3 Ways to Set Your Table for Spring

This past weekend on my Instastories, I shared 3 Different Ways to Set your Dining Table for Spring.

I got some great feedback on the post and was glad to see people loving the idea.  So I figured I would do a little recap here as well.  I really wanted to create 3 very different styles since my followers are very diverse.  So I set about envisioning 3 different scenarios:  An everyday natural table, a bright and colorful girly table and a more formal Easter table Setting.

Setting #1:  Everyday Natural

For this place setting, I wanted to do something really natural that would work for everyday.  Or at least every day at MY house.  It’s not too fussy, with some nice natural texture and simple dinnerware and glasses.  Even the centrepiece is as natural as you can get:  leafy branches!

I left the table free of any tablecloth or runner and really let the wood grain of my table take center-stage here.  For some addition texture, I picked up these">https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/40082536/">these woven chargers

and they were the perfect base for simple, unadorned dinnerware.  The place setting is Royal Doulton “Just White” and while it doesn’t look like it’s in stock anymore, I’m going to track down a couple more pieces as I have a chip and a missing side plate.  Any simple, white set with little to no detailing would work fine.

I layered a white linen napkin between the salad and dinner plate and while I got mine at HomeSense you can find these anywhere (but HomeSense prices are great!) The gold flatware is another HomeSense find as well.   Many retailers are carrying different versions of these at many different price points. 

The water glasses I’ve had forever and they are my favorite.  I believe my parents purchased them for me when I first moved out years and years ago, and I have been looking for another set of the same since.  The weight on these is perfect and the full set had 4 different sized glasses.  If I can find them again ever, I will share.  They have a simple ribbed- look detail on them.  

The centrepiece is a simple large clear glass vase with rope knotted around it and has a Coastal/Nautical vibe.  It is also old from Home Sense.  (Are you seeing a theme here? )   

Setting #2:  Whimsical Floral

For this next tablescape I knew I wanted to use these pretty Martha Stewart plates with a pink and green floral design.  They are VERY OLD (I was maybe 16 when I asked for them) and just scream Spring to me.  So I decided to play on the pink theme and just go all out.  I had the fun ribbed placemats from Ikea like 20 years ago.  The pink cotton napkins are probably just as old and from Jysk .  They’re another inexpensive place to look for home decor pieces. I apparently forgot to add glasses here and used the same flatware.

  

The base was set with a Damask Stripe Table cloth in white.  Mine is probably HomeSense but every home store carries a similar version of this.  I spotted these pink Gerbera daisies while out grocery shopping and they looked great in a simple Mason jar.  Tip:  We love Classico pasta sauce and save all our jars to reuse. 

The fun leaf-shaped platter and side plates are discontinued and were Princess House, which is not available in Canada any lingers. But I would suggest looking at Home a Sense and Pier 1 for similar pieces.   I added in some white ceramic birds I’ve gotten as gifts throughout the years (Michaels is great for this).  The owl salt & pepper shakers were from Target (also long departed from Canada) 

I think it’s fun and super cute! 

Setting #3:  Elegant Easter 

This tablescape was actually modelled after one I did a few years ago.  I found this beautiful paisley tablecloth and napkins many year ago at...... (take a guess...) and it’s held up wonderfully.   It’s a very busy pattern so I wanted to use rather simple cream dishes, but still something more formal than the white ones I used previously.  So I went for these cream Princess House Pavillion plates.  I like the combination of the scalloped dinner plate with the square side plate.  I also put out the matching mini butter dish and salt & pepper shaker.    The cut crystal glasses are Princess House as well.

I kept with the same gold flatware as I did in the other two settings, which I think work well here since they look super elegant with the paisley tablecloth. 

Of course, one of the cutest details is the sweet vintage looking bunny napkin ring.  I got them a couple years ago from Home Outfitters but I am sure you could find something similar at HomeSense or Pier 1.

For my centerpiece, I simply pillaged stuff from around my house:  various mercury glass candlestick holders from Ikea, a sweet blue bird and painted birdhouse from Dollarama, and lastly a clear rectangular vase full of cream mini Gerbera daisies.

I feel like I covered a good variety of styles and events.  I did not buy anything new for these, I just used stuff from around my house.  I wanted to show that it's easy to put together a cute/elegant, festive table on a budget.

Hopefully I've managed to inspire you.  Let me know which looks is your favorite.

Bee & Willow Home

Guys, have you seen the new  Bee & Willow Home collection at Bed Bath & Beyond?   I happened to be in the store a couple weeks ago looking for drapes and happened to notice this beautiful new linen.

Full of vintage looking, slightly rustic farmhouse-esque pieces, I pretty much wanted to pick up one of everything, even stuff not in the colours I use in my home. Full of rustic white, cream, greys and soft blues, the palette is subdued and looks like your favorite linens that have been washed 100 times for optimal softness.   The furniture has a farmhouse vibe- a mix of worn wooden finishes, iron finishes.  Exactly what you’d find in a farmhouse in the South of France!

With linens, home decor items, dishes, rugs. Drapery, candles and furniture, it’s all a dream!  I found it fairly well-priced, with the furniture being a little on the high-end.  I’d have to see the pieces in person though to see if the quality warrants the prices as I didn’t see any furniture in my store, just online. Here are a few of my favorite pieces:

What’s Next? Where I’ve Been

Wow! It’s been almost two years since I stepped away from this title old blog of mine.  What started out as something to do at a job that had no work me, and a way to chronicle the DIY projects my ex and I had planned after purchasing our first home, became a source of sadness for me.  I started blogging long before Blogs were ever even popular or a “thing”.  I had several even before this one.  

Then something happened and things took off with the blogging world and I felt I couldn’t compete with the hundreds of gorgeously designed blogs full of beautiful photography and brand partnerships, etc.  I was just a single gal with her dog, working her ass of at 2-3 jobs, trying to get by while still be creative and inspiring to not only others but herself.  My blog was super basic, with a modified free template.  I had no formal training on site design or coding or really anything required and had really just been winging it.  I didn’t have the money to commit to one or getting a photographer or anyone to help me.  So my daily blogging became less and less until One day it just wasn’t, and I couldn’t.... and the soul-crushing feeling that came with feeling that no one really wanted to hear or see what I had to offer was there and it was hard to break free of. 

I still followed and read or watched blogs and Instastories from HUNDREDS of bloggers/influencers and style makers.  In fact, I’d say I made it a full-time job lol.  I was inspired and in awe of all the people I watched who were doing what I had wanted to do so long ago, turning their blogging hobbies into full-fledged Full-time Businesses and Empires.  I was so proud of all these amazing people for following their paths.  Now why couldn’t I have done this for myself? 

Truth be told, I missed being a part of it.  I missed sharing a piece of myself here for the world and interacting with my followers, which weren’t many because I never shared my blog with friends and family back then.  I was nervous about it, so if someone came across it, then great, if not, well then nothing.  The reason it never grew is that I wasn’t putting it out there.  Which, if you know me, is very unlike me.  So secretly, I’ve been dreaming up a way to rebrand, redesign and get back to blogging in a way that truly reflects me.  Who I’ve grown into.  What my taste and style has evolved into, etc.

So I’m working on a new site. A new brand.  But in keeping with my “brand” (I hate that term but I guess it’s the best way to describe it), I plan on  doing it myself, which will take a while... especially since my computer but the dust... so in the meantime, I want to keep sharing here.  I want to get back to putting out content and posts and hopefully inspiring some, if not only myself.   I hope there’s still some of you around.  For those of you who are new, welcome!   

Stay tuned for some exciting new stuff coming soon!