Snowy Woods Tablescape

 

I always associate the month of January with snow, but statistics indicate that, in my part of the country anyway, more snow falls in March than it does January. Go figure.

This table setting came about because, in looking back at all of the friendships that I have lost due to their passing, I remembered one Christmas about 25 years ago when friends of ours gave us a crystal snowman. What is unique about the snowman is that the silver-plated metal arms that look like twigs are held in place by magnets embedded in the snowman.  That way the positioning can be changed up anyway that you like.

 

The last time I remembered using the snowman was at my former home that I haven’t lived in since 2012. That sent me on a quest to the belly of the beast wherein I dug through every box until I found it. I can’t tell you how happy it made me to find this. I put it on my table in the Conservatory, little tufts of polyester fiberfill snow around it, and put a couple of lighted trees in place to make it look like winter.

 

I chose an unobtrusive beige tablecloth, as well as tin chargers. I wanted a silvery frosty look, and that worked for me. On top of the tin chargers are smaller Italian chargers that used to belong to my mother. They have a forest green border, and I chose them so that they would pick up a little bit of green in the evergreens in the centerpiece.

On top of these, I have simple gray plates from Arora, topped with a cute little snowman plate, a part of the “Snowman Forest” pattern from Mikasa.

I chose simple, gray napkins, so as not to compete with the snowman design on the plate, and hammered flatware (also from Mikasa) to give the place setting a bit of an icy look. I combined La Rocher glassware with a vintage juice glass, again to get a bit more sparkle.

 Scattered around the table are my favorite snowflake tea light holders that I got years ago from Crate & Barrel; they have certainly served me well over the years. In addition, I have little white wooden snowflakes, in three sizes, to set the snowy mood. Cups and saucers are simple snow white cappuccino cups.

I intend to enjoy this table throughout the month of January. I like the icy coolness of it.

Stay warm!

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 This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday

A Day at the Beach Tablescape

This is one of those tables that I ruminated on for more than a week before finishing. It all started with the piece of Tommy Bahama fabric that I used as a runner. 

I loved the fabric when I saw it on eBay, and used it to make over a little footstool that my dad had made me about 20 years ago. 

My granddaughter needed something to boost her up when she was washing her hands in my coastal-themed bathroom, so I painted the footstool (originally Hunter green) with a soft taupe, and then replaced the English hunt fabric with this. I ended up having a lot left over, so it was easy enough to fold the edges under, press them down, and spread it across the top of the table.

That was followed by these placemats that I get a heck of a lot of use out of. They remind me of those fences that you see along the beaches of the Jersey shore, so they are always perfect for a coastal table setting.

Next up was the use of the fishnet. I love this stuff! You'd be surprised how many times I have pressed this into use. 

One of the reasons I put the table together was because I was dying to use the Seahorse pitcher and plates that I acquired over the last 18 months; aren’t they darling? I knew I wanted the pitcher at the center of the table but had no idea as to what to put inside.

I had thought about getting white flowers, like lilies or alstroemeria, but I thought they would be too white. So, the other day while I was rummaging around in the belly of the beast, I stumbled across some flowers that Jim (who always claimed he wasn't colorblind), bought me one year for our anniversary along with an equally hideous vase.

The flowers can best be described as diarrhea green. I never used them, storing them out of sight where they couldn't frighten me.

I hate to not use things, so began to wonder how it would be if I painted them. I’d never painted silk flowers before, but certainly was never going to use them as is, so figured that I’d experiment. I went out to the garage, rummaged through my vast collection of spray paint, found a nice ivory, and gave it a whirl. I absolutely love the look! I could have shopped and shopped and not come up with flowers as perfect as these. Plus, going over that green, gave them a light taupe look, and they worked perfectly here.

 Next up were the chargers that I got from blogger friend Marigene Purcell, and that I use again and again and again. If you ever see a set of chargers that you like and think you're going to use, trust me when I tell you, you will love them and use them a lot. I needed the green on my table to represent the green grasses in the dunes along the shore, topped the green chargers with these brown plates from the spice collection at Pier One (that I also use a lot), and then placed the Seahorse plates on top. I loved it! 

In order to bring out the color in the plates I used a deep teal napkin. I didn't want to get fussy, so just tied a knot in them and I think they look wonderful. If you ever are at a loss as to what to do with a napkin, tie a knot in it!

 I struggled over glassware. You all have seen the turquoise stemware that I use quite frequently, and I thought it would go perfectly here, but surprisingly I didn't like it as well as the brown that has been in the family for decades, and that I got from my mother. After that, all I needed was some nice bamboo flatware to keep up with the organic look, and I was finished.

 Hope you enjoyed the table as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Fish net - Amazon

Brown plates, Napkins & Placemats – Pier One

Seahorse dishes – Maxcera

Bamboo flatware – Crate & Barrel

Runner fabric – Tommy Bahama

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Mr. Tom Turkey Tablescape

If you're anything like me, once Thanksgiving is over, you want to kick pumpkins to the curb. In any case, I still wanted to share the table that I had for Thanksgiving. This year I actually set two tables, but with all of the activity of Thanksgiving Day, only had the opportunity to photograph one. I hope you enjoy it as much as my guests did.

As you can see, I swapped out my more rustic looking turkey from my Neutral Thanksgiving Tablescape for the ceramic turkey from Crate & Barrel as a part of my centerpiece. Easy.

The white turkey plates are among my favorites; I wish I would have gotten more than four. These are years old and from Pottery Barn. They work great as salad plates or sandwich plates when I serve a turkey sandwich along with a hot bowl of turkey noodle soup after the big day.

If you look carefully you can spot the corncob candles from my last tablescape. Here they are in a pair of my favorite rustic candleholders of pilgrims, perfect for Thanksgiving.

The glass turkey tureens are from William-Sonoma; I have had these for 20 years or more. At the time that I got them they were affordable, but they no longer are, so I am really pleased to have these.

The flatware with the bamboo handles is from eBay. A fun find, and I use these a lot.

You'll see the familiar brown spice route plates from Pier 1 as the dinner plate, and the salad/sandwich/appetizer plate in gold on top of it. These are among my favorite plates, as they are perfect for layering; you will see the brown ones again in a holiday table setting coming up soon.

The pitcher and salt and pepper shakers I've had a long time as well, and they are from Fitz & Floyd. I love the look on the turkey’s face as he peers over the shoulder of the Pilgrim reading the recipe book. Both the salt and pepper shakers and the pitcher add a fun bit of whimsy to the holiday table.

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Springtime Table for St. Pat's

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays. It makes so few demands, and yet rewards us with good food, the promise of spring, and an abundance of my favorite color, green!

I started setting tables in honor of the coming holiday late last week, pulling out a set of salad plates depicting some of my favorite fresh summer vegetables that will soon be planted in my meager garden.

Seeds give off such a feeling of hope, don't you think?

The pitcher was once in my mother's collection, and has long served as a focal point for my St. Patrick's Day tables. Generally I fill it with shamrocks, but this year decided on a floral bouquet from Trader Joe's. Bad idea. By morning half of the flowers had wilted, and by the following day they were dead. Never again!

The black letter “P” is actually one half of a set of bookends that I recently unearthed, and decided to use.

Green popcorn and chocolate kisses fill white lotus bowls. It wouldn't be St. Pat's without green popcorn!

Pitcher – Fitz & Floyd

Salad Plates – Williams-Sonoma

Lotus Bowls & Napkins – Pier One

Placemats – Three French Hens

Flatware – Crate & Barrel

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