece should be at one end rather than in the center.

Style – Similar vs Contrasting

Once you’ve chosen your artwork, you get to decide how you’re going to set your table. There are of course, an infinite number of ways to do it. But a good starting place is to have a basic idea of whether you want something similar or contrasting in style. This might depend on what pieces you have.

I went Contrasting for this table. However, if I’d had wooden chargers and napkin rings, I would have jumped all over Similar. Or at least partly similar! The beauty of table setting is that you can always do it differently next time!

I love the contrast of the angular, modern, rustic art with the elegance of formal linens and china.

Colors

Because the wood was almost a golden color, I decided to go with a gold color scheme. And white of course, I do so love white! And besides me loving it, white is perfect to set off the other colors you have on your table.

Texture

Here’s where the contrast to my work of art centerpiece was really exciting! As you might know, or could figure out, I love a ton of neutral texture. And we got that in abundance with this table. The tablecloth and napkins are vintage, and have beautiful pattern and texture.

I put the cloth on the diagonal to accent the angles in the artwork. (So I guess I did do some Similar as well!) We’ve also got the textures of the two kinds of wood, and the mostly smooth plate stack. Which brings us to –

Tableware

These are some of my go-to white and gold tableware pieces. I love to mix sets, and the dinner plates are our everyday whiteware. In this case particularly, I love the contrast of the fluted gold-edged salad plate against the smooth dinner plate and charger.

I use these a lot. See another gold and white table setting in this post.

My antique gold flatware has lovely figured handles, totally in keeping with my texture aesthetic.

I used two kinds of wine glasses, but both are very streamlined. Another nod to the modernity of my artwork. I thought about cut glass for more texture, but the vibe of the table is pretty sleek.

Mostly, I wanted the table to highlight the work of art centerpiece. Like the white backdrop in a museum.

And Finally – Flowers – Yes or No?

Ok, that was a trick question! For me, the answer is always yes! (Although I could envision a work of art that would be lovely on the table without flowers!)

These fully blooming roses were the ultimate contrast. Very Yin to the artwork’s Yang. And so beautiful! They softened up the whole table, and carried both my color and texture motifs into the centerpiece.

It’s always so fun to set a table around a particular focal point! And it was really exciting for me to step into something a little different, like a work of art centerpiece.

If you ever have in the past, or decide in the future to set a table around your own work of art centerpiece, let me know how it goes! I’d seriously love to see what you create!

———-Shop the Work of Art Centerpiece Post ———-

Click on the pictures for links to pieces I used for this table.  If the exact item isn’t available any more, I chose a similar option.

This post includes affiliate links to make it easier to shop. If you click and buy the item from this link, I get a small commission with no extra cost to you. It’s a Win-Win, and helps cover the cost of publishing Mantel and Table. (You can read the whole disclosure policy here.) Thanks so much for shopping with me!

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