An Island Makeover

This past weekend, we had a really fun gathering in our home. Some of the families in our neighborhood did a progressive dinner last December. I had always wanted to attend a progressive dinner, but we were out of town last year on the night it was held. All year I've been waiting, and this year we hosted part of it. After guests enjoyed being at a couple other fabulous houses down the street, we ended the party here at our home for dessert...my favorite.

When I was thinking about the flow of the evening, I knew that I wanted to have stations around the house. Stations are a big thing with me...I love styling my receptions that way, because it makes for such great flow. It means no bottlenecks around the food, which is always a good thing! Another reason, is that we don't have a large dining room table...lots of smaller tables, and one big island. So, when planning where food would be, I had a couple thoughts in mind.

I wanted to make sure I had a main food table set up with most of the desserts, but then trays with dessert options set around at different places throughout the house as well. I decided that the island in our kitchen would be the best place for our main table...except I didn't really want it to look like our island. I wanted it to look like an elegant dining room table. So, in about three steps, I gave my island a weekend makeover.

First step...cover it! I used a vintage ivory tablecloth with lace around the edges, and then layered with a piece of fabric for a runner, and doilies over top around the sides.

Next, I brought in two large candlesticks as a prominent centerpiece.

Finally, to keep a more elegant look, I scattered an assortment of white, clear, and silver platters around the island. By choosing varying heights and sizes, it kept the look interesting while still being functional to what we were serving.

Just because it's Christmas doesn't mean that everything has to be red and green. I love a simple monochromatic look of mixing winter whites with silver and gold.

The end result was great. I wish I had a picture of all the food that adorned this spread, but I was too busy stuffing my face with treats to take pictures. However, stay tuned...tomorrow I'm going to tell you what I served on these pretty platters...complete with recipes for all your parties coming up!