Home Finishings

For the first time in two years my health is such that I could actually create an Easter tablescape to share with family and friends. This is a “souped up” version of what it will be using lots of greenery, wreaths and other accessories I bought at one of my favorite home accessories boutiques, Home Finishings, in Lee’s Summit, MO, where we live. (My buddy, Mary Beth, owns Home Finishings, and if you want to get lots of fabulous ideas for free, Like the Home Finishings Facebook page.) I was inspired this year by the remarkable vignettes Mary Beth created in her most recent Spring home tour (you can see those photos on her Facebook page or soon to come on the Home Finishings website) where each room was dressed to the nines!

There is no scarcity of design elements on this table, that’s for sure! I appreciate the abundance that allows a little something for everyone. Remember, though, this is an “enhanced” or fantasy version of what is actually workable for guests to dine. You can edit, edit, edit at will!

Place settings such as these are obviously a part of the “fantasy” of the table; but if you want to impress your guests upon their arrival, leave it as is and then remove the wreaths with nests just before guests sit down to the first course. The lacy white doily-like metal chargers are from Michael’s and can be used throughout most of the year. (I’ve seen this same charger in a pastel pink at Michael’s this season!) They are topped with a small grapevine wreath filled with Spanish moss, enhanced with sprigs of forsythia, and crowned with a tiny moss nest from Home Finishings. I added the eggs and a couple of feathers for further effect.

Bird Song by Park Designs dish towel design

“Bird Song” by Park Designs fabric swatch

A plain white cotton napkin complements the white charger. The flatware is from Target. Notice the bit of fabric at the edge of the centerpiece beyond the place setting? That’s a “Bird Song” cotton dish towel by Park Designs that I received as a bonus with purchase after the last Home Finishings in-store event. The birds and twigs on it complement those on the table and around the room. So…there’s an idea for what to do with those pretty towels that don’t soak up much water in the kitchen: make ’em a part of your table design!

I chose melon green glassware with a raised pattern from Pier One to work with all the greenery on the table. White egg cups from World Market hold speckled eggs.

At each place setting is a tiny yellow ceramic chick.

The lush centerpiece is largely centered on a wicker basket for easy removal. The birdcage is filled with candles and a small gazing ball. It is wrapped in a generous length of bendable “twig” that cascades from the top and disappears into the greenery. The stone bunny holds a basket of flowers adorned with butterflies. The entire arrangement is surrounded with greenery bunches – most purchased at Home Finishings – that spill out over the basket onto the table.

A length of moss runner anchors the entire centerpiece. On each end I placed an evergreen topiary flanked by gazing balls that add something reflective to the vignette. The addition of the topiaries was part of the inspiration gleaned from Mary Beth’s luxurious creation in her own dining room.

I carried the yellow of the forsythia and baby chicks from the table over to the buffet.

The tea/bar cart in the dining room corner is dressed up a bit for Spring and Easter with adorable wood bunnies from Hobby Lobby. For a bit more Springtime effect I added wreaths with speckled eggs in nests to the tiered server.

Additional Easter tablescapes or
tablescapes adaptable to Easter on this blog:

Easter In Pink & Grey
Easter Floral – Purple, Pink & White
Easter Bloom
Barton’s Easter Brunch
Building a Better Brunch Buffet
All A’Bloom in Pink for Spring
The Bluebird Special
The Party She Deserves
Spring Green
Purple for Spring
Going Green for Spring
Spring Has Sprung

Note: With this new design, I no longer have a Comments section. If you have questions, please feel free to drop me an email. The address is on the sidebar.

Happy Spring, and best wishes for a safe and blessed Easter!

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.