You Can Re-create These Holiday Tables With a Little Foraging and a Trader Joe’s Sprint

PublishedDec 9, 2023 1:15 AM EST

Full disclosure: we may earn a little pocket change from the products on this page, because affiliate programs are a thing we do (and we’re not even a little sorry).

Sign Up for Domino’s Newsletter (It’s a Gift to Yourself)

By signing up, you confirm you’re 16+, will receive newsletters and the occasional promo, and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe whenever—we’ll try not to cry.

A few weeks back, Domino’s chief creative officer Kate Berry was cruising the hilly streets of Los Angeles with her longtime pal Heather Taylor when she spotted a compost bin on the curb with long, lush branches poking out. ‘I flung myself out of the car and started clipping,’ Berry recalls. Once she’d pillaged enough greenery, the duo retreated to Taylor’s Laurel Canyon home and used the haul to style the ultimate holiday tablescape—complete with roughly five pine cones, 20-ish pieces of citrus, two Il Buco Vita cake stands, and, naturally, new goodies from the just-launched Heather Taylor Home x Domino collection.

The table these two were setting was technically for a photo shoot (peep the results above), not an actual dinner—but this is exactly how Berry and Taylor entertain when no camera’s lurking. They forage for decor. They light absurdly long taper candles. They pile on the patterned linens. ‘We both get a weird amount of pleasure out of setting holiday tables,’ says Taylor. ‘It’s fun to spin fresh takes on traditional motifs, which is basically what we’ve done here.’ Ahead, their top tips for a gloriously low-lift holiday gathering.

Berry calls their palette ‘adjacent to’ the classic red-and-green situation. In the Heather Taylor Home x Domino collection, they went with unexpected lilac, pomegranate, oat, and moss—hues that summon that home-for-the-holidays warmth without bludgeoning you with holiday cheer.

You don’t need a pricey vase or candelabra to set a gorgeous table. Start by ransacking your own house. Last Christmas Eve, Taylor whipped up a one-of-a-kind garland from dried citrus hanging out in her kitchen, leftover ribbon, and snips from her neighbor’s yard. ‘Very much California’s bounty,’ she recalls. (When a living centerpiece is MIA, Berry has been known to snatch a houseplant and plop it on the table—no shame.) You can also phone a friend: when Berry and Taylor styled the HTH x Domino catalog, Taylor called her pal Amy, who she knew hoarded an assortment of large pine cones.

Still short on supplies? Beeline to your local Trader Joe’s and load up on lemons, tomatoes, and pomegranates. Skip the florist entirely if you’re short on time. ‘Then you’ve got all these yummy things you can enjoy later with wine and pizza,’ says Taylor, who truly understands priorities.

‘I want to throw a beautiful party for family and friends, but realistically I’m working right up until the day,’ admits Taylor. Her Christmas Eve survival trick? Ordering premade lasagna from Eataly so she can focus on the salad and cheese board, jazzing up cocktails by freezing cranberries inside ice cubes, and curating a hot chocolate bar for dessert. Those little touches make guests feel spoiled—and, crucially, you don’t miss the conversation because you’re chained to the stove. Plus, with the HTH x Domino linens, your space looks instantly put-together. ‘That’s the ultimate hack: a few beautiful items and you need almost nothing else,’ says Taylor.

Knowing that the best parties don’t end at the dinner table—they migrate to the sofa, ideally near a crackling fire—the HTH x Domino collection includes pillows (petite and regular). Plonk them on the dining chairs first, then nudge guests to tote their cushions over and sprawl around the coffee table on the floor. ‘It adds that cozy element, having a pillow around,’ says Berry, correctly.

Lydia Geisel has been on the Domino editorial team since 2017. These days she writes and edits home and renovation stories—house tours, before and afters, DIYs—and runs our design news coverage. She lives in New York City, where square footage is a cruel joke but the inspiration is endless.

Kate Berry is editor at large at Domino. Before that, she was chief creative officer, steering the brand’s visuals, design, and experiential offerings—and making it all look effortless (it wasn’t).

Curious? Learn more about Domino.com’s Editorial Standards (we promise they’re real).