Table Dressing

The countdown is on; it's one week until Thanksgiving. Many local homeowners having guests over for the meal may feel pressure to impress them with extravagant ambiance.

But, Ava Johnson - West Linn resident and owner of ReDesigns Northwest - says that it's not difficult to create a "nice, glowing comfortable place to be together."

Johnson suggests a few guidelines when arranging to spend time with the people you love around the table:

• Tap into themes: "I like to come up with a theme - this theme is birds," says Johnson. Johnson's collection of birds - in different shapes, colors and species - are incorporated throughout her sitting room and dining room. Collected special items can be displayed in the living and dining room to create an overall theme. Johnson brought out turkey figurines to mesh with the bird décor she keeps out year round. Johnson says that fall colors can be used as a theme. Her sparkly table cloth in crimson and deep golds match with other fall color details she incorporated into the room. "Thanksgiving is all about what you're thankful for. Think of whatever you're thankful for and make that into a theme - it might be a generation thing and you could create items from old family photos," said Johnson.
  
  
• Nab a little nature: "The leaves this year are so beautiful and I love to bring the colors inside," says Johnson. "I love the vibrant chartreuses - and yellows and red and golds - bring as much of those colors in as possible." Leaves, moss-covered things, rocks, twigs and greenery can be brought indoors to decorate a mantle, table or buffet. A few leaves or small display can add an element of freshness to the room while incorporating vibrant colors. Johnson suggests trimming a few things from the yard the morning of Thanksgiving so they last throughout the day.
  
  
• Don't block your guests: "On the table itself I always scatter votive (candles) so everyone has a little bit of light around them - a little bit of glow," says Johnson. "But nothing blocks peoples faces." When items are too tall on a table, says Johnson, it can block people's conversations and take up too much room. A low pot in the center of the table houses a display of fresh tree limbs from Johnson's backyard. Next to the dining table, Johnson decorated a sideboard with festive fall items. "At Thanksgiving the food is the star so that's why I do pretty things on the mantle and on the sideboard because the table is going to be covered with food and glasses and silverware," says Johnson. "It's going to be a big mess, really quickly." Behind this buffet, a large mirror hangs. "I always put tall candles in front of a mirror so you have double the reflection," says Johnson. "This is where you can go crazy with your stuff with height - because it's out of the way."
  
  
• Make dishes disappear: "A lot of houses have an open floor plan. Use a low folding screen to pull across the front of the kitchen (after meal preparation)," said Johnson.
  This way, Johnson says, you are not looking at dirty dishes while you're eating dinner. Johnson uses her antique Japanese screen to block out a messy sink and stacked plates while entertaining.
  
  
• Remove scented candles: "Never ever, ever put scented candles in a dining room. It's overpowering with the (fresh aromas) of food," says Johnson. Put scented candles in another room to enjoy them away from the smell of food - before and after dinner. Johnson says that non-scented candles work best on the dining table so guests can enjoy what they came for - the scents and tastes of a delicious Thanksgiving meal amid loved ones.

To contact designer Ava Johnson with ReDesigns Northwest, call 503-699-5017 or visit www.ReDesignNW.com