Shake Your Tail Feather

I am head over heels delighted to have designed an autumn tablescape in the very tastefully appointed home of Bob & Jean Sloan! Jean, owner of Invitations by Jean, has long been a colleague and friend. I have looked to her for fine stationery – invitations, menus, escort cards, and more – for numerous fine weddings over the years.  I fell absolutely in love the first time I laid eyes on her traditionally furnished dining room. Jean’s remarkably refined taste is already apparent in the space, and my job was just to put the cherry on top with this lush table for 6.

The formal nature of my friend Jean Sloan’s dining room dictated a decidedly staid autumn tablescape with a few not-so-serious twists.

The crystal teardrops of Jean’s dazzling chandelier are repeated across the table set for 6 with the centerpiece, stemware, and candle holders.

Plump red grapes, dotted with stray alstroemeria blooms, cascade over the side of the crystal epergne. (My husband will be eating leftover grapes for weeks to come!)

Clusters of richly colored alstroemeria are arranged in cut crystal Godinger “Olympia” rose bowls. The reddish-brown color adds the “oomph” needed to rescue the tablescape from looking too monochromatic.

Pheasant feathers plopped into cut crystal bud vases create a stir at each end of the table. They not only complement the colors and theme of the dishware, but add texture to the tablescape.

Gorgeous cut crystal votive holders add shimmer close to the table surface.

The rich dark wood of Jean’s dining table was the perfect backdrop to the burnished gold chargers topped with brown transferware dinner and salad plates. The oak leaf-shaped soup bowl is from Pier 1. The flatware is Royal Danish sterling silver, a treasured gift from my Mom’s collection.

I found the beautiful dishware with this exquisite peacock motif at a boutique called Home Finishings here in Lee’s Summit. (According to an unsubstantiated Google source, these dishes were manufactured by the Johnson Brothers in Britain, discontinued in 2003. I have been able to find little else about these beautiful dishes anywhere!) The price tag caused a little agony, but I finally caved and bought enough for 12. SO worth it!!! This close-up shows the intricate pastoral pattern that depicts the proud creature displaying his lush plumage as his less fortunate feathered friends look on. (See these beautiful dishes used again HERE.)

Another fun twist to an otherwise traditionally set table is these jumbo carved wood acorns atop each napkin. I picked these up at Pier 1 a couple of years ago.

I love the intricate diamond-shaped cutwork in the Cristal d’Arques Longchamps stemware. The stemware design mimics that of the centerpiece epergne and crystal bowls. Notice here, too, the pretty crystal knife rests. People don’t use those a lot anymore, but I find them both pretty and practical.

Many thanks to Jean Sloan for letting me fulfill a fantasy autumn tablescape!

A few other autumn tablescapes on this site include:
Italian Honeysuckle
Most Egg-cellent Breakfast
Copper Zen
Celebrating Longview Farm
Casual Fall Harvest Dinner
September Harvest Breakfast
Pumpkins & Peacocks
Wondrous Wheat
Pheasants & Peacocks
Best Laid Plans
Serape High Style
Sunflower Simple
Raining Orchids
September Wine
Autumn Blues

This is my very first time participating in Tablescape Thursdays on the Between Naps on the Porch blog site. If you would like to see lots of other tablescapers’ creations, just click on the Between Naps on the Porch link to your right.

16 thoughts on “Shake Your Tail Feather

  1. Stunning!! Love the peacock plates! The acorn, touch of whimsy, is the perfect accompaniment amongst the lovely crystal. Great convo starter at a formal dinner. I’ll keep this stationery source for future reference. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. A very elegant and beautiful tablescape! Is this your profession, designing for others? What a fun job!

    Thank you for your sweet comment!

    Katherine

    P.S. – it was a little hard to find you, as it isn’t a clickable url that comes up with your comment. Maybe you could also put your blog url after your name, and you might get lots more comments!

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  3. Thank you, Katherine! I just sent an email to you and accidentally put my friend’s name (Michelle) who is sitting here with me! So sorry about that! I’m not real computer/blog savvy, but I think I know what you’re talking about. I’ll try it and see if it works. Thank you…and sorry again about the name thing! I’m going to banish her from my sight!!!

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  4. Hello Alycia, I’m so glad you stopped by to say hello because it led me to you and your wonderful tablescapes. Aren’t you lucky to have as a profession creating beautiful tables and you seem to do it without spending a fortune. I look forward to seeing more of your work.

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  5. You are tremendously talented. Thanks for sharing it with practicaly everyone. It should move from practically everyone to a much broader audience as in syndicated television, magazines and where more people could see your talents and pick up ideas.

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  6. Hey sis, what a beauty. I finally got into the blog. Apparently, I needed to hit the url address instead of trying to oprn those little boxes.. Oh well. I seem to be spending a lot of time on the senile train. Anyway that was just absolutely beeyoooteefuuuuuulllll.

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