Santa in the Snow Tablescape

 

This will be my last tablescape for 2024. It will not be the last table that I set, but with the holidays coming up, and all of the activity that surrounds them, I won’t be able to share any more. 

This one is a lot of fun. It started with the fabric that I absolutely fell in love with. I bought 2 yards of it, put it over the table, and went from there.

The “placemats,” for lack of a better word, I found a number of years ago at Pier One. I’m sorry that I only bought four of them because I love them so much. The nubby-edged red plates are also from Pier One.

The holly leaf salad plates I got from Pottery Barn last year. I really like these because, with such a simple design, they can be paired with almost anything, and yet they have a big impact.

On top of them is a Fitz and Floyd Santa mug (that you last saw here), doing double duty as a candle holder. It was a snap to put this together. I used a bit of floral foam in the bottom to hold the candle in place, then it was just a question of adding some dried Spanish moss, some greenery, a few berries, and I was done. I think it makes a nice impact considering the minutes it took to put together.

 The script greeting at each place setting I found here. The clear snowflake Irish coffee-style mugs that I fell in love with are new this year. I found them here. They will get a lot of use this year holding hot drinks and boozy coffees.

 

The wooden snowflakes are favorites, and are used all over the house during the holidays, including on the tree.

 

The deep green stemware makes a nice impact here. When you have a table covering as bold as this one, you have to have equally bold dinnerware.

I found the red napkins here, and struggled to decide which type of flatware to use. I tried, McKenzie-Child’s “Courtly Check,” gold, and ultimately ended up with this very versatile black flatware that makes a statement while being understated.

The Santa in the center riding the bicycle I inherited from my mother. She used to collect Santas of all kinds and had them running down the center of her dining table. I have all of them, of course, but tend to use just one at a time. The tree I’ve had forever, it is illuminated with tiny string lights.

 

I hope this finds you all thoroughly enjoying your holiday prep. Don’t wear yourselves out!

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 This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday

How 'bout Them Apples? TABLESCAPE

 

I had big plans for lots of table settings this summer, but sadly, did very few of them. But, I am beginning to emerge from the heat and humidity, am truly embracing September, and today felt like celebrating fall with this apple table.

I don’t often use my dough bowl — I’m not quite sure why — but it proved the perfect vessel for this beautiful combination of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples from Melissa’s Produce. Interspersed among the apples for a little bit of pattern are the Tennessee Dancing gourds that I grew this year. It is on these colors that I based this table.

 The stack of ceramic apple bowls belonged to my mother, as did the wire basket holding Fuji apples, and vibrant red flatware. The smoky stemware belonged to my mother as well.

The tin chargers come from a favorite local shop, The White Rabbit; the glass crescent salad dishes are vintage, and one of the first things I purchased after graduating from college. I had a small table, and reasoned that these would take up less room than the traditional round salad plates, and I was right. I still love them after all these years.

Number two son gave me the bright green appetizer plates and cocottes; I love that color with the red.

Woven placemats, black plaid plates, and green plaid napkins are all from Pier One.

The cups are vintage, and a part of a bigger set of Galloping Gourmet (Remember Graham Kerr?) cookware that was given away, piece by piece, for free with a $10 or more purchase back in grocery stores in the ‘70s.

 I always find a transitional table appropriate for this time of the year. I don’t generally bring out the rusty reds and burnt oranges until October, but look out when I do!

 

Get the look:

Amber Stemware

Tin Chargers

Green Plaid Napkins

Green Cocotte

Red Flatware

Woven Placemats

Faux Apples (red)

Faux Apples (green)

 

 This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday
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When Witches Go Riding Tablescape

 

Does this table surprise you? Well, it surprises me! I had no intention whatsoever of doing a Halloween table this year. This came about when my aunt and my cousin came over to join me for lunch to celebrate my birthday earlier in the month. My cousin brought the napkins made out of Halloween fabric, as well as the spider tea light candleholders. She said now that her children are grown (they’re both in high school) she no longer sets tables to celebrate Halloween, and wanted to know if I would like these items. Would I? Yes, I would! The next day I took down my neutral fall table (that I really enjoyed during the month of September), and set about creating this one.

 

I started by topping the table with fabric by J. Wecker Frisch; it is not a Halloween fabric, per se, but one that lends itself quite well to the holiday.I topped it with black placemats, and Italian green chargers (that I brought forward from last week’s table). On top of the chargers, I placed bright yellow Waechtersbach ceramic dinner plates. To complete my plate stack, I added vintage Halloween plates, that I got a number of years ago from Williams-Sonoma.

I was trying to decide what flatware to use, and at one point was considering gold to pick up the gold elements in the plates (that may not be visible to you, but are very much so in person), but ultimately decided to go with that pop of orange, and I’m happy with my choice. You can find the orange flatware here. 

Witch broom handled mugs, ample enough to hold soup, a latte, or a big cup of cocoa topped with whipped cream, got a number of years ago from Pier One. The owl stemware is new this year and I found it here.

 

I paired my cousin’s luncheon size napkins with solid green dinner size napkins to pick up the green elements in the fabric and give the table some added interest.

The skeleton hand napkin ring holding the napkins can be found here. The spider votive candleholders hold green tea lights.

 

The skeleton candlesticks I got it Michael’s a couple of years ago, the candles are from Colonial Candle of Cape Cod.

 

In the center I have a vintage look pumpkin from World Market filled with fresh flowers and fern fronds.

 

Beverages (Serpent’s Venom and Cauldron Cola) are from The Potion’s Cauldron. They have a variety of fun flavors, and bottles to match.

 Considering that I wasn’t planning a Halloween table at all, I’m very pleased with the way that this one turned out.

 BOO! And Happy Friday the 13th!

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This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday

Shades of Autumn Tablescape

 

A friend recently alerted me to a wonderful YouTube channel called “The Tartan Topiary.” It is hosted by Mary, who uses her channel to beautifully review home and gardening books. If you haven’t seen it, give it a look, because it is wonderful! The downside is that, because her reviews are so lovely, you may find (like me) that you are going to want to buy every one of those reviewed books.

 I always try to control myself, but sometimes it’s not easy. Case in point, she introduced me to the books of Ted Kennedy Watson, and I fell in love. I was particularly enamored with his Guide to Stylish Entertaining. One of his suggestions (and Mary took this up on her episode about this book) is to decorate a table with only one color. I decided that I was going to do that with my first fall table, choosing the color green, my favorite. I wasn’t so sure how this is going to work out, and it was a bit of a challenge, but I am in love with the results.

I started simply with the forest green tablecloth and woven placemats. I added scalloped-edged wooden chargers from Pier One, as well as Italian ceramic charges with a green border. I reused both square black plates, and black flatware from last week’s table.While not visible initially, removing the small wreath and fabric pumpkin reveals a pumpkin-shaped plate that can be used for salad or dessert.

  

The green water glasses I inherited from my mother, as I’ve mentioned so many times in the past. I also inherited her beautiful crystal. I wasn’t sure how something as elegant as these wine glasses from Rogaska in the “Gallia” pattern would work at this table, but they give it a touch of elegance, and nice sparkle.

 

The plaid napkins from Pottery Barn tend to go with everything.At center I have iron candlesticks, purchased years and years ago from a local shop, and green tapers surrounded by faux pumpkins in white and pale green in various sizes.

I’m very happy with the results here. It blends in so lovely with all of the green plants in the Conservatory, that I may just leave this up until it’s time for Halloween.

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This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday 

Dinner at the Shore Tablescape

 

Despite the fact that the calendar insists there are three more weeks of summer, once September hits, it’s over for me. My official first day of fall is September 1. I’ve noticed a change in myself; I’m starting to gravitate towards fall colors, I bought pumpkin to make quick bread, and I’ve been digging out my favorite throws to launder and have at the ready. Why am I mentioning this, you may ask? I mention it because this will be my last table of the summer. I had actually started another summer table in pink and green with flamingos, but I just wasn’t feeling it, so I took it all down in favor of something more autumnal.

 

What I brought forward here from last week's tablescape is the salmon colored glassware. As I mentioned last week, it fits quite suitably on a table with an ocean theme, based upon name alone. 

The star of the show is the Dario Farrucci Italian ceramic pitcher at the center.  Isn’t he a cutie? The flowers came in a vase (that I donated) from Amazon (I chose the Burgundy arrangement, and it matched perfectly), to which I added fresh olive branches that I snipped off of my tree.

  

The table covering is from Williams-Sonoma, as are the matching napkins and crab plates. I love this combination. The woven placemats form the base of the plate stack on top of which I have painted tin chargers, and rustic brown plates that I found here. Next to the place setting are little fish dishes (from World Market) to do use for butter pats.

 

The hammered flatware is by Mikasa and I found it here. Joining the salmon colored ice tea glass is gorgeous cobalt blue stemware.

  

While dining at this table I enjoyed a new (to me) recipe for a clone of Chi-Chi’s enchilada casserole made up of crabmeat enchiladas. It was very delicious and the plate was perfectly appropriate. 

Be sure to come back next time to see what elements of this table I brought forward into my first table of fall.

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  This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday