‘D’ for Dining – Making it Lovely

Our Dining Room, Set for Christmas

Our old metal dining chairs were great for kids. Indestructible and easy to clean! So what did I replace them with? Wooden chairs with easily stained beige upholstery seats. Brilliant!

(I don’t intend to keep the stock fabric on them forever. Keep reading.)

Someone spotted the new chairs in a recent post, but here they are in full.

I had been saving up for a long time for new dining chairs and I’d had my eye on either Noir’s Abacus or Redford House’s Abigail. Noir discontinued the Abacus dining chairs earlier this year though, and before I could get them quickly enough at the clearance price, they were gone. But then I found these on Overstock.

And then I realized that the manufacturer, Baxton Studio, has two outlets — both in Chicago. I was able to get the chairs for just a little over $100 each while they were having a big sale.

Until I can get some more kid-friendly fabric on there, I bought a couple of these waterproof dining chair covers to protect the kids’ seats. They blend well and aren’t terribly noticeable (and they really work). The seats are not the easy to recover kind that are just screwed on, and I’d like to replace the nailhead detail with piping. They’ll need a trip to the reupholsterer when I’m ready for a change.

The table is set with with Ballard Designs’ Jacqueline dinnerware. I photographed the dining room for a holiday campaign they’re running, and I was able to chose a bunch of my favorite pieces to shoot and keep. We always host Christmas dinner, so this is what our table will look like this year! The cups and saucers will be especially cute when we have coffee with dessert.

A few things are no longer available, but here are the direct links to everything I used from Ballard Designs (and a near match for the vintage silver candle holders on the table, too).

Marseille Red Linen Napkins
Bunny Williams Paris Flea Market Flatware (Antique Silver)
Thai Ikat Tablecloth (no longer available)
Bunny Williams Spiral Glassware Goblet and Tumbler
Jacqueline Dinnerware Collection
Vintage Sterling Silver Candle Holders
12″ Taper Candles
Florence Charger/Buffet Plates (no longer available)

I have so many ideas in mind for where this room could go! I’m loving the mix of traditional/Victorian with more modern and unexpected touches throughout the rest of the house, but I’ve yet to really bring that in here. The new chairs are a great start.

December 19, 2017

My ‘Gothic White’ Dîner en Blanc Table

My sister invited me as her date to Chicago’s Dîner en Blanc this year. Quelle excitation! She rented a room for the night, so we checked in and brought all of our stuff up. It wasn’t until we were in a car on our way to the meeting point that we realized our flowers were sitting in an ice bucket in her hotel bathroom.

We had the essentials — food, plates, that sort of thing — but without the fluffy cute flowers, our table was going to be all pillar candles and skeletons. Really emphasizing the whole goth part of my ‘gothic white’ idea. I did what I assume any weirdo/resourceful person would do. I scavenged weeds from a nearby parking lot.

“It will work out,” my sister assured me as I came back with a handful of Queen Anne’s Lace. “After all, what grows on graves?”

It worked out! Clearly the skeletons are the best part of this table — you should pick them up while you can because I suspect they’ll sell out well before Halloween. We borrowed a folding table and tons of people (us included) had these inexpensive and light folding chairs. Everything else was standard-issue tabletop stuff that I had on hand, with flameless candles in anticipation of wind. Everything is linked below (and I found super similar items for some of the stuff I’ve had for years).

This is also pretty much what my dining table is going to look like all October.

It’s a lot of schlepping, but it was worth it. Everyone and everything looks beautiful, and the mystery of the location (it was at the Theater on the Lake this year) adds to the fun. Plus dancing! If you ever get the change to attend a Dîner en Blanc in your city, say yes!

p.s. Here’s a little background on how the event usually works. The first Dîner en Blanc I’d been to was at Alt Summit. Much smaller and no schlepping, but equally magical and fun.

August 28, 2017

Pink Tabletop

Image: Oh Happy Day for IKEA

If you, like me, are a fan of pink (understatement), now is the time to stock up. Retailers tend to offer it for Valentine’s Day and Easter, and for spring in general, but not as much throughout the rest of the year. Below are some of my favorites on the market right now.

(I can’t believe I haven’t together a ‘pink tabletop’ post before!)

I have a full set of pink dinnerware (bowls in two sizes, salad and dinner plates, and mugs), plus various glasses and serving pieces in pink. If you wanted to start with the basics of plain white plates and silver flatware though, here’s how I would change things up.

START WITH THE BASICS: Caterer’s Dinner Plates, Pottery Barn • Voletta Flatware, Crate & Barrel
THEN ADD THESE: Pitcher • Salad/Side Plates • Cake Stand • Wine Glasses • Napkins

February 9, 2017

A Fall/Winter Holiday Table

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Thanksgiving is just a couple of weeks away, and then we’ll be looking forward to Christmas! To get in the spirit of the season, I set a festive fall/winter holiday table with items I already had on hand mixed in with some new finds from Target.

I wanted to work with gold and silver for most of the decor, but a red runner made a colorful base for everything else to play off of. I love the way the polka dot fabric napkins look with it!

I added candlesticks in two heights, and then picked up several sizes of silver frosted mason jars. I used the smallest jars to hold tealights as intended, but instead of putting candles in the others, I used the larger ones as flower vases.

The table was set with our everyday silverware and classic white plates. So many of us have those standards on hand, but they felt more special with gold chargers at each seat.

The centerpieces were fun to arrange. I think that white ‘flower’ is in the cabbage family. Plus berries! I always go for the berries this time of year.

All together, the mix of metallics and the candlelight feel perfect for special occasions. I’m looking forward to using the decorations throughout the year for other dinners and holidays, too!

November 10, 2014

Stars and Stripes Forever

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We had some company over earlier this week, so I took it as an excuse to throw an impromptu backyard party. Setting a nice scene for the people I love always puts a big smile on my face (and theirs too).

I planned and set a Fourth of July table which is a little early, but hey, I’m a blogger! I figured it would be more helpful to give you guys some ideas before the Fourth instead of after. My friends and family are used to these quirks. Besides, it’s not as bad as when I would be designing Christmas cards at this time of year for my stationery shop!

I was pretty excited about the decorating possibilities of our our new table. The old one was in such bad shape that the only option was to cover the whole thing with a tablecloth.

I tucked a handful of little American flags into a pitcher along with one large one. Eleanor and August, like most kids, were happy to each have their own flag to wave after dinner.

I also made some cute paper flags out of decorative scrapbooking paper. I used bamboo skewers for the larger sizes, and I attached the smaller ones to toothpicks. I set the table with our everyday silverware and tucked a little flag under the fork and knife, on top of a white napkin. I used my vintage Star Glow dinnerware as salad plates because they reminded me of fireworks, and I set them on top of plain white dishes.

The red and white striped runner on the table was a no-sew project. I cut the length to size, then tucked in the edges along the sides. Eventually I’ll hem it so that it will hold up in the wash, but if you’re in a pinch, nobody’s really going to notice.

I wanted the flowers to be mostly white, so I picked up some hydrangeas and a ton of little daisies. I did put a couple of blue delphinium in with the hydrangeas, but didn’t go for full red, white, and blue floral arrangements. I put the hydrangeas and delphinium in a low vintage bowl with some greenery; the stems were kept in place by first criss-crossing clear tape along the top.

I tucked a few of my paper flags in to the centerpiece, but the daisies were cut short and gathered into little bunches. I used whichever small glass vases I could find for them, then tied them all together (literally) by tying ribbon around each one. Some had wide navy grosgrain and others had thin navy and white polka dot ribbon, all from the local craft store. I also added some of the wide ribbon to the handles of my pitchers and tied them into bows.

Seeing everyone gathered around a table that I’ve decorated for them always makes me happy. Are you planning anything yet for the Fourth?

June 28, 2012

Country Fare Vintage Dishes

Today is our last day in the Wisconsin family cabin, and we’ll be driving back to Chicago soon. The surroundings are beautiful, but there is just as much enjoyment to be found in the home’s details. These are the plates we ate off of last night for dinner.

They remind me of Heath Ceramics’ original Coupe line from the 1940s. I’ve shown their studio mug before, and that heritage Coupe line has long been at the top of my wish list.

The collection of Country Fare dishes here at the cabin have been in my father-in-law’s family for decades. The line was discontinued in the mid-1950s, but they pop up on eBay and are available through Replacements.

Aren’t they beautiful? They’re so obviously handmade, heavy, with imperfect edges and subtle ridges where people smoothed the clay with their fingers.

June 11, 2012

Category: ‘D’ for Dining