Dressing your table

The kitchen table.  What does yours look like?  Is it a fancy, rare wood from a far away land or the same table you bought as a newlywed couple, now looking a little worn and well used with a cornucopia of great memories surrounding it?

Regardless of the size or style of the table, new or old you need to dress it!  A dressed table helps to complete and anchor a room. 

Here is a really great DIY project you can do for pennies and under 10 minutes!  Seriously.  It will take me longer to explain it than it will for you to make it!

I found these really cute place mats at TJ Maxx for $3.00 in the clearance area.   I loved the crisp white and bright yellow.

I laid them all out to make a table runner then used fabric glue to attach the petals together

Done!!!  Sorry, I couldn't get this picture to load correctly but if you tilt your head just right...

Here is another table runner I made quite some time ago.  I love the story behind it.  My grandma, when she was little, use to sew her own clothes.  With the scraps of fabric, she would make a yo yo.  She had taken all these little yo yos and sewn them into squares.  After that, she put them in a trunk and forgot about them.  A few years ago, I came across them and she let me take them.  I sewed each of the squares together and it has been my table runner for a number of years.  It's bright and adds so much to the table. 

Here are some more ideas of table runners you could easily make.

Table runners don't always have to run the length of the table.  It's fun to switch it up.  (photo courtesy of sdoople.info)

How about this for a rustic look?  Little slices of wood!!!  Tons of work but really fun! (photo by thisnext.com)

I love this idea.  So often we have heirloom pieces but we stash them away in an old box and never look at them again.  Imagine the stories and history in a table runner made from Grandma's old doilies?  Vintage tea towels would be awesome as well.  (Photo by apartmenttherapy.com)

Now, go and dress that table!