(ARA) - “The secret to stress-free holiday entertaining for me,” explains celebrity-designer, best-selling author, Chris Madden, “is about setting a lovely table and creating the festive ambiance for family and friends to gather around.”

Decorating for the holidays is a tradition Madden has perfected over the years. Her mantra is simple: keep it fun, stress-free and personal – celebrate in the style that brings you delight. To do this, Madden advises making every room of your home inviting to the five senses. “Fill your rooms with the things that you love and enrich your senses and when you have done so, your home will be ready to welcome guests.”

Fill your rooms with festive scents and sounds, serve your family’s favorite holiday recipes and create comfortable and visually pleasing places to dine and relax throughout your home. The holidays are also the time to mix treasured collectibles, inherited silver and flea market finds to create a dining table that is practical but styled with timeless elegance, and that will help you build on to your traditions for years to come.

Madden recommends starting with an elegant tablecloth – in creamy ivory or holiday jewel-tones – to begin this tabletop layering. If you don’t have the perfect cloth, think of using your favorite piece of fabric – a remnant, curtain panel, a washable quilt or a table runner and placemats.

Layer on a centerpiece that will become the focal point of your table. Create one with collectibles or natural botanicals such as leaves, nuts or berries and mix them with fragrant flowers and fresh greens. “A centerpiece can also be something as simple as various-sized pillars set on a tray and surrounded by beautiful fruits or seasonal vegetables,” says Madden.

Next, add your favorite mix of dinnerware, stemware, linens and flatware that symbolize you are setting the table for a special gathering. Chris Madden for JCPenney Home Collection’s Harvest tabletop, featuring seasonal design, is a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table. Get into the spirit with a traditional turkey-shaped platter and soup tureen with matching bowls. Or use ceramic Harvest plates featuring a turkey, leaf or pumpkin to serve a holiday salad or dessert. Squirrel, pumpkin or leaf-shaped salt and pepper shakers or votive holders add an additional punch of holiday whimsy to your festive table.

For a touch of elegance, Chris Madden’s Felice dinnerware features beautifully embossed details that appeal to the romantic in all of us. The collection includes four-piece place settings, a set of four, footed dessert bowls, sugar and creamer, salt and pepper shakers, oval and square-shaped platters, and a three-piece canister set that can all be easily matched with other favorite dining pieces.

Both the Harvest and Felice collections are complemented by Madden’s Veneto glassware. Faceted goblets, flutes and wine glasses are available in easy-to-coordinate shades of amber, green or clear. Each style comes in a set of four and makes the transition from casual to elegant, depending on the occasion and how you choose to set your table. Flatware to coordinate or complement your existing services and a variety of textural linens – placemats, napkins and runners – in complementary colors and patterns, complete the Chris Madden look.

“No matter how you decide to decorate your table and home, keep in mind it’s the personal, sensory touches that will make all the difference. Use holiday decorating as a means for expressing your creativity, and layering those things you love that create sensory delight each and every time you come home,” says Madden.

The Chris Madden for JCPenney Home Collection is available at JCPenney stores across the country. Call (877) FIND-JCP or log on to www.jcp.com for more information.

Courtesy of ARA Content

Decorating Books

Home Decor & More

HOLIDAY DECOR & SHOPPING

Holiday Decor & More