Since decorating our table for Christmas, I've been itching to find an excuse to decorate our table again. Yes, I need an excuse.

The truth is, Justin and I live like college kids (except we're much much much neater)--we have a hard time bringing ourselves to have dinner at the table (unless it's something so good we're afraid that the ferocious monsters in our house would snatch it off our plates). So to decorate the table for no good reason whatsoever seems is illogical. And in this family, we don't do illogical. :p

So I made up my mind that Valentine's Day was going to be that perfectly logical reason to exercise my decorating muscles again... even though we don't actually celebrate Valentine's Day. But that's a story for later. :)

As usual, I started my decoration planning by looking for some inspirations online. I might have missed the memo to apply the "no crazy amount of red" filter for my search, because this is what Google gave me:

And Pinterest didn't fare any better either...

So, much, red

Don't get me wrong, I like red. It's a wonderful color. A pop of red can give life to an otherwise dull and sterile space--the keyword being, a "pop", not a KA-BOOM.

SO instead of joining the rest of the world for a weekend of red explosion, I decided our table is going to be adorned with these not-very-Valentine-y colors: gray, white and green.

I knew that I wanted gray to be my foundation, that perfect backdrop for the table. So I picked out this "suit-inspired" gray fabric with white grid pattern and sewed it into a 2-person table cloth. This grounds the table with a hint of "formal" and "gentlemanly masculinity".

To incorporate some lively green, I found these moss mats to serve as the table runner. They have just the right organic look to offset the "formalness" of the tablecloth. Birch slabs and more decorative moss added the romantic rustic touch.

For the chargers, I repurposed our white cheese boards as chargers (we happened to have 2). The clean line and the sheen of the creamware echo the somewhat formal gray tablecloth.

I added some girliness through topping off the plates with lace ribbons and added a little color (pink, of course) with the marshmallow hearts.

I couldn't quite decide on what drinkware to use, so in the end, I went for the his & hers setup: beer stein for the manly man, and English bone china teacup for the lady.

Since it is a Valentine's Day themed table, Justin suggested that the random I Love You card I made (the one with a bone and red bow) for him last week should go on the table too.

That's it! I really like this setup as it feels so whimsical and romantic. Now onto enjoying the long weekend!

Hope everyone has a wonderful, love-filled weekend too! ❤