Whenever I throw a dinner party I always try to look around the house to see if there are items I can use to incorporate into the decor. You’d be surprised how many things you have around the house that look great if you just style them a little differently. Specifically speaking – have you looked at your fruit bowl lately? You know that lovely pineapple that is about to go bad (am I the only one that has SO much trouble cutting these damm things up before their time expires?) or that delicious watermelon = those are your future flower vases! Fruits can be used in so many different fun ways and today I will show you just that!
I enjoy decorating with fruit as well as using it in my party menus – hello fruit water tower! Sidenote – is there anything better than fruit flavoured water? (I mean not counting sangria of course). I could do a whole post of my favourite flavoured water combinations for entertaining but I’ll save that for another day. When it comes to decorating with fruits I love to use citrus kinds as the bright colours provide an amazing pop of life on a sometimes plain looking table. I dream that one day I will own that villa in Tuscany which will be surrounded by beautiful lemon trees which I can venture to anytime I need fresh juicy lemons. As of right now – I get my butt down to the local farmers market and indulge in some freshly picked fruits.
Limes and lemons are an easy way to dress up a table and do great in vase or bowl as a centerpiece. To recreate this look above:
1. Take your lemons and limes and slice them into even slices (not too thin/thick).
2. Place the limes at the bottom of the vase.
3. Fill vase with water leaving about 2 inches from the top.
4. Gently – add in the slices of lemon on top.
JMS TIP: Did you know that lemons float and limes fall to the bottom of the vase, glass tower etc? This party trick is one of my favourite things ever and I constantly add these two fruits into my water towers. It creates a fun visual aide with the slices floating in the water. If you are ever needing a tip to remember which one floats and which one does not – remember that limes are green like the grass which is down on the ground and lemons are yellow like the sun which is high up in the sky! Easy trick that helps me remember every time! Also to note – there are always a few pesky lemon/lime slices that like to do the opposite (may be the way they are cut etc.) therefore feel free to pick them out if they are in the way!
5. Place floating candle in the middle of vase and light when ready.
Five easy steps and you have a colourful centerpiece for your next dining event. An additional bonus to this centerpiece is it delivers some amazing citrus smells throughout the evening which is always a plus in my books!
Since I was going strong with the citrus theme I wanted to add a few touches around the table to tie into the centerpiece.
For the drinking glasses I purchased yellow straws at Party City to match the lemons yellow colour. I also added on a lemon slice on top for a fun addition.
For the individual plate setting – I figured I may as well showcase the star of the show and I used a lemon per guest to bring additional colour to the table. I cut off the bottom and top of the lemon which allowed it to stay on the plate and then added in some baby’s breath on top. This can also be used as a table place card by adding in a small flag with the persons name or engraving the name right on the lemon itself. Easy to put together but looks adorable and really pops on the table.
I love how a few simple things can bring together a table. Lemon and limes are quite low in cost (especially in the summer season!) and create versatile table settings. Another way to use them is lining the whole table with them – runner style. Add in some greenery and you have another easy centerpiece. I hope this has inspired you to think outside the box when it comes to fruits!
What fun ways do you decorate with citrus? Comment below!
