Happy Valentine's Day

A romantic dinner for two.

One setting for Madame...

...the other for Monsieur.

We'll be celebrating Valentine's Day in style!

What are your Valentine plans?

Tablescape Details

When it comes to designing a tablescape, it's the details that matter.

I like to think it's like designing a room.  

Just like starting with a rug for a room, the tablecloth or placemat is my foundation and starting point for a table, like the burlap placemat above.  

Texture is the key here--the burlap is rough and textural, as is the wicker placemat and majolica plate.

More majolica for the knife rest and the silver flatware is mix-match.

The inspiration for this tablesetting came from a room in an English country cottage that featured a riot of different patterns and floral chintzes that all lived cohesively together.

This placesetting features the same wicker charger, but mixing colorful patterns is the key here.

Green and yellow pottery, layered with brown transferware, followed by a vintage leaf majolica salad plate.

French mini-print Provençal tablecloth and napkin adds even more pattern.

If this placesetting was inspired by a room, it would be a Swedish country room with lace curtains at the window, pine furniture and white linen slipcovers.

The key element here is the lighter, cream color featured in the placemat, charger and light floral plate.  Of course, the mini white pumpkin adds the final touch.

This setting was not inspired by a room, but rather mother nature.

I love brown and green together, and this placesetting picks up on those colors with the brown floral napkins, echoed by the oak leaves and acorn edged plate.  A green majolica plate brings in the green and bamboo flatware complete the natural, woodsy setting.

Layering is the key here.  I love seeing how many plates I can layer on a placesetting.

This one starts with a brown leather charger, followed by an amethyst colored majolica charger and finally two layers of purple transferware--a dinner plate and soup bowl.

I love how there is a purple stripe on the burlap placemat!

Out of site is a brown and purple floral napkin.

All of these dishes would be wonderful choices for Thanksgiving or a harvest dinner for fall.

I am gearing up for my Thanksgiving table, so revisiting these tablesettings from the past gets me so excited to play with my dishes once again!

Linking to Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life.
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style.

Lighten Up And Declutter

 Do you ever feel like you have too much stuff? 

I do and have finally made a commitment to deal with it.

Last week I began the process of decluttering my house and life!

Down came the majolica plates and half of the oil paintings that I've collected over the years.

I took down the plates and the Dijon colored paint.

Tommy the Painter thinks I've flipped my lid! 

 He painted the walls Dijon over ten years ago and can't wrap his mind around my plan.  I told him to think of it as going from Dijon to Mayonnaise!

The result is a cleaner, uncluttered look.

Now I'm questioning this light fixture. 

It certainly was love at first sight but that love affair is over.

I'm looking for something less......foo foo!

 The Dijon color was at its best around the mantel as it gave a warm, cozy feel to the room.

But not so much next to the green cabinets. 

Here's the cleaned up mantel in its preliminary staging.

I like how important the black mantel looks now, much crisper and cleaner.

Lightened up and decluttered.

Stay tuned for more before and after of the kitchen as it goes from Dijon to Mayonnaise!

Treasure Hunting Across the Bay

My friend Lisa has been telling me about an antique store on her side of the Bay that has more majolica than I could ever imagine! So, last week, I drove across the bridge and met her for lunch and treasure hunting.

The lovely Terri, treasure hunter extraordinaire from La Dolfina also joined us for lunch. Two bloggers and a designer together! Needless to say, we had a lot to talk about!

After lunch, they were both excited to show me Friendship Farm Antiques. Sure enough, this store has a ton of majolica. I was in heaven!

They sell transferware too. I should have bought this Masons Vista pitcher!

All three of us walked out empty handed. No worries though, Terri knows all the best consignment and thrift stores, so off we went!

I lucked out at the cutest little cottage, turned thrift store when I spotted this ironstone butter tub. $4 please!

Also, this bee skep for $8! After I finish my planting project on the side porch, it will fit right in!

My "big ticket item" though is this faux bamboo etagere. Only $125! The tops of the shelves have been painted black, so that's probably why it wasn't more. However, I like it that way.

Now, where to put it. Certainly not in this bathroom!

It was such a fun day! What could be more fun--friends, antiques and lunch!

An Autumn Tablescape

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." ~George Elliot

Autumn is most definitely my favorite time of the year!

So, I decided to create a fall tablescape with these grape leaf dinner plates as my inspiration. They were a recent find on Ebay.

I already had the salad plates which I layered over the dinner plates. Wicker chargers are a nice and rustic foundation.

Burlap placemats keep everything earthy and natural.

The goblets are my favorite, with their three colors of green, purple and amber.

I've been waiting a long time to use these vintage French Barbotine knife rests. This one is a red pepper, and there is also a celery, an eggplant and a radish!

Taking center stage, the centerpiece is a large wooden tray with gathered pumpkins, gourds, apples, grapes, leaves, pinecones and moss.

A large heirloom pumpkin sits on an antique majolica compote...

...and candles are elevated on vintage chalkware candleholders.

I think I'll leave this table setting for a while, just in case we decide to have an impromptu dinner party!

I'm thinking a nice pork tenderloin, butternut squash soup, savory bread pudding with chanterelle mushrooms and a lovely aged cabernet sauvignon would be perfect with this table setting!

Ahhh, delicious autumn!

Of course, I'm joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for her Tablescape Thursday party! It's been a while since I joined her party and I'm excited to see all the table settings there. I imagine there will be lots of fall decor and inspiration, so check it out!

I will also join Artie for Vignette Fridays at Color Outside The Lines.

Resources:

Burlap placemats: Francis Ford Coppola Winery

Wicker chargers: Marshalls

Dinner plates: Ebay

Salad plates: Sur la Table

Goblets: TJ Maxx

Napkins: Pottery Barn

Wooden tray: Gift from Maureen

Compote: antique majolica

Candleholders: antique chalkware

Wheat stalks: Ross

Flatware: vintage silverplate

French Barbotine knife rests: vintage, The Antique Diva

My Favorite Majolica Plate

I absolutely love this piece of majolica! It is a somewhat rare Victorian Majolica Etruscan piece depicting an Old English Sheepdog with his house and bowl. I think he looks like my Dexter!

I don't mind having this reproduction majolica vase sharing the table with the antique majolica plate for my table top vignette. The shell frame fits in nicely too! It's all good!

I'm joining Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday. Be sure to visit for more table top display inspiration.

Christmas Eve Morning

The table is set for tomorrow's Christmas Dinner. There will be 14 of us this year and trying to fit everyone was a challenge. I decided to forego the Christmas plates and use my transferware instead, varying the green and red.

My Welsh cupboard looking very Christmasy with the Mason's Vista, majolica and Paperwhites

The morning light is so beautiful that I decided a take a few more pictures around the house. My sunroom with the view of the redwood outside.

Pinecone urn in the entry. I'm hoping the poinsettias last one more day!

The Christmas tree in the entry.

The mini Christmas tree on the family room credenza decorated with family photographs.

In the living room, behind the sofa is this victorian urn, inherited from my mother-in-law, filled with paperwhites.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the best for a healthy, happy 2010.