How to Decorate Tables With Pictures

A beautifully composed photograph or painting tends to capture the imagination. The mind wanders back to times past or creates an imagined future based on the pictures in front of the eyes. Times of celebration offer an opportunity for people to take a look back and celebrate the pictures that represent life's milestones. Pictures and photographs offer solid choices for many different kinds of decorative table displays, whether the picture is taken in brilliant color or the subtlest black and white. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Create a picture and fruit centerpiece for a holiday celebration. For example, stack some seasonal fruits like pumpkins and gourds in the center of your table, making sure that they are of varying sizes and heights. Insert pictures in between the spaces in the fruit or fasten them to long, fancy toothpicks and stick them into the fruit pieces themselves. Use decorative vines, like silk grape leaf vines, to wrap around the bottom of the display.

2

Bring a futuristic element to your photo or picture display. Look for straight cylinder glasses of different sizes. Fill the bottom with clear marbles. Roll up your photo and insert it into the glass so that the photo or picture is facing outward. Drop a few more marbles in to hold the picture in place. Arrange the cylinders on your table so that the pictures face outward.

3

Create a dramatic look by getting a variety of picture frames in black or white and filling them with black and white photos. Position the pictures in groups of threes or fives with the tallest frame in the back with the shorter ones in front. Add some interesting accent pieces, like a vase full of red roses with a few stray roses laying on the table in front of the pictures. Use a centerpiece like this for an occasion like a black-tie gala.

4

Lay down a variety of pictures on the table and get a piece of acrylic glass large enough to cover a good portion of the table. Create a picture montage under the glass. You might do themes with this sort of decorative element. For example, if you're celebrating your trip to Europe, include pictures and postcards from your trip. Place this arrangement in the center of the table and flank it with the dinner place mats, plates and other items, but keep the center free so people can browse by, circling the table.

5

Celebrate a family reunion with a photo tree table arrangement. This display is similar in idea to a money tree that you'd give a teen on graduation night. However, instead of tying dollar bills to the tree branches, add family photos instead. Make one tree for each family. Scan your old photos and print them out on card stock or photo paper. Punch a hole at the top of the photo and tie to the tree using decorative ribbon. To make the tree itself, fill some terracotta pots with rocks or marbles and find some interestingly shaped branches. Stick them into the pot and decorate.