Tablescape Thursday

ZEBRA WITH A TWIST!

Here is a table setting I did a couple of years ago for a local kitchen tour. I was asked to stage the homeowner's dining room, which was empty except for the rug, table and six parson's chairs.

I brought in the French arm chairs and Italian side table. While I loved the existing taupe walls and pure white trim, I felt the room needed a punch of COLOR, so I added needlepoint pillows and a lime-green raw silk throw to my own taupe burlap upholstered chairs, lime green pillar candles in tall white ceramic candle holders from Vietri, decoupage plates and artwork to the room.

The zebra patterned dishes are from The Mane Lion, hand-crafted and painted ceramics from Italy. All pieces come in either raspberry or lime, but I decided to mix them. (They also now come in mocha.) I particularly love the square shapes of all of the different pieces. The melon shaped candle holders are mercury glass. The pink handled serving pieces are Via Veneto pattern, from Modigliani in Italy.

The adorable turtle and lotus chip and dip server is also from The Mane Lion. French napkins and tablecloth are from Garnier-Thiebaut. The pearl handled flatware is French.

The light green ceramic tavern pitcher is from Vietri.

All flower arrangements were done in old milk glass compotes.

To lighten the very dark brick wall of the hearth in the background, I featured a large bright painting by my husband, Jack Dickerson, on the mantle. This seemed a natural since the stripes in the parrot tulip echoed the zebra stripes of the dinnerware.

The green bubbled tulip glasses and pitcher are from Biot, France. The clear bubble stems are Italian, from Vietri.

A close-up of Jack's tulip painting.

An Italian side table, hand painted with faux marbre top, holds a collection of decoupage dishes by John Derian and Ben's Garden. Notice the fiddlehead ferns in the floral arrangement. (I'm so sorry I don't remember the name of the florist who did these.)

Bon Appetit!

To view tablescapes by other bloggers, every Thursday, visit Between Naps On The Porch, where they are all linked in. Enjoy!

                                                                   

Tablescape Thursday

A COLORFUL GARDEN TABLE

I didn't have time, this week, to set a new table to photograph, so here are a few pictures from a South Shore Magazine feature on a spring luncheon in my old garden, published back in 2005. (All photos, except the top one, are by Jay Elliott.) 

An overview of the table shows the complementary colors I used - aqua blues and tangerine oranges. Theses colors set against each other, seem to vibrate, creating a visual tension that is at once soothing and exciting. This top photo, which I took later, shows the addition of candles in hurricanes from Pier 1 Imports, as well as two sets of silver salt & pepper shakers - one birds, the other bunnies, from my collection.

Stemmed aqua blue glasses, the smaller with white wine and the larger with water and thin organic lemon slices, were hand blown in Biot, France. The multi-colored plates and bowls are lacquered wood and the big turquoise water pitcher is Mexican. I tied the flatware and napkins with a spotted ribbon I had in my ribbon stash. The flatware is from an antique set of fish knives and forks - silver with ivory handles. I'm sorry I don't have a close-up of these, but if you click on the top picture, it should open up large and you can see the pretty decorative

etching on the knife blade.

A handwoven throw with fringe, made of gorgeous aqua colored raw silk from JAB fabrics, that I had made that spring, served as an overlay on top of a white cotton cloth. The runner placed diagonally over that, was made from a zippy cotton floral print by Osborne & Little.

I used Ranier cherries, nectarines and oranges for the food. Nasturtiums from my kitchen garden (yes, they are edible) presented a casual summer bouquet, in a simple aqua glass.

Bon Appetit!

To view tablescapes by other bloggers, every Thursday, visit Between Naps On The Porch, where they are all linked in. Enjoy!

                                                                   

Tablescape Thursday

A TUSCAN GARDEN LUNCHEON

This antique Italian wrought iron table with weathered carrera marble top has been set with tableware from various European countries.

My favorite mouth blown bubble glasses from Biot, France. I have been to this glass blowing shop on the Cote d'Azur, several times, and am always enchanted by the quality of the bubbled glass and the warm colors the artisans achieve.

Our little cream cow, which we brought back from our honeymoon in Portugal.

Venetian mouth blown glass cruets for oil and vinegar are just the most gorgeous cobalt blue - especially with the sun shining through them. (Just look at the beautiful blue shadows they cast!) These came with the terra cotta colored glass stoppers, and I think they go so well with my Italian dishes, as they combine the two colors.

French salt and spice dishes from Emile Henry.

Hand painted Italian soup/pasta bowls, which we special ordered in San Gimignano, a charming and amazing "city" in Tuscany. Months later, just when we had forgotten all about them, a package arrived with eight different bowls - each one is completely unique and intricate. The pearl handled flatware is French.

The hydrangeas and black-eyed Susans from my garden are arranged in a pot which we found in Provence. I love the drippy quality of the darker glaze over the ochre yellow.

The soup tureen (below) and water pitcher (above) are both from Tuscany, and imported to North America by Abbiamo Tutto.

This cute little double leaf server, with faux twig handle, is Portuguese. 

Bon Appetit!

To view tablescapes by other bloggers, every Thursday, visit Between Naps On The Porch, where they are all linked in. Enjoy!