Summer table style for under 50p

You can’t even buy a Twirl for less than 50p nowadays.

But snap up a pack of cheap ELLY tea towels from IKEA (£1.99 for 4) and you can create a simple summer table setting like this, as seen in the very lovely Kinfolk magazine.

{Lisa Warninger and Chelsea Fuss via Kinfolk}

Sometimes the simplest and cheapest ideas really are the best. You could easily create something similar with things you already have lying around the house… here are a few more instant tricks to pretty up a table:

• Put handful of hedgerow flowers into jam jars and tin cans or buy potted herbs and wrap the pots with white muslin, brown paper or even old newspaper, secured with a length of ribbon
• Instead of laying the table formally, tie cutlery into sets with a scrap of leftover fabric or natural twine. Add a luggage tag for a placecard
• Use an offcut of wallpaper as a colourful runner down the centre of a long table. The ends will naturally curl round to keep the paper in place and you can throw it in the recycling when you’re done
• Hang candles over the table to free up space. Wind wire around the top of a glass jar, make a loop over the top and pop a tealight inside. These make sweet hanging vases too
• Mismatched cutlery and crockery will add understated style – keep and eye out at car boot sales and charity shops. Or, pick up basic white plates at supermarkets and discount shops and add detail elsewhere
• Why not follow my Pinterest board Tables and Party Time for more ideas and inspiration?

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