Visual Merchandising: Themes & Tablescapes

• Engels
• MBO
• Studiejaar 1,2

Themes and Tablescapes...

Play this however long you wish, about 1 minute should be enough.

After this lesson you will...

• know what a tablescape is and what's important when styling one.

• learn about themes and how you can use a theme to help you select items

• practise selecting items for specific tablescapes. 

     Have you ever styled a tablescape?

Important Vocabulary:

• merchandise  = (koop)waar, wat je verkoopt
• items  = artikelen, dingen
• display  = etalage, waar je de koopwaar presenteert
• theme  = thema, stijl
• appealing  = aantrekkelijk

What do you think about when styling a table? 

Ask students if they have ever created a (shop) display themselves.

TABLESCAPE

An attractive and appealing composition of items on a table.

to inspire
 

to show new styles/ trends

to sell more merchandise

shape & colour

style

scale

height & proportions

texture

use complimentary colours, no clashing!

create one overall look and feel.

create balance, not too small or too high.

make sure the size of the items suits the design.

use a variety of textures, such as smooth or rough.

A tablescape is: an attractive/ appealing ................ of items on a table.

1. group
2. style
3. composition
4. collection

THEME

What is a 'theme'?

Why do we use them?

What would be the 'theme' of this table?

Themes give you a general idea on what to look for and what to combine. For example: A fall theme would have rust colours and leaves, while a spring theme would show flowers and fresh green colours. 

We use them to tell a story using items. It can fit in with the season or a holiday (like Christmas or Halloween). A theme helps you to choose what belongs together and what not.

On this table, we see a spring/ Easter theme.

A

B

C

F

E

D

Vintage, Jungle or Scandinavian themed?

Which of these items would suit a...

- jungle theme (A-F)
- scandinavian theme (B-D)

- vintage theme (C-E)

For example: How would you describe
the theme of this room?

Aswer: the theme could be native american/ indian but also 'the Great Outdoors', hiking, nature and Canada could work. Maybe canoeing?

A

B

C

Which item would look best in this room? Why?

Discuss with a classmate. 

What type of theme would fit with this 'tablescape'?

A

Which theme do you think you see here?

B

And what about this tablescape? What is the theme?

C

You are going to watch a video from 'Pottery Barn', a large interior store in the United States. They are organising a tablescape competition.

Watch the video and answer the questions.

1. What is a ‘tablescape’? Can you describe it?
    
2. With which of the five themes would you most likely see bathroom accessories and decor?
    
3. How long do the students get to prepare and set up their tablescape?
    
4. What was the main reason that the ‘Spa-Licious Retreat’ team won the challenge? And why did the ‘Bring Your Work Home’ team also win?
    
5. Can you think of four different ways that visual merchandising helps to sell products in a store?

QUESTIONS:

There is a worksheet uploaded in Teams - Lease Material  - Commercial Interior - Year 1

1: an attractive, often themed, arrangement of items or objects on a table.
2. 'A Spa-licious Retreat'.
3. 45 minutes
4. The Spa team used unusual objects in a different way, very creative and surprising. The Work Home team went further than the table and included other accessories and furniture, selling a complete picture.
5. examples:
- makes products look more attractive/ appealing; sells more products.
- it shows all the different options that the store offers.
- shows different (colour/ material) combinations to the customer.
- makes the store feel more inviting/ at home
- shows off specific items that would otherwise be overlooked or that are special deals.
- it is a way for the store to express their ideas and creativity, doing more that just displaying. 

1. What is a ‘tablescape’? Can you describe it?
    
2. With which of the five themes would you most likely see bathroom accessories and decor?
    
3. How long do the students get to prepare and set up their tablescape?
    
4. What was the main reason that the ‘Spa-Licious Retreat’ team won the challenge? And why did the ‘Bring Your Work Home’ team also win?
    
5. Can you think of four different ways that visual merchandising helps to sell products in a store?

QUESTIONS:

There is a worksheet uploaded in Teams - Lease Material  - Commercial Interior - Year 1

1: an attractive, often themed, arrangement of items or objects on a table.
2. 'A Spa-licious Retreat'.
3. 45 minutes
4. The Spa team used unusual objects in a different way, very creative and surprising. The Work Home team went further than the table and included other accessories and furniture, selling a complete picture.
5. examples:
- makes products look more attractive/ appealing; sells more products.
- it shows all the different options that the store offers.
- shows different (colour/ material) combinations to the customer.
- makes the store feel more inviting/ at home
- shows off specific items that would otherwise be overlooked or that are special deals.
- it is a way for the store to express their ideas and creativity, doing more that just displaying. 

Let's create our own tablescape!

• work in pairs
   
• select 4 items
   
• give a name to your theme/ tablescape

• make a simple drawing of your tablescape.

1

2

3

5

4

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Class discussion:

Have you ever created a 'tablescape'?
Was it themed? What colours / materials and details did you use?

If not: What type of tablescape would you like to style in the future? What theme would you choose?

3 min.

What did you think about today's assignments?

😒🙁😐🙂😃

Watch the next video
and try to answer: 

What is visual merchandising?

Have the students watch the video and write down whatever comes to mind. 

What is... ?

visual
merchandising

Answer: to way to make the products look more attractive, present them in the optimal way, so the store can sell more products/ merchandise.

Products that look appealing will sell more. 

 LOOKS ARE EVERYTHING so always try to create a beautiful display!