Nautical Dinner Party Decorations

The great thing about hosting a nautical theme dinner party is that the decorations are classic and will mesh well with most home decor. Also, there is no need to go overboard (pun intended) with the decorations since the nautical style itself is understated and traditional.

Color Scheme:

Navy and white are the go-to nautical colors. We love the idea of adding a sable brown in with the decor as a nod to the ropes used on sailboats, too. It provides a nice contrast with the navy and white, and helps create a more balanced, richer color scheme for the nautical dinner party.

Tablesetting:

Though any combination of the navy, white and sable color scheme would work well for the dinner table, here's what we suggest if you don't know where to begin:

• Tablecloth - A khaki to sable colored linen; bonus points for interesting textures (like true linen, or a soft burlap)
• Table runner - Create a table runner out of navy and white wide-stripe fabric. For a six foot table you will need approximately three yards of fabric in order for it to hang nicely over each end of the table. If you are in a time crunch, simply fold the fabric over once or twice (depending on the width) and lay over the table to create a long 15" - 20" wide runner for a bargain price.
• Plates - Standard white plates will look great on this placesetting, although renting navy charger plates is a great way to take the look to the next level.
• Place cards - If calligraphied, use navy place card paper with white or bronze ink. If printed, add a small nautical rope knot frame around the individual's name before printing the place card out.

Floral Arrangements

Create effortless, beautiful floral arrangements by keeping all the flowers white:

1. Purchase white flowers in bulk at a local floral mart or flower shop and arrange them in various white milk glass vases of varying heights.

2. A six foot dinner table requires five to seven small vases (up to fourteen inches high), each with a few tightly packed white flowers.

3. Create each container's arrangement using only one type of flower for a clean, classic look that still has visual interest.