Tablescape Quotes

As usual, my duties as first gentleman are to work on my tablescapes and look pretty.

Hygge is just a temporary fix. It's a lifestyle Band-Aid that will help create a home in the short term. True and lasting comfort, though, can't be tablescaped or found in some twelve-step Scandinavian formula. The perfect blend of coffee can't cultivate true contentment. There's no flannel blanket big enough to cover deep soul ache. A long walk in the woods won't change a life for the long haul. Reshaping an atmosphere can never permanently reshape a heart. But it can help, especially when paired with the hope of Jesus.

Hospitality requires too much work. Create a guest list, send invitations, plan a menu, make a playlist, shop for groceries, design a tablescape, unearth and polish the fancy dishes, wash and press the table linens, chill the dessert, prepare the meal, dress for the occasion, light the candles, wash the dishes, do the mopping, “Keep-a busy, Cinderelly!”—perhaps this is the list that churns in your head every time you think about hosting others in your home. If so, no wonder you’ve stamped “Too much work” over the whole thing. That list is nearly as long as the tax code and would take more than a pack of animated mice to help you complete it. Might I offer you a word of encouragement I hope will dowse the hot flames of frustration that surround your attempts at hosting? Unless Victorian-era aristocracy has suddenly made a comeback in your neighborhood, you might be making hospitality harder than it needs to be. In chaining yourself to a lengthy list of to-dos, you may inadvertently lose sight of the whole point of hospitality: to welcome the stranger. Don’t make the experience about you, make it about them. Remember, Leviticus 19:34 kind of hospitality leads with ’āhaḇ love. It chooses service over performance, present over perfect.

The essence of great entertaining: a seemingly effortless combination of authentic food and imagination presented with a personal touch and enjoyed in good company.

When a guest sits down there should be something beautiful and inspiring to look at.