Designing Domesticity: centerpiece

Showing posts with label centerpiece. Show all posts

Dining Centerpiece Ideas

Finding the perfect centerpiece for the dining table can be tricky. Especially if it's a space seen often, but rarely used. It must look good at a moments notice, while requiring no maintenance on a daily basis, but also having the ability to be "dressed up" for a special occasion.

The Enchanted Home

Two of my go-to favorites are: Ginger Jars and Soup Tureens.

Both look great alone (as shown above)

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or beautiful stuffed full of plants or fresh cut flowers.

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Here's a great example of a simple tureen housing a humble fern, but the combination together makes a huge statement. Of course the tablecloth helps a little :)

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A sweet and feminine, highly patterned tureen chock full of peonies and hydrangea - beautiful.

Hello, new soup tureen. I have big plans for you. Sadly, those plans do not involve my home, but I know you will make a certain someone very happy.

until next time,

Happy Thanksgiving {Centerpiece}

Thanksgiving preparations are in full swing at our house.

First things first, get to cooking…OR get to decorating the dining room. Yeah, I went with option 2.

I intended to put together the centerpiece, you know, just to mark it off my list of To-Do's, but then I got a little carried away. The next thing I knew, the whole table was set.

Then the camera came out. Of course.

Two things I love for a big sit down celebration: place cards and beautiful centerpieces. Some may think place cards are stuffy and old-fashioned, but I disagree. No more awkward "where should I sit?" chatter or spur of the moment decision making by the hosts. Plus, anything can be made into a cute/fun place card holder, like these sparkly pear ornaments I transformed a couple years ago (here).

I follow the belief that a centerpiece should be tall and thin or low and full. Nothing worse than sitting across from someone and not being able to see them, let alone talk to them.

This year, I'm all about low and full.

I hid a glass 9x13 casserole dish, filled with water, inside a woven basket tray and filled it with eucalyptus, magnolia leaves, berries and other fall foliage. Real fruit, pomegranates and pears, coupled with pine cones and oversized acorns fill out the arrangement.

In other news, our upholster came through in the pinch and delivered our newly reupholstered dining room chairs and bench this week. Loving this fabric, even more now that it's a permanent part of our dining room scape.

We have loads to be grateful for this year: new opportunities that have led to our new home, in our new city, all our new friends and our happy and healthy family.

It's been a great year.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

until next time,

The Centerpiece that Just Won't Quit

Remember this centerpiece I created late last year before our dining room remodel? You may not believe it, but it's actually still going strong. With a couple of alterations, of course.

During the dining room renovation, I moved the planter to living room coffee table. Once the orchid finished blooming, I removed it and filled in the space with pinecones and such for the holiday season. Some simple changes helped stretch the arrangement for another couple of months.

This past weekend, I purchased three yellow primrose to make a simple Spring centerpiece for our family birthday celebrations. The harvest table is narrow, so small low profile plants or flowers are a great accent when we set a full table. But, now that it's just the four of us again, I have plenty of room for a big arrangement.

Once again, the big arrangement is back in its rightful home on the harvest table. I moved a couple of plants around, removed the pinecones and added in the three primrose.

I love the bright pop of color from the yellow blooms.

So Springy - it just makes me smile!

So, what about you? Made any little Spring changes around your house?

linking in with:

Brambleberry Cottage

Beyond the Picket Fence

until next time,

Book Inspired Library Centerpiece

Part of working on our new library/playroom has been adding to our book selection. I know, I know...
trials and tribulations;
life is rough;
any excuse, right?

Anyway, any self respecting interior design blogger needs to have books that represent her passions, so I've been sprucing up my design book collection. One of my first purchases was Miss Mustard Seed's (Marion Parsons), Inspired You book.

Her book, much like her blog, is full of positive energy, beautiful photography and easy to follow tutorials.

The reason I am writing all of this?

Because one chapter and photograph in particular really hit home with me and inspired our new library table centerpiece.

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It seems like such a simple idea.

But, could I really just leave crayons, paper and coloring books out on the table? Could I handle it?

And most importantly, would it actually encourage our little ones to do more coloring? Or would it be just another pile of well organized toys that get overlooked everytime the dreaded, "I'm bored" statement leaves their mouths?

Well, as it turns out...I can handle it.

And, I actually find it kind of sweet. And, hold on to your horses, it's actually lead to hours upon hours of coloring.

I've used a simple tray and two wooden bowls to organize our crayons, into what T calls the pretty and not pretty colors. A stack of computer paper, a book of construction paper and a couple coloring books round out the "vignette".

I'm so thrilled that our plan to change this room from the breakfast room into the library/1st floor playroom is working out for all of us.

Also, I just had to leave you with a view of our homespun Valentine's decor ... afterall, who doesn't like a couple gigantic hearts hanging from a chandelier?

until next time,

More Thanksgiving Inspiration

I had such fun creating my own Thanksgiving centerpiece over the weekend that when my brother {who is hosting his wife's family for the holiday} asked for a couple of suggestions for his centerpiece I was happy to set up a pinterest board for him.

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What I had intended to be just a couple of fruit/flower images, quickly turned into several hours surfing the internet for inspiration. Like this beautiful free form, sprawling low arrangement.

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There's just so much out there. I couldn't help, but turn this simple favor into a blog post. I mean, just look at this hollowed out pumpkin stuffed full of roses, greenery, and pinecones.

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So, if you're still looking for a bit of inspiration for your Thanksgiving table, look no further.

Try placing simple branches and some of falls bounty on the table for a stunning centerpiece.

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Here's another take on the pumpkin planter. Try a grouping of several gourds stuffed with mums. It'd be hard to get much more seasonal than that.

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Seriously, if you can't find inspiration here, I don't know what to tell you. Now, get out there and make that table pretty!

until next time,

Simple Thanksgiving Centerpiece

We were so fortunate to have a lovely weekend here in Chicagoland. Frost in the morning, sunny days in the 50s and a chill in the air at night. We spent most of our time outside, finishing off the dreaded fall clean-up, but I did have a spare moment or two to put together a simple Thanksgiving centerpiece.

We aren't hosting this year, but since we just finished the construction part of our dining room remodel I thought it only appropriate to dress up our table a bit.

This time of year, I love to use nature inspired elements as much as possible. Such simple, rustic elegance not to mention texture galore.

My original orchid centerpiece is still kickin' so it was really just a matter of filling out the rest of the table. A neutral linen runner with a hint of gold is layered with a burlap {Yes, mom, more burlap. Your favorite!} garland. Of course, my birch candles had to make an appearance. You know I love them, almost as much as burlap.

Apples, pinecones both natural and golden flecked, leaves and just about anything else fall-ish are tucked in along the garland. It doesn't get much simpler than that!

Now, bring on the turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving week to all my US readers.

For more simple, natural Thanksgiving centerpiece ideas, check out my Pinterest board.

linking in with:

Met Monday

until next time,

Fall Inspired Centerpiece

Remember when I mentioned that we had some of our neighbors over for dinner recently? And, how it turned out to be the last showing of our dining room before the beginning of the remodel? And, how lucky we were to find and move the hutch, from Craigslist, into the space before our little get together?

Well, as you know, no dinner party is complete without a little centerpiece, so I thought I'd share something I whipped up just before the big night.

Truth be told, I didn't really know what I wanted to create, but I headed to one of my favorite inexpensive spots for plants to look for inspiration.

Home Depot, don't you know!

Where you can find a rockin' orchid for as little as $12.99 ~ I saw this guy and was blown away by his beautiful fall inspired colors.

They almost always carry a good variety of, what they refer to as, Angel plants for $2.99 ~ I picked up 3 plants that worked with the colors in the orchard. As I was heading for the door, I spotted this great clay vessel with more fall inspired colors for only $19.99! That's better than HomeGoods, people.

Once I was home, I filled the vessel with pebbles, for drainage, and potting soil. Then it was just a matter of arranging.

{The little fern came from a planter that had lived on the porch.}

I kept the orchid in it's own pot to protect the roots from getting too wet, but the other little plants are planted straight into the vessel. Easy enough.

Spanish Moss fills in most of the holes plus I grabbed a couple fall oriented odds and ends to add a bit of interest.

Pine cones, acorns, decor orbs, etc.

All in, I spent about $45 on this centerpiece, which of course, is no spare change. But, this 'arrangement' should carry me straight through to winter, which makes it pretty budget friendly. So, that's just fine by me.

Now you know, the next time you're looking for a quick centerpiece, don't forget to check out Home Depot.

{btw, I was in no way paid or compensated for this post, I just wanted to share the love when it comes to Home Depot's floral department.}

PS. Sneak peek of the new dining room layout revealed in these images. Did you notice?

linking in with:

Between Naps on the Porch

Wow us Wednesday - Savvy Southern Style

until next time,

Take It To Go

As I mentioned in my Michigan post, one of the highlights of our week long stay was the much anticipated trip to Pottery Barn Outlet. I've never been before, but my sister-in-law had and she mentioned it can be very hit or miss, so I really didn't know what to expect.

But we took our chances, strapped in both babies, and made the hour long drive. And, I have to tell you, it really was worth the trip. My SIL made out like a bandit. I didn't do too bad, either.

The one thing I did take away from the whole experience is just how impressive their staging really is. The magazine and retail store really do a wonderful job making each piece look so unique and collected. Not the outlet. Nothing takes the 'one of a kind' look out of an object like 40 of them on a shelf all sporting the same detailed distressing.

But, I didn't let a little detail like that stop me. I still managed to pick up a small 'antiqued' wooden tray and a set of 6 napkins. When I saw the tray, I knew exactly where I'd use it.

You see, I love to have a centerpiece on my breakfast table, but it was just getting to the point that I started to find it impractical. If it was too high, I couldn't see the kids, if it was too wide I couldn't fit anything else on the table, etc, etc. You know how it goes.

Enter the tray. While it's in the center of the table, the flowers and candle aren't, which allows me a direct line of sight to Miss T.

{No elbows on the table!}

Throw on some napkins, salt and pepper and its practicality is really starting to shine.

{Mommy, can you get me a napkin? Oh, they're right here. Nice.}

The best part of all, if I'm serving family style, I can take the whole tray to go. Instant open space. Brilliant.

A practical and pretty centerpiece, who knew that existed.

The real question is, how did I not think of this before?

until next time,

A Thanksgiving Table

Thanksgiving is just around the corner - time to get the table set and the menu planned.

Have you started your prep yet?

This year I am going with a rustic, casual elegant theme.

Casual elegance is a term often used to describe clothing but it's also a feel that I want my home to embrace as well.

Come on in a take a look around and let me know if I've accomplished my desired casually elegant feel.

I've mixed my everyday with my finer items to achieve this look:

white linen placemats layered with burlap; fine china salad plates paired with everyday dinner plates; crystal stemware alongside rustic green rimmed water glasses.

You get the idea!

If you follow me on Facebook you know that I had my first sewing lesson last week - these burlap placemats are the results (more about them in a later post)!