Spring & Easter Around the House

Just sharing a few pics of Spring and Easter decor on the main floor of our home. I didn’t do a lot this year as I saved most of my energy to create the dining room tablescape. There’s just enough to let us know Winter is over and Spring is here for to stay awhile.

 

Easter bunny in wood lantern lavished with greenery & flowers

 

Foyer bunny collage

In the foyer by the front door is a wood stand upon which this weathered green hurricane lantern currently resides. I dressed the lantern with a variety of greenery, flowers, and bendable twig. Standing in the thicket is a scholarly-looking bunny once used in a tablescape 3 years ago called Easter in Pink & Grey.

 

Spring vignette on ivory wrought iron tiered stand. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

 

Bluebird in nest on tiered stand. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

Just around the corner in the dining room window is an ivory wrought iron 2-tiered stand with a bird permanently perched on top. (I used it for a Springtime buffet tablescape, “Taste of Wine Buffet“, when teaching a class back in 2012. I moved a vigorously-growing pothos from another room onto the top tier. The bottom tier has a Pottery Barn weathered wood chunky candlestick with a bluebird from Home Finishings that honors my brother’s memory resting in a nest. I put him somewhere each Spring to commemorate his passing in 1999. (His trucking handle was Bluebird. See that tablescape from 2013, “The Bluebird Special“.)

 

Foyer table for Spring/Easter. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

 

Weathered books and birch logs under glass cloche; wooden Easter bunny

Our foyer is narrow, so a small table there holds just a few things including a lamp and a clock. For the season I added a faux boxwood wreath on a stand (Home Finishings), a cute wooden bunny from Hobby Lobby, and a collection of weathered books and birch logs (Home Finishings) under a glass cloche.

 

Wooden bunny in nest of Spanish moss under glass cloche. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

 

Wooden bunny under glass cloche with Spanish moss nest. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

Just a little touch in the library on a side table: another glass cloche with a wooden bunny tending a Spanish moss nest with a singular speckled egg.

 

Living room bookshelves. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

 

White pierced ginger jar on stack of books with airy wreath at the base. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

The family room is slowly transitioning from Winter to Spring with white accessories and a few touches of greenery including these light and airy wreaths from Home Finishings. This is a great way to lighten, brighten, and freshen up existing accessories. (Ginger jar from Burlington, pierced jardiniere from Hobby Lobby, artichoke from Z Gallerie.)

 

Desk area in kitchen dressed up for Spring. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

 

Desk area shelf dressed for Spring. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

 

White bunnies with black & white gingham check neck bows in front of black & white transferware. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

The desk area in our kitchen went largely unused for the first 10 years or so after moving in. I have an office, so I never used this as a desk. I have since artfully arranged dishes in the glass front cupboards overhead and added decorative dishes to the shelf and desktop. For the Easter season, white bunnies get black & white gingham check neckties. (The black and white transferware is from TJ Maxx some years back and was featured in my posts “Black, White & Red All Over” in 2010 and “Wondrous Wheat!” in 2011). The black & white buffalo check dishes were purchased this past Christmas season at Home Goods, and I LOVE them!!! The small decorative wreath is from Michael’s this season.)

 

Breakfast nook. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

 

Breakfast nook dressed for Easter. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

 

3-tier galvanized stand outfitted for Easter with nests, bunnies, faux artichokes, grass & hyacinth. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

 

3-tier galvanized stand outfitted for Easter (back view) with faux hyacinth, cabbages and carrots, bunnies and birdhouse. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

 

Tiered stand on kitchen table collage. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

Our breakfast nook has a lot going on! I always enjoy decorating the 3-tiered galvanized stand that I bought a couple of years ago at Sam’s Club for just $19.99. (I have seen them again this year at that price, but only in colors.) At any rate, I enjoyed bring Spring to the breakfast nook by adding a few bunnies, those popular white bird salt & pepper shakers from Pier 1 perched atop a homemade nest, some faux greenery and veggies, a small wood bird nest, and a bowl of speckled eggs with feathers.

 

Side table dressed for Easter in breakfast nook. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

 

Bunny with nest collage. www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com

The side table in the breakfast nook holds a collection of white pitchers on the bottom shelf. For Easter I brought out a white bunny rabbit I found on clearance at TJ Maxx. A black & white gingham check bow tie and a basket filled with moss and eggs makes him look a bit fancier. Another bit of greenery from Home Finishings is tucked in behind him to add texture and separate the sea of white on the table. The whitewashed galvanized pitcher (used also as part of the centerpiece for my piece, “Spring Green” back in April of 2014) overflows with purple hyacinth. The faux cabbage in the clay pot is from Michael’s, and the oversized white tray in the backdrop (as are most of the pitchers on the lower shelf) is from Home Goods.

 

Stone bunny with glass cloche.

The big stone bunny finds his way all around the house throughout the year. He’s sort of a mascot! For the Easter season I have him on the breakfast bar holding a glass cloche over a nest of twigs and moss with a butterfly. He, too, has a snappy black & white checked bow tie as well as a cascading strand of wispy greenery from Home Finishings. My friends Liz (from over at Sit With Me In My Garden), Johanne (from French Gardener Dishes), and Athena (from Minerva’s Garden) will be relieved to see I’ve not (yet!) killed the orchid a sweet young friend and mentee, MacKenzie, at Pinpoint Event Planning gave me a few months ago.

I no longer have a comment section, but if you have questions about where to buy featured items or how I put something together, please email me at table21tablescapes@gmail.com.

I hope you enjoyed the Easter Home tour! If you’ve not yet seen it, please pop over to see the Easter tablescape in the dining room. Meanwhile, I wish you and your family a very blessed Easter week.

Over the River & Through the Woods – A Transitional Table For Thanksgiving Into Christmas

I conducted a Christmas-themed workshop in early November that forced us to drag out all of the Christmas bins WAY before their natural time. There was no way in the world we were going to put it all back for a couple of weeks, so we started Christmas decorating in time for the dinner we hosted on Thanksgiving Day. This called for a “transitional table” to avoid too much of a clash between the two and still enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas as separate holidays. I did the best I could. Maybe you can glean some ideas for future use!
(Click on any photo, then click again to enhance/enlarge it.)

Our home was already decorated for Christmas before the Thanksgiving Day dinner we hosted, so we took the opportunity to take a Christmas pic in front of the tree!
INSPIRATION: Our home was already decorated for Christmas before the Thanksgiving Day dinner we hosted, so we took the opportunity to take a Christmas pic in front of the tree with our Santa hats and antlers! My son is so tall you can barely see the tree back there! (I’m bent over with searing pain in my back and leg, but I was lovin’ my PINK Santa hat!)
Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Over the River & Through the Woods – Transitional Tablescape for Thanksgiving when you've already decorated for Christmas: Full table
Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Over the River & Through the Woods – Transitional Tablescape: Multiple place settings with wood slice chargers
Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Over the River & Through the Woods – Transitional Tablescape: Single place setting with wood slice charger, brown & ivory transferware dinner plate
Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Over the River & Through the Woods – Transitional Tablescape: Brown & ivory transferware dinner plate depicting woodsy/barnyard theme with peacock, pheasant and other game birds
Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Over the River & Through the Woods – Transitional Tablescape: Brown & ivory transferware plate with peacock & pheasant design

We set the table into a “square” using 2-6ft. rectangular tables kissed side-by-side. Each was individually dressed in a full-length (90″ x 132″ linen for a 30″ x 72″ table) ivory tablecloth from LinenTablecloth.com to disguise the unsightly legs of the folding tables. Each place setting was simple and in keeping with my woodsy/timberland/rustic theme with a wood slice charger. I used my brown and ivory Alex Piefer Peacock transferware dishes that look so nice at Thanksgiving and were in step with the pheasants and pheasant feathers used throughout the house in the Christmas decorating. (According to a Google source, these dishes were manufactured by the Johnson Brothers in Britain, discontinued in 2003.) I decided on gold-tone flatware to add a bit of glitz to the table.

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Over the River & Through the Woods – Transitional Tablescape: Whole centerpiece using birch bark-covered vases, resin reindeer, pumpkins, acorns, pine cones, whole spices, florals
Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Over the River & Through the Woods – Transitional Tablescape: Resin reindeer front & back views, double runner, acorns, pumpkins & pine cones collage
Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Over the River & Through the Woods – Transitional Tablescape: birch bark-wrapped cylinder
Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Over the River & Through the Woods – Transitional Tablescape: Birch planter, florals collage
Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Over the River & Through the Woods – Transitional Tablescape: Pumpkin and acorn salt & pepper shakers, gold mercury glass votives with pheasant feathers collage
Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Over the River & Through the Woods – Transitional Tablescape: Acorns, star anise, buckeyes and cinnamon sticks in bark-wrapped cylinders collage

The centerpiece is what I think turned out to be a successful marriage of Thanksgiving and Christmas: not too much of one or the other. The ivory tablecloths are covered down the center (to mask the line where they meet) with a triple layer of burlap fabric starting with the traditional wheat color topped with red from LinenTablecloth.com and then finished off with a length of Hobby Lobby burlap ribbon that is tied in a love knot on each end. (The Christmas tree in this room also has burlap ribbon tied off in love knots!) I LOVE that red LTC burlap, too! It really keeps its shape and lays down nice and flat! By tripling the runner fabrics, the table is afforded an extra warm and cozy look. TIP: I have also discovered that burlap is very easy to iron. Just spritz with a little water and go for it!

The centerpiece is a mix of white pumpkins, pine cones and acorns casually strewn about. A jumble of fresh, bright red poinsettia blooms, Dusty Miller from our own yard, and snippets of Christmas greenery are stuffed into two rectangular zinc-lined birch planters (with water tubes inside) that are placed zigzagged on the table. In front of each planter is a resting resin reindeer from Tuesday Morning. Birch-wrapped cylinders are filled with acorns, star anise, buckeyes, and cinnamon sticks and placed on the four corners. (Click HERE to see these spice-filled planters used on a recent demo table.) The centerpiece is finished off with gold mercury glass votives and a smattering of pheasant feathers to mimic the design on the dinner plates and the Christmas tree topper. Last, acorn (Pier 1) and pumpkin (Pottery Barn) salt & pepper shakers.

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Over the River & Through the Woods – Transitional Tablescape: Banquet chairs dressed in LinenTablecloth.com stretch ivory chair covers and burlap sashes
Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, ”Over the River & Through the Woods – Transitional Tablescape: Stretch banquet chair cover with burlap sash, pillow collage

Our banquet chairs were dressed in LinenTablecloth.com ivory stretch chair covers. I made the sashes from natural-colored burlap ribbon from Hobby Lobby. I have discovered that situating the sash down low on the chair helps with a more uniform look and keeps them from going all wonky when guests lean back. (Wonky? Really? My parents paid out all that college tuition for THAT??!??!! 🙂 )

If you missed our 2014 Christmas Home Tour, just click HERE to see how it all tied in with this tablescape!

This is my final post of 2014. I want to wish each and every one of you a blissful, blessed, and safe Christmas and New Year. I appreciate and look forward to your visits and comments each week, and I hope to hear from you again in 2015.
Merry Christmas, and be good to one another.

Other Christmas tablescapes on this site that offer some neat ideas:

Cardinal Christmas
Christmas in the Woods
Tartan on the Tee
Confectionery Christmas
Christmas Progressive Dinner

Black, White & Red All Over
Frosty the Snowman
Checkered Christmas
March of the Penguins
Woodland Men’s Tablescape
Contemporary Christmas – Fire & Ice
Pink & Purple Chocolate Christmas
Black Friday Luncheon Tablescape
Winter Dinner
Christmas Through the Red Door
Sugar High
Celebrate the Season
Roman Holiday
Winter Cardinal
Merry & Bright
Kaleidoscope Christmas
Cranberry Christmas
Cranberry Christmas – Squared
Get Me to The Church On Time
Noel Progressive Dinner
Christmas Fiesta
Warm Metal Christmas
Christmas Coffee
Winter Brunch
White Hot
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Progressive Dinner
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!
Tuscan Holiday

And if you’re looking for ideas to ring in the New Year with style:
Life is a Cabaret
Platinum New Year’s Eve
Ringing In the New Year

Hooray For Vodka!
White Hot

Linking up with:
Susan’s “Tablescape Thursday” at Between Naps on the Porch (Christmas Day)
Christine’s “Table It!” at Rustic & Refined (starting Sunday night)