Easter in Pink & Grey

April 16, 2014April 16, 2014 / Alycia Nichols / 65 Comments

HIP-HOP HOORAY!!! I’M CELEBRATING MY 200TH POST TODAY!!!

INSPIRATION: This stately-looking bunny rabbit wearing a jacket & vest similar to what I used to wear...minus the pot belly, of course! :-)

INSPIRATION: This stately-looking bunny rabbit wearing a jacket & vest similar to an outfit I used to wear during my “Brat Pack” days back in the 80s…minus the pot belly, of course! (Slap a pair of wire-rimmed glasses on this fellow and smooth his ears down like hair, and he’d be Benjamin Franklin’s doppelganger! 🙂 )

Easter is a few short days away. If you’re looking to do something a little more on the formal side for brunch or dinner without being totally stuffy, this post might be of some help to you.
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I decided to go with a bare table this time around. That’s a little unusual for me, but I thought all the elements would work well on bare wood. Gleaming silver metal chargers are topped with Easterling (no pun intended…really! 😉 ) “Majestic” china from my Mom. I thought the shade of grey on the rims complemented the inspiration rabbits’ jackets.

An easy pocket fold for the medium pink napkin from LinenTablecloth.com allows the menu to be neatly tucked inside.

These adorable moss topiary place card holders were graciously given to me by Beau-coup.com. You’ll be seeing a bit more of these, used in different ways, over the summer months. The flatware is Hampton Silversmith’s “Patriot – Mirror”, and the stemware is Mikasa “Jamestown Platinum”.

The centerpiece starts with a moss table runner with various-sized moss balls strewn about. For this demonstration I used faux pink and white hyacinth in the silver champagne bucket and little pots of pink and white grape hyacinth. For your actual Easter table, though, it would be really terrific if you could go fresh. There’s nothing in the world quite like fresh flowers! (For the sake of uninterrupted conversation during the meal, the champagne bucket of flowers can be easily moved to the sideboard.) The bunny figurines – looking quite dapper in their grey knicker pants and jackets with pink and white accents – are from Home Goods.

The buffet has florals that complement those used on the dining table. They are on the ends only to leave room for the big ol’ Easter ham or desserts. The tall moss ball “trees” mimic the place card holders as do the shorter moss ball “bushes.”

The vintage tea cart in the corner is readied for coffee service after the meal.

Other posts on this site featuring Spring & Easter tablescapes:
“Easter Brunch”
“Barton’s Easter Brunch”
“Easter Floral”
“Pinky Peter Cottontail”
“Easter Bloom”
“Carousel Colors”
“Spring Green”
“All A’Bloom for Spring”
“Spring Has Sprung”
“The Bluebird Special”
“Daffodilyicious”
“Purple for Spring”
“Zen Garden”
“Mum’s the Word”
“Rolling Fields of Green”
“Taste of Wine Buffet”
“Goin’ Green for Spring”
“Springtime in Paris Mother’s Day Buffet”
“Peony Power”
“Moss & Manzanitas”
“Daisy Crazy”
“French Poodle”
“Celebrating 85 Years of Fabulous”
and the “Spring” tab above for a couple of fun Springtime tablescapes

I will join Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for “Tablescape Thursday” later this week and Alma at The Tablescaper for “Seasonal Sundays” over the upcoming weekend. I hope you’re up for the parties, too! Oh…and I’m posting each week on BeBetsy.com, too!

From our loving home to yours, may you and your family be blessed with all the grace of the good Lord this Easter and always.

All A’Bloom in Pink for Spring

April 1, 2014July 31, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 71 Comments

INSPIRATION: Crunchy, ugly, brown grass that just teases us with sprigs of green. 😦

It’s April 1 and still dipping below freezing each night. Would somebody PLEASE text Mother Nature and let her know she’s tardy for the party??!??!!!
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If Mother Nature wants to play it that way and hold Spring back a while longer, I figured I’d just have to bring my own version of the season alive in the dining room!

Each place setting starts with a pink, green, buttery yellow and white Pier 1 cotton placemat upon the bare wood table. The placemats are turned vertically to create a slight drop off the side of the table. A deep pink Bormioli Rocca “Inca” glass charger is topped with Mikasa “Daylight” china, chosen for its graceful, leafy branches.

A brilliant pink carnation peeks over the rim of a white egg cup from Crate & Barrel. It is covered by a clear glass cloche bell jar from Hobby Lobby. (A brightly colored egg would make a nice substitute to create an Easter brunch setting.) A soft pink napkin from LinenTablecloth.com is simply folded and laid alongside the dishes with Hampton Forge stainless steel “Bamboo Mirror” flatware. The simple glassware is from Old Time Pottery. (Other posts on this site using cloche bell jars include “Pleasant Under Glass”, “Spring Has Sprung”, and “Apple Green Luncheon”.)

The centerpiece runs the length of the table so that each guest has a little eye candy in front of them. It is a melange of deep pink carnations in white ceramic teapots, white ceramic cylinders filled with small manzanita cherry blossom branches with carnations tucked around the lower perimeter, and white ceramic baskets of pale pink, yellow and white meringues. Notice how the colors of the centerpiece items reflect those in the placemats.

The buffet behind the dining table is partially covered with a the same placemats as used at each place setting to sweep the color and pattern across the room. On top of the placemats is an American Atelier white ironstone tray topped with various white ceramic teapots. Mikasa “Daylight” teacups and saucers stand at the ready nearby along with a few sweet treats. The floral vessels are taller, broader versions of those used on the dining table and also contain manzanita branches. Among the branches are stems of pink magnolias and more cherry blossoms. Notice how the cloche theme from the dining table is reiterated here.

The vintage tea cart in the corner holds a few more sweets beneath cloches, a pot of bright pink cosmos, and a stack of Pier 1 doily dessert plates. A fun chalkboard sign wishing guests a “Happy Spring” leans casually against the base of a yellow candlestick lamp. (For more candle lamps on this site, see “Raining Orchids“, “All A’Bloom In Pink for Spring“, “Should Have Put a Ring On It“, “It’s All About Me!“, and “Just Us Girls“.)

This easy-to-create table setting would work nicely for any Springtime celebration including a ladies’ luncheon or tea, birthday, baby shower, bridal shower, retirement, or to help rejoice in the good news of a breast cancer survivor.

Other posts on this site featuring Spring tablescapes:
“Spring Has Sprung”
“The Bluebird Special”
“Daffodilyicious”
“Purple for Spring”
“Zen Garden”
“Mum’s the Word”
“Rolling Fields of Green”
“Taste of Wine Buffet”
“Goin’ Green for Spring”
“Springtime in Paris Mother’s Day Buffet”
“Peony Power”
“Moss & Manzanitas”
“Daisy Crazy”
“French Poodle”
and the “Spring” tab above for a couple of fun Springtime tablescapes

Thank you for stopping by! I’m headed over to Susan’s at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday and to How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday. I hope you’ll come with! And don’t forget to join me next week for Cuisine Kathleen‘s Spring Tablescape Challenge featuring entries from tablescapers all over the world!!!

Easter Bloom

March 26, 2013November 15, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 78 Comments

Easter Sunday is just a few days away now, and here is one final table that I hope can be of help to someone in search of last-minute ideas.
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INSPIRATION: Wreaths with pale pink & yellow Easter egg-like beading that I bought 8 years ago and have never used.

I started this demure Easter table with a full-length pure white tablecloth from LinenTablecloth.com.

Each place setting begins with a pink, green, yellow and white striped cotton placemat from Pier 1. (I used these reversible placemats on this side in “Pretty In Pink” – a birthday luncheon for my Mom – and on the flip floral side in “Days of Wine & Roses”.) A white ceramic charger from Old Time Pottery is topped with the inspiration for this table: a wispy pink & yellow beaded wreath that has a very “Easter-y” look about it. The dinner plate is creamy, buttery yellow stoneware purchased at a local grocer last autumn (for just $1 each!!!), and the lacy white salad/dessert plate is one of my favorites from Pier 1. “Danish Princess” silver given to me by my Mom looks smart and adds just a touch of understated formality to the table.

The pretty petal pink napkins and the celery green silver-banded napkin rings that adorn them are both from Bed, Bath & Beyond. I wanted to pick up just a little of the green in the placemat through the napkin rings. The white egg cups are from World Market.

If this stemware seems at all familiar to you, it’s because the pink patterned stem graces the Home page of my blog. The green goblets are a part of one of my favorite go-to sets from Dollar Tree. (If you can get a goblet that will work as hard for you as these green ones do for me year-round for just a buck each, buy every one you can possibly fit in your storage closet!)

TIP: I’d like to call your attention to the dried curly willow branches running along the two long sides of the centerpiece florals. This is a way to easily (and very economically!) visually corral your centerpiece. It has the same subconscious visual effect as placing the florals on a tray or setting them on a runner.

Look at the effect of the willow branches…how they lend a truly organic feel to the overall look of the centerpiece. These evergreen topiaries are faux, but you could certainly use real ones and plant them later. (Unless you live in the Kansas City area where it seems like the snow is NEVER going to melt!!! 🙂 )

I used these fun paper hydrangea bunnies in another Easter tablescape two years ago. They have such a fun and feminine quality that I really like. Something I like about these is that they are both cream and white which allows me to use them with either shade.

The buffet has plenty of space on it for food, but I wanted to dress it up just a little. On one end is my stone bunny, Barton. Barton last made an appearance in another Easter tablescape two years ago as well as on an Easter brunch buffet table last year. This year, Barton has switched up from the usual eggs on his tray in favor of pretty pink carnations surrounded by a bed of white waxflower. He’s sporting a pink Ombre ribbon tie that Ramon put on him like a proud Papa. 🙂 Nice knot, huh?

I want to wish you and your family the very best of this Easter week,
and may you be blessed always by the grace of God.

Tablescapes suitable for Easter breakfast, brunch, luncheon or dinner on this site:
“Easter Floral”
“Barton’s Easter Brunch”
“Easter Brunch”
“Pinky Peter Cottontail”
“Carousel Colors”
“The Bluebird Special”
“The Party She Deserves”
“Rolling Fields of Green”

I’m joining the following blog parties this week, and you’re invited along!
Marty’s “Tabletop Tuesday“
Cuisine Kathleen’s “Let’s Dish!“
Susan’s “Tablescape Thursday“
The Home Girl’s “Festive Friday Fiesta“

UPDATE: This post was featured as the most viewed entry for The Home Girl’s blog party!

Find this and other fun posts from my blog at BeBetsy.com!

Easter Floral – Purple, Pink & White

March 16, 2013August 16, 2014 / Alycia Nichols / 90 Comments

This is nuts! It’s St. Patrick’s Day already, and Easter Sunday is just 2 short weeks away!!! I really feel like we’re in a time crunch, so I’m just going to jump right to it!

Starting this week, I will begin each post with a photo of the inspiration for the tablescape. I hope this will help novice tablescapers to expand your creative thinking skills.

This week’s inspiration: a pack of cocktail napkins with purple & pink tulips that I spied at the grocery store!

Last week’s table was serene and subdued. This week’s is its polar opposite so get ready for an over-the-top color explosion, baby!!!
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I started with a full-length white tablecloth (LinenTablecloth.com) and topped it diagonally with a reversible Easter egg-colored striped cloth. I used this same topper on the flip side for an Easter buffet table last year. Rose-colored chargers from Michaels (picked up for the bargain price of just 49¢ each last year!) are the foundation of the place setting topped with a white Corelle dinner plate, a Bordallo Pinheiro green cabbage salad plate, and a Pier One white floral bowl. A pale green napkin from Bed, Bath & Beyond peeks out from beneath the plate. The stemware is the ever-familiar Dollar Tree green goblet paired with a beautiful purple number from T.J. Maxx. The flatware is International Silver “Danish Princess”, and each place setting is finished with a pink, purple or yellow sparkled egg in an white egg cup from World Market.

The centerpiece – a melange of figurines and florals – runs the entire length of the table.

I love these super feminine twin bunnies all dressed up in their Easter finery! I have named them Hilary and Henrietta. 🙂 I arranged their bunny ears to look as though they’re a bit wind-blown in the Spring breeze!

The main table floral is pulled together in a wire basket with woody green accents. Heads of cabbage are joined by a bunch of perky pink larger-than-life faux tulips set to give it an asymmetrical look. The basket is surrounded with pots of pink and purple African violets and white ceramic vases of tulips and hydrangea.

I’m back to my old dramatic tricks with these over-the-top floral arrangements on the buffet behind the dining table. Oversized pink tulips and cabbages spill from curvy white glass vases (T.J. Maxx) to create quite a stir!

This room is truly about florals!!! The seat of this child-sized chair has been replaced with a moss ball cut in half and topped with faux florals to mimic those on the dining table.

The tea cart holds a Ralph Lauren white ceramic cake stand with pierced edges I picked up at Tuesday Morning a few years back. The white tea pot is from Home Goods. Last, the whole inspiration for this tablescape: paper cocktail napkins with pink & purple tulips.

Another Ralph Lauren cake stand on the china cabinet holds glittered Easter eggs.

That’s one Easter tablescape down, one to go!
For more Easter inspiration on this site visit:
“Easter Brunch“
“Pinky Peter Cottontail“
“Barton’s Easter Brunch”
“Carousel Colors“

Before I get out of here, I’d like to say thank you to The Home Girl for featuring my tablescape, “The Party She Deserves”. It was the most-viewed entry for her blog party, Festive Friday Fiesta, last week. That sure put a smile on my face!

Come party with me this week at:
Cuisine Kathleen – Let’s Dish!
The Tablescaper – Seasonal Sunday
Between Naps on the Porch – Tablescape Thursday
A Humble Creation – A New Creation
The Home Girl – Festive Friday Fiesta

Check out this and other posts from this site on BeBetsy.com!

The Party She Deserves – Birthday Dinner for My Blog Friend, Vernice

March 4, 2013April 16, 2014 / Alycia Nichols / 79 Comments

When I first started blogging about 3 years ago, I had no idea I would make so many long-distance friends. I have such a good time getting to know you! Even though I’ve only met a couple of my blog friends in person, I have still developed deep, lasting friendships with several people. One of those people, Vernice, celebrated her 82nd birthday last week. (I don’t think she’ll mind my posting her age since she has it right there on her blog, We Three Dogs and Me.) Because Vernice and I live about 1300 miles apart and I have a profound fear of flying, I have never had the pleasure of seeing and embracing this lovely lady in the flesh. I hope to remedy that some day. Meanwhile, I want to honor Vernice in the best way I know how. This is the birthday dinner I would give to celebrate 82 wonderful years of my friend, Vernice…the party I would give if I just lived closer…because in my heart, she deserves it.
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I still think of 82 as being a spring chicken! I would want Vernice to enjoy being Queen for a Day in a room filled with light, spring-like colors that express the joy and optimism I see in her personality, her heart, and each tablescape she lovingly creates. And flowers…Vernice would be treated to LOTS of flowers!!!*

This table for 8 would work well for an upscale Spring birthday celebration, bridal shower, bridesmaids’ luncheon, and even a St. Patrick’s Day dinner party! Swap the apples out for eggs, and it could even work beautifully for Easter Sunday.

I chose to expose the bare wood of the table and use placemats, draped off the side. I used Granny Smith apple green and white houndstooth placemats and white poppy bowls from Pier 1, along with cotton napkins and B. Smith square dinner plates from Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Simple clear glassware and stemware keep the place settings from competing with the abundance of decor. I used many of these elements in another tablescape, Apple Green Luncheon, a couple of years ago. It never ceases to amaze me how the same basic elements can produce so many different looks!

The centerpiece is made up of many different elements including fresh white bird salt & pepper shakers purchased from Pier 1 several years ago. Vernice loves birds (and all animals…especially her dogs Peanut & Bambi, and her frisky new kitty cat) so I wanted to be sure to include them! A pair of white turned wood candlesticks from Z Gallerie are parked on each side of a Ralph Lauren reticulated white pedestal bowl piled high with apples. White roses spill from the same small bowls used at each place setting and white ceramic vases from Michaels. TIP #1: Using multiple heights of flowers on the table adds interest and color.

I wanted the dining table backdrop to be really dramatic, so I used a number of different white and clear floral vessels to achieve that look. Tall white ceramic cylinders overflowing with wispy white orchids, white reticulated vessels (these are actually candle holders, but you can simply slip in a clear glass vase to hold the water) filled with hydrangea, viburnum, roses, tulips and hypericum berries, and smaller containers with roses and hydrangea are scattered across the buffet. White wood candlesticks like those on the dining table create a bit of ambient light that bounces off the mirror behind. TIP #2: Using a mirror as a backdrop works wonders to double the depth, color, beauty and ambient light in your decor. TIP#3: Use a variety of flowers in the same shade for a textural bonanza!

Always a little something-something for the tea cart and top of the china cabinet.

To my dear, sweet Vernice…I love, admire, honor and respect you with all my heart. You are a strong, sensitive, brave and giving person with untold talents and a heart as big as 1000 lakes. Happy Birthday #82, and I wish you the best year ever!

Other posts on this site using green & white:
“Apple Green Luncheon”
“Upscale Irish”
“Moss & Manzanitas”
“Spring Has Sprung”
“Ready for My Close-Up, Mr. DeMille” (buffet)

I am sharing Vernice’s birthday celebration dinner with Jessica at A Humble Creation for her Monday Link Party, Marty’s “Tabletop Tuesday“, Cuisine Kathleen’s “Let’s Dish!” (Wednesday after 6:00 p.m. Central time), The Style Sisters for “Centerpiece Wednesday“, Yvonne at Stone Gable for “Tips, Tutorials & Tidbits”, Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for “Tablescape Thursday” (Thursday after 9:00 a.m. Central time), and a brand spankin’ new blog party, “Fiesta Friday”, over at The Home Girl! You can also see my work at BeBetsy.com!

*The florals used for this “fantasy table” are faux, but I recommend using fresh flowers for real dinner parties whenever your budget allows. There’s just nothing like ’em and you can give them away as favors to the guests as they leave!

Carousel Colors

March 27, 2012September 25, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 66 Comments

Easter is so close now. It just kind of snuck up on me!

This light & airy table, set up on our deck, would be perfect for an outdoor Easter breakfast or brunch. The happy melange of colors would work well for just about any casual Spring or Summer tablescape! It’s especially perfect to celebrate Liz’s (A Dish Here, A Glass There) March 24th birthday!!!
(Click on any photo to enlarge!)

A full-length white table linen is covered with two straw mat runners that extend across rather than a single one trailing the length of the dining table. The straw adds a textural element to the table while the pink cotton edging lends a tease of color.

I found these “Lyda” dolomite dishes with the wonderfully whimsical pattern at Pier 1 a couple of years ago. (I like to refer to them as my Alice in Wonderland dishes!) It truly was a battle of wills as I waited until they hit the clearance section at 75% off. I was so glad to be able to get enough for 8 place settings. When dishes have a range of colors like these, that’s my cue to mix and match accessories with abandon! (Note that the egg cups, vases, straw mats, and even the flowers pick up on the different colors.) The white ceramic chargers are from Old Time Pottery.

Pfaltzgraff “Legacy” stainless flatware is simple in shape and style so as to not compete with the wildly meandering pattern on the dishes.

These colorful egg cups came in a range of colors at Crate & Barrel. I bought them in citrus green, as pictured here, as well as bubble gum pink, luscious lavender and lemon yellow.

I am almost certain I bought this milky green stemware at Pier 1 about 15 years ago. (I had them in blue, too, and could just kick myself for selling them!) It’s fun and just a teensy bit decadent to sip your morning orange juice from a martini glass! (Although not as much fun as sipping your morning martini from an orange juice glass! 🙂 )

Three dollar clearance sale urns from K-Mart, spray-painted a brilliant sunshine yellow, are topped with mounded arborvitae and finished off with a dark wrought iron obelisk for height. (For an even more whimsical look, or for a May Day celebration, consider tying lengths of flowing ribbon to the top of the obelisks to gently flutter in the breeze.)

A colorful assortment of roses and hydrangea are assembled in various sizes of ceramic vases borrowed from our guest bedroom decor.

The beverage table is dressed in a poufy pink full-length cotton linen. The straw mat runner is trimmed in a seasonal green. Next to the table is my beloved wooden carousel horse, most often used around here for Kentucky Derby table settings. (Click HERE and scroll down to “Run For the Roses” to see the horse used for Derby Day. You can also click HERE to see him used on a Kentucky Derby buffet table!) The carousel colors on the dishes naturally made me think of him!

Pier 1’s “Lyda” teapot is great for serving any warm beverage. In hindsight, I should have bought more than one!

A repeat of the dining table florals is found playing peek-a-boo from a fanciful hatbox. Greenery vines lend more presence to the table.

I hope you’re just about ready for Easter! I still have eggs to dye and a coconut cake recipe to refine. From our house to yours, may you be blessed with a peaceful Easter weekend!

Other Easter tables on this site:
“Easter Brunch“
“Barton’s Easter Brunch“
“Pinky Peter Cottontail“

Please join me again this week for Tablescape Thursday! I guarantee my blogger buddies will have lots of great tablescapes to share with you!

Linked to BeBetsy.com!

Easter Brunch

March 7, 2012July 28, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 68 Comments

I taught my first class last night!!! It was nerve-wracking and exhilarating all at once! I’m pretty good at doing some things, but teaching those things to others doesn’t come easy for me. I tend to get a little tongue-tied and talk with my hands…a lot!!! Anyhooooo…nobody cried, died, or wound up on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List, so it must have gone okay! 😉 The ladies in this class are super sharp and eager to share as well as learn…the perfect combination!
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This first series of classes focuses on buffet tables specifically geared toward springtime events. The college granted permission for me to hold the classes in our home (which makes it so much easier and so much more comfortable for everyone!), and I constructed several tables throughout the main floor and lower level. I’ll share one in this post and the others in the coming weeks. This first one is a casual Easter buffet brunch that could be easily augmented depending on the number of guests you have to serve. If you’re lucky enough to have great weather around Easter time, consider setting something like this up outdoors!

I chose a floor-length ivory tablecloth topped with a gorgeous pastel-on-champagne silk topper that I made myself. Easter egg-colored floral vines wind their way up and down the fabric, lending a whimsical feel to what might otherwise be perceived as a bit staid. Paper lanterns in fuchsia, aqua and lime green – hung with homemade wire hooks on a length of fishing line – dance frivolously overhead, lending height, color and movement to the vignette.

Green cabbage leaf plates by Bordallo Pinheiro are tilted on end in a casual wire & chipwood basket for a fun presentation.

Hot pink flatware from TJ Maxx is displayed in a lime green floral container. Lime green cotton napkins from Bed Bath & Beyond are neatly stacked.

The morning sunlight casts shadows across rows of polka-dotted Easter eggs displayed in pastel egg cups from Crate & Barrel.

Serve scrambled egg dishes, oatmeal, or whatever you like from this soft yellow Pottery Barn soup tureen.

Dessert is served up on a vine-covered ceramic cake plateau from Hobby Lobby.

A variety of breakfast breads are presented in a linen napkin-lined wicker basket.

Another wicker basket lined with ceramic tiles serves up glasses of champagne. The pots of bright green grass on the table give us hope that our lawns will soon change from the crispy, drab brown they have been for so many months.

Getting your 5 daily servings of fresh fruits & veggies as recommended by the FDA is easy when they are displayed in pretty shabby chic wrought iron baskets like these. A vase of pouty pink hyacinth peeks out from behind.

Nattily dressed and at your service, Barton the Bunny lords over this brightly colored Easter brunch tablescape. (Click HERE to see a sit-down Easter brunch tablescape with Barton the Bunny front & center!)

More polka-dotted eggs fill Barton’s bowl while a trio of pink African violets surround his big bunny feet. Green cabbage bowls from Tuesday Morning are ready to serve up sauces or garnishes.

Yes, I know: it’s a class not a coffee klatch. But I still wanted to serve my students a little something-something to nosh on. A tiny buffet of real food including a homemade 7-layer dip, snack chips, lemon zest cupcakes, and icy cold beverages is set up on the breakfast bar.

So that’s Table #1 from Session #1 of “The Art of Tablescaping – Buffet Styling”. There were 3 other buffets set up around the house that you’ll see soon. Meanwhile, leave a comment below to weigh in on this one! 🙂

More Easter tables on this site:
“Barton’s Easter Brunch“
“Pinky Peter Cottontail“

Don’t forget to join me as I visit other tablescapers from around this great planet of ours on Tablescape Thursday! And this week, I’m also hooking up with the Style Sisters for Centerpiece Wednesday!
And a special note to my wonderful students:
Welcome aboard the Crazy Train, y’all!!! 😉

Barton’s Easter Brunch

April 26, 2011November 15, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 48 Comments

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
Here’s a glimpse of this year’s Easter brunch tablescape at the Nichols household.

Because I have a childish sense of humor, I just have to point out here how the Bells of Ireland in the background are unintentionally giving the bunny on the table “bunny ears!”

This year’s Easter table for adults featured fun, durable, microwave & dishwasher-safe multi-colored stoneware from Mikasa.

I bought these Mikasa dishes several years ago and just love all the Easter egg colors! Each place setting starts with the same Pier 1 placemat and white ceramic charger from Old Time Pottery. I then mixed and matched the entrée and salad plate colors, topped off with fun ceramic eggs purchased from Hallmark about 18 years ago. Celery green napkins from Bed, Bath & Beyond, simple stainless flatware, and unadorned champagne & juice glasses round out the place settings.

My very favorite feature of the day’s place settings: the eggs open to reveal a very adult treat inside to enjoy after the kids are all tuckered out!!!

This is Barton Bunny. I bought him as a prop several years ago when I owned my fine rentals store. He makes such a fun centerpiece and is always the life of the party. Maybe it’s because he’s “stoned” from eating the adult Easter treat! Get it? Stoned? Made out of stone? Get it? Whatever. Moving on….! 🙂

Potted flowers – bright yellow daffodils, deep purple violets, and cheery pink cyclamen – are from the local nursery. The moss table runner, purchased from a local florist, still had that distinctively woodsy, mossy smell I like so much. Barton and the butterflies felt right at home!

The buffet held a variety of breads and pastries among the flowers. Coffee was served in multi-hued Mikasa stoneware mugs nestled in a thematic chipwood basket filled with the obligatory pastel colored “grass.”

I hope you had a wonderful, colorful, blessed Easter weekend!
Thank you for stopping by!
I’ll be taking next week off as my husband and I celebrate 20 joyous years together on May 3, but I hope you will visit again the following week of May 9. Happy tablescaping!

Other posts featuring Easter tablescapes on this site include:
“Easter Brunch”
“Easter Floral”
“Informally Formal”
“Spring & Easter Around the House”
“Spring Into Easter”
“Easter In Pink & Grey”
“All A’Bloom In Pink for Spring”
“Easter Bloom”
“The Party She Deserves”
“Carousel Colors”
“Pinky Peter Cottontail“

I’m joining Susan and the talented tablescapers of Tablescape Thursday.
Join us, won’t you?

Pinky Peter Cottontail

April 11, 2011July 29, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 58 Comments

My best friend – a gal whose decorating style might best be described as eclectic – asked me to create a “simple” Easter brunch/luncheon tablescape. Simple, huh? You guys are killin’ me with the “simple” tables!!! I love to load a table up, make it groan under the weight of all the pretty eye candy. Why, oh why must I create a “simple” brunch tablescape??!?!?! It’s just not natural!!!

OK…I’m finished whining now. Without further ado, I present to you a “simple” Easter brunch/luncheon tablescape that, by the way, is pretty cost-effective to duplicate!

The simplicity of this Easter brunch tablescape starts with the repetition of a specific element: Easter bunnies.

I started with a soft pistachio “Spring Meadow” table linen from Bed, Bath & Beyond. It has an almost damask look about it which created a bit of formality without getting too stiff. Each place setting starts with a white ceramic charger, topped with a soft pink napkin to create a color buffer between the charger and the white Corelle entrée plate. The salad/dessert plate is Lenox “Butterfly Meadow – Swallowtail”. A white ceramic floral bowl that will be used for the inevitable fruit compote starter is from Pier 1.

I found these realistic faux chocolate bunnies at Hobby Lobby several years ago. Of course, the real thing will work just as well and serve as a perfect take-home treat for young and old alike.

This is the way it all stacks up.

Because I was tickled with the pink on the centerpiece bunnies, I wanted to play that color up as a predominant accent for this tablescape. This pink tinged stemware works beautifully and dutifully for serving juice and mimosas.

“Danish Princess” silverplate flatware is formal but approachable. A “simple” table doesn’t always have to mean wholly unadorned.

I bought these ceramic egg cups in several different pastel colors last year from Crate & Barrel. They are great for displaying colorful Easter eggs! Here I use eggs that are of the same color and have been decorated alike to add a bit of (repetitive) consistency around the table.

I found these adorable paper hydrangea Easter bunnies at Village Gardens in Blue Springs, MO. I love the pink in their tails and ears!

I created the hefty centerpiece using brilliant pink cyclamen, sinewy Vinca vine, and fun spikes that will later be planted in my flower garden. The flowers, all still in their nursery pots, are nestled into a metal basket and covered with Spanish moss to hide the mechanics. I like the mix of textures and shapes. The flowers in the centerpiece coordinate with those on the buffet.

While the soft pink geraniums (tucked into another green metal basket) and frosty white kalanchoe are not the same flowers used on the table, they readily complement them. Elements that “complement” trump those that strictly “match” any day of the week in my decorating book! Get double use out of these flowers by planting the geraniums in beds or pots outdoors for summer long color. The kalanchoe – available in red, pink, yellow or white – are colorful, highly textural, easy care indoor succulents.

These cute ceramic characters extend the bunny theme from the table to the buffet.

Creamy white pitchers for serving mimosas and juice are tied in with the table bunnies’ pink bows. This ombre ribbon, edged in white, has hues ranging from the deepest pink in the cyclamen to the softest in the napkins. Ribbon is an inexpensive way to extend a color scheme, especially for an Easter table.

So there you have it! A “simple” spring tablescape for an Easter brunch or luncheon that can be easily mimicked with items you may already have at home. As for you, sweet Sheri, you can always borrow it all if you want!

I’m joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch again this week!
Check out what a bunch of talented ladies & gentlemen are up to in the world of tablescaping!