Nature Inspired Tabletop for the Man in your Life

Create a nature inspired tabletop to celebrate the man in your life. Whether it’s your husband, son, brother, or father, any guy can appreciate these masculine touches. Get inspiration and more summer entertaining ideas here.

There’s a TON of party inspiration designed for women, especially since we girls celebrate all the milestones like weddings, babies, special birthdays, Friday night 😉  So to find something for the men in our lives is a little more difficult. That’s why I decided to design a special lunch/dinner table with men in mind, and it’s just in time for Father’s Day!

I’ve partnered with Cold Stone Creamery once again, and you’ll see how I incorporated their ‘Tall, Dark, and Delicious’ cake into this shoot below.

My inspiration for this design was my own husband who grew up in West Virginia {insert hillbilly joke here} hunting, fishing, and playing outdoors. Although he’s become quite the Metro-sexual now, he still has strong ties to anything nature-inspired. I pulled from things I already own, and to my surprise and delight there were many faux bois items to use – the printed paper runner, the small plates, a tray, paper straws, and some cocktail napkins I picked up months ago.

See how I put it all together to create a nature inspired tabletop, below…

Nature Inspired Tabletop details

• Take your father’s day celebration outdoors and integrate your nature-inspired design with nature itself. I set up the table with a canvas drop cloth as the ‘tablecloth.’ I like how it’s long and to the ground on the ends, but short enough on the sides so you can sit with your legs under the table.
• The wood grain paper runner is just wrapping paper I had picked up at HomeGoods, previously. It really sets the tone for the whole tabletop.
• A floral centerpiece is always nice, but a green fern is the perfect addition to this rustic theme.
• Antlers are abundant at my in-laws property so I’ve brought some home with me to use in various decorating projects {painted gold}. Here I’ve used 2 natural antlers to flank the centerpiece and help fill the space.
• I layered my trusty rattan chargers and white plates with melamine dishes {from this boys fishing party} and added these fabulous twig utensils for each place setting.
• On a recent shopping trip to World Market I picked up these green hobnail glasses and just love the vintage look of them. All the green elements of the table really pop against the tan and brown base.
• Birch-pattern paper straws are subtle but add a sweet detail.
• When I got my Lucite tray from A Blissful Nest, I included this rustic insert with the wood grain. It’s such a great accent piece with a purpose. The faux bois cocktail napkins are a cute touch too.
• For lunch or dinner I would suggest serving dad’s favorites. In our case that would probably include a shrimp boil with all the fixin’s.
• For dessert, this ‘Tall, Dark, and Delicious” cake from Cold Stone Creamery is an obvious choice. It has layers of Devil’s Food cake, Sweet Cream ice cream with brownies, Chocolate ice cream with Oreos, White Frosting, and cascading Fudge Ganache. I placed it on a cake stand and decorated it with chocolate rocks for a whimsical, but coordinating touch.

Do you think your dad, husband, brother would like any of these design ideas?

To say that this cake was delicious is an understatement. I mean, come ON! It’s all the best flavors rolled up into one beautiful presentation!