How Falling Down the Stairs Unleashed My Creativity
I’ve had a bit of a thing for table settings for a long time now. I’ve always had a respect for vintage china and my love of design makes tablscaping something I really enjoy. But it wasn’t until I fell down the steps while holding my grandmother’s china, breaking an entire set of salad plates in the process, that I felt free to explore collecting and using tabletop pieces in new and different ways. This was actually quite liberating…
I’m delighted to have joined with 5 of my favorite bloggers to bring you a new monthly series focused on creating beautiful and unique table settings. In this offering I illustrate mixing old and new in a seasonal tablescape for spring, while displaying some ideas for approaching your table in a completely fresh way. You can click here to see the complete finished table.
Let’s revisit that set of dishes that wound up in a million pieces inside the little quilted china storage case. Up until that point, I approached every event at my dining table in exactly the same way, with a complete set of matched china in the one and only pattern I owned, with the same formal flatware, same stemware, and every piece laid out according to proper dictated etiquette. Lovely the first few times, but predictable if not bland henceforth. Once my china set was shattered, so was my rigid approach to tablescaping. I was suddenly free to buy china in any pattern I wanted, rather than feel obligated to use the china passed down in our family. That freedom unleashed an open-minded perspective and I threw all the rules out the window. I haven’t looked back since.
These days my tables tend toward a more relaxed and inspired mix, driven more by what I love than what I think I’m supposed to do. On this quintessentially spring table graced with formal and casual alike, my florals marry pink tulips with perky green mason jars. I had gone to the market looking for peonies but it was a little too early in the season, so my ‘roll with it’ attitude regrouped and tulips became the flower of the day.
This wonderful confection sweetens the center of my table and to create a suitable presentation, I picked one of my favorite vintage serving plates and simply mounted it atop an inexpensive no-frills cake plate. DIY cake stand in no time!
Perhaps the best example of my flouting of the rules is the tablecloth used for this setting. I’ve been wanting a washed linen tablecloth with a homespun vibe for a while but haven’t had the chance to get one yet. My tablescapes are built intuitively these days and a walk past the valet hook in my closet brought this voluminous white scarf to my attention. Recently purchased on a shopping trip with my daughter, I sensed it would be the perfect underpinning for my table. Indeed it fit the table and the lovely crocheted edging adds a note of country flavor.
One of the most frequent comments I get from people looking at my tablescapes is that my flatware is often placed together on the right side of my plates, breaking all kinds of etiquette rules. I do this to allow room for my napkins which I like to cluster together in a ring and I feel the table looks prettier this way. Yes, I know where the flatware belongs but you won’t find it there any time soon.
Tablescaping seems to have become "my thing" now that I've let go of the shackles on my creativity. If I’ve inspired you to break a few rules then I will consider my post a success. I guess I’ve always been a bit of a rebel…
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Lovely table setting. I especially like your flatware all on the right with a pretty napkin on the left. I have always thought, Why!!! It looks so much prettier with your arrangement.
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Your table settings look lovely....but I mostly just wanted to say that I hope you didn't get hurt badly from falling down the stairs.
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Aww... thanks so much! And yes, I'm fine... :-)
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