Revitalize Your Old Linens Decor By pulling New Looks
In a perfect world event linen collections would be built evenly with only the most desirable colors and versatile fabrics. Unfortunately, the reality of growing your linen collection isn’t so lovely.
The truth of accumulating a stockpile of fine linens is that they come as odds-and-ends of from a variety of places. Your collection of decor builds up fast: past events you have decorated, sale items you just couldn’t pass up, and definitely not on sale items you can’t let go of until you get your money’s worth.
Sure, to the untrained eye it may look like us collectors have a clutter of linens that don’t quite fit together. An outsider to the Event Industry may see a vagabond linen collection and describe it as “eclectic,” or even more crassly: a “hodge podge.” We’re here to help you breathe new life into the linens you already own to keep your creativity flowing.
You can mix-and-match an assortment of new looks from event linens you already own!
1. Begin by taking a quick inventory of your entire collection
Arrange all of your linens by color, fabric, or product type (depending on what you prefer.) This act of sorting will give you an idea of what linens you have on hand. The tactile experience will help get your creativity flowing!
2. Write down the possibilities
What do you have for base linens? Table overlays? Table runners? If you have the linens to fulfill a tablescape but you aren’t sold on the color palette, try a quick search of Pinterest using the color names together plus “wedding” (for example, our photo today would be “Turquoise, Gold, and Fuchsia Wedding”) to see if maybe your offbeat color palette isn’t so wild afterall. Sometimes all it takes is applying a little accent color to bring seemingly opposite colors together.
3. Make your mock ups
Now that you have a rough idea of what pieces will go together, your best bet is to see put your linens in action! An organza runner over a flocking taffeta tablecloth may seem like a fantastic idea in theory, but the only way to know for sure is to see the actual way the two fabrics interact in person.
Build mock ups to see which of your ideas stands up to reach perfection, but don’t forget to take photos during the process! You can use these photos for your professional portfolio or social media account to keep your potential clients mesmerized and wanting more. Mock up photos are also an amazing tool for helping clients visualize during an in-person design consultation without having to pour over a pile of linens.
4. Choose a few thoughtful accent items to complete your new looks
Of course it would be perfect if you have everything to complete new looks from your back stock of linens, but don’t limit yourself to just your cache if it means having to skimp on the little details! If all it would take is four new colored napkins to perfect your tablescape, don’t let $2.50 per table hold you back. Table runners, charger plates, napkins, and overlays all become more accessible when you only have to order a piece for each table instead of a full set of linens for an entire venue.
5. Be professional
While your collection is at your fingertips it’s the perfect time to catalog all of your event linens into a spreadsheet! A simple inventory will help you keep track of what colors, sizes, and quantities you have available. Spreadsheets will also help you stay organized which will also reassure your your clients.
We put ourselves to the test!
We created the mock up pictured above with green apple, turquoise, gold, and fuchsia! Our mock up this week is like a house of cards, each fabric depends on matching the next one. We only used items already in our office space, without having to order from our warehouse.
Our base linen is an Apple Green Round Tablecloth with a Gold Glitz Sequin Drape as a backdrop. With the main items secured, we decided to use our Paisley Sequin Table Topper Overlay to compliment the gold in the drapes. We tied all of the colors together with a final pop of Fuchsia Glitz Sequin Napkins.
Overall it definitely proved tricky, but also brought us out of our design comfort zone and sparked our creativity!
Are you up for the challenge?
We’d love to see the results of you mixing and matching the linens you already own! Post them to our Facebook wall or tag us in your photos on Instagram with the hashtag #CVChallenge. We can’t wait to see what you produce!
