Look for Less

I love this idea for a table setting or a hutch/china cabinet shelves. Often it is the color of a display that captures your eye, but for a really dramatic and elegant look go for monotone.  In this case it's white, but you could do black, red, aqua or any color that inspires you. 

Mix different shapes and sizes of vases.  The best place to get glass vases and containers for less is thrift stores and garage sales, and you probably have a bunch of them stuck in the back of a cabinet from all those flowers your husbands and boyfriends have sent you.  Start with what you have and with a few cans of high gloss spray paint you can transform them into an elegant table center piece.  Or mix this contemporary look on the shelves of your antique china hutch for a fresh eclectic look.

Add an accent color with flowers, votives, or decorative napkin rings. 

These photographs are from the 2009 Decorators Showcase House in San Francisco.  Designs by Orlando Diaz-Azcuy