Olla-Podrida: tablescaping

Thursday, October 29, 2015

I am embracing neutrals with a pop of color this Halloween. As you may recall from previous posts, I am often inspired by fabric and this year was no different. This MODA Haunted Gala Halloween fabric was the inspiration for this year’s spooky table for two.

I purchased the skull plates during a summer outing with a posse of neighborhood women that you can read about here.

They pretty much set the tone for the table, so for a centerpiece, I used skull vase filler from Pottery Barn.

Placemats and “Spice Route” dinner plates from Pier One form a nice basis for tasty goodies.

For a pop of color I used deep red wine glasses from Crate and Barrel, hanging a little skeleton off of each one.

The ravens are from Decor Steals (one of my favorite purchases) and are put to use throughout the house all year long. They look perfect here, I think.

I bought the little skeleton hand cupcake toppers to grace cupcakes for the season, but then never got around to making them (sheesh!) so used them on top of the napkins.

The flatware is from Pottery Barn and I let it go for a number of months without polishing to provide a decrepit look for the table (that’s’ my story and I’m sticking to it!).

This post is linked to:

DIY Sunday Showcase

Sundays at Home

DIY Party Sunday

Cooking and Crafting Monday

Amaze Me Monday

Make It Pretty Monday

Making Memories Mondays

Project Inspired Link Party

Dream, Create, Inspire Tuesday

Inspire Me Tuesday

Tuesdays At Our Home

Tweak it Tuesday

The Scoop

The Homemaking Party

It's a Party

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

Great Idea Thursday

Create It Thursday

Think and Make Thursday
Home and Garden Thursday

Thursday Favorite Things

Tablescape Thursday

Friday Finds

Fridays Flash Blog
Simple and Sweet Fridays

Foodie Friday & Everything Else

What To Do Weekend
The Weekend re-Treat

Saturday Sparks

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

A Literary Luncheon

For those of us who spend a lot of time “tablescaping” (and I know that this is not for everyone), I find it to be very revealing. This rather practical art form offers such amazing glimpses of personalities. When I see things on other people's tables that I own myself, it always makes me smile. Oh, the things we would have to talk about, and notes we could compare!

I like to keep the dining room table set at all times. It is one of the first things that I see upon rising in the morning, and it always makes me smile. Last week I decided to re-read an old Agatha Christie favorite, the Hercule Poirot mystery, Death on the Nile. As I closed the book I wondered what a visual representation of this would look like on the dining table. Here is the result. I like it.

I keep threatening to organize a book club in my neighborhood (hang on, ladies, eventually!) and thought about what fun it would be to set a table reflecting whatever book had been read. I think this is going to open up a whole new tablescaping world for me. I hope you'll come along for the ride, beginning here.

I can't say exactly why I chose what I did for this table. It was more of a feeling than anything finite. I wanted pattern over color, with neutrals and a pop of green. The centerpiece is actually one of the vignettes from atop the living room mantle over the fireplace.

This napkin fold is called Fleur de Lis. I absolutely love it for its ease of assembly and the very elegant way that it looks. With his Belgian background, I knew that Poirot would approve.

The placemats are some that Mr. O-P picked up. He had no interest in the pattern, just the flat style because he seems to think that most of my placemats are too lumpy (imagine!). I loved the pattern, knowing they would look wonderful with these dishes, so commandeered them immediately.