[Valentine's Day-Red? Pink?]

Valentine’s Day is approaching, and you should be thinking about your tablescape. Whether you have a sweetheart, friends, or little ones, it’s a day to show love, love, love.

When we think of this day we think red, a red theme. I started with red tulips, but they just didn’t have the subtle pop that I wanted, especially when I have a set of pink china. I tried red chargers, red placemats, red and then, gold table cloth. All still fell flat.

Place Setting: So, I decided to start with my place setting. pink dinner plate resting on a silver charger on white linen. This was the start to a simple yet elegant table. To add sparkle, I used my holiday silver dessert plates. Now, I’m getting somewhere!

Silver represents elegance. If you have silver stashed away, get it out!

I glamed it up with silver napkins and tied them with silver ribbons.

Definitely get the champaign glasses out. Mine have a gold rim. Yes, you can use them with a silver theme. When you place them next to the silver, they glisten.

I added small antique cut glass sorbet cups and filled them with strawberries. Once you pour the champaign, have guests drop a few into their glass.

Centerpiece: I still had the red tulips, but needed to soften the arrangement. I used a laboratory vase, popular in the sixties, on top of a mirror. The glass vase gives off an open illusion. The piece has 24 individual vessels. So, I added pale pink tulips. The table still needed to connect the red tulips to the place setting. I added a narrow red ribbon to the napkin. Voila!

Of course no romantic table is complete without candlelight. Crystal candle holders, and mini tea lights surround the floral arrangement.

Pop: TableGlamour at it’s finest! How glamorous is serving shrimp cocktail in a mid century shrimp cocktail glasses with silver plated rims. For more mid-century shrimp cocktail glasses check out TableGlamour’s “Shop”.

Table Talk: The shrimp cocktail was invented in a bar on Boston Harbor in 1941. It was first prepared as a drunken “let’s put gross shit together in a glass and dare people to drink it” concoction with shrimp, ketchup, and vodka. In the end it turned out to be delicious. The kicker, it was served in a cocktail glass, hence the name!