Style Your Table this Chinese New Year with Our Modern Colourful Take
My first proper Chinese New Year experience was a couple of years ago. My Singaporean neighbour hosted a huge party for her friends and family and all of the neighbours were invited along as well. It was amazing. Her garden was hung with beautiful decorations and tables were dotted around for each group to gather for the Prosperity Toss or yusheng. It was so much fun and there was a real sense of joy and community as we all tossed the noodles and shouted out our auspicious wishes, the words feeling foreign on our tongue, but the laughter and happiness being common amongst us.
Whilst I couldn’t possibly hope to recreate anything as lavish as my neighbour I have styled for you my version of a fun and festive Chinese New Year table setting that you can easily recreate at home. It’s not traditional as it’s lacking the usual red and gold - and I’m sure you could question the lanterns which are more typically used at Mid-Autumn festival. So it’s just a loose interpretation of how you might bring a small element of this festival to life. It was a joy to style and shoot this tablescape and I was very lucky to be joined by Josephine Byrnes, a long time expat and talented event stylist, who brought with her all manner of Chinese crockery, including the gorgeous teapots that we used as vases.
This Chinese New Year head to the flower markets and buy a mandarin tree, take the kids to Chinatown to find some paper lanterns, go to the wet market and buy a whole fresh fish...we live in Singapore and these are the moments we need to cherish. Gather your friends and enjoy. Happy Chinese New Year.
florals
Decide on a colour palette. We used yellow and pink for the flowers, with a hint of orange on the napkins. Just a couple of sprigs and one or two blooms is all you need to create this look. If you don’t have a teapot to use as a vase, then use small glass jars or bottles instead. Keep flowers low so that your guests can see each other.
paper lanterns
An easy, fun and affordable styling element to your tablescape. Generally these are associated more with Mid Autumn festival but there is no reason why you can’t create some colour with these pretty lanterns at CNY as well. Use fishing wire to hang them at different heights to add interest. Combine sizes and colours but try and think about your overall colour palette.
get the basics right
As always, my advice is to start with good quality table setting basics - beautiful linen and napery, stylish cutlery and good glassware will always provide a great base to add fun elements to.
WHERE TO BUY
Chinese crockery - there are so many places to find this tableware in Singapore. Try Chinatown, Holland Village shopping centre, Hai Seng, the basement of Takashimaya, local shops in your area.
