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Pull up a chair for creativity If your tabletop is missing personality, give it one with these simple, DIY-inspired ideas  Image courtesy Maring Lifestyle Photographers Is your dining room missing something? Inject a touch of creative flair and personality to liven it up. Your selection of linens invites a sense of fun and surprise to dinner. Try an unusual tablecloth: aunt Melba's old quilt, a Beacon or Mexican blanket, a colorful sheet or bedspread. Make place mats out of old blue jeans and use bandannas as napkins. Craft long-lasting mats: Have your child decorate six to eight sheets of construction paper, or create a unique collage yourself. Take the mats to a copy shop that offers lamination services and have them laminated. All you need to make a napkin is a piece of fabric about 18" by 18". I've made one-of-a-kind napkins out of old shirts, dresses, tablecloths, curtains and fabric remnants. A dining room table can look barren without a centerpiece. Why not try something more interesting than the standard bowl of flowers and candlesticks? How about: – a bowl filled with marbles, buttons, glass fishing net floats, beach stones, nuts, billiard balls or a heap of colorful scarves – a pair of antique stuffed bears, sitting back to back, surrounded by smaller stuffed animals – a row of graduated pinecones – a fish bowl with several goldfish (be sure to provide the fish with a good home after your dinner party) – a water-filled bowl with a single blossom or three autumn leaves floating in it – a dozen vases in varying heights and colors, clustered together and brimming with fresh cut flowers from your garden – a grouping of harvest-colored gourds and pumpkins – a collection of candlestick holders in varying heights.
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Kit Davey, an interior designer based in Redwood City, Calif., helps clients redecorate their homes through the creative use of their existing furnishings. E-mail Kit your questions: 
