Indian Summer

Autumn...it just might be the perfect season...warm days, cool nights and lots and lots of color. Makes me want to set an equally lovely table for Fall.

I fell in love with these gorgeous dishes years ago at Bloomingdale's.  The pattern is Constellation by Joseph Abboud.  Full of texture, with earthy brown rims...

and shiny golden centers, these plates always make a grand entrance in October. They are just colorful enough to mix and match with all sorts of linens and accessories.

I particularly like layering them with these woven placemats, all set atop a rich brown linen tablecloth.  

The rustic glassware is called South Beach, also by Joseph Abboud.  

My very versatile candle centerpiece this time holds shiny gold tea lights.   

This table runner is actually a fabulous silk scarf from J. Jill!  Yes, tabletop decor is sold everywhere.  I love how the embroidered flowers pull out the colors of my patterned napkins from Crate & Barrel.

For a final touch, I've woven a garland of tiny orange and gold berries through it all.  Enjoy.  Don't forget to follow me and my fellow tablescapers each Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Good Morning Sunshine !

In a perfect world, I would like enough place settings in a pattern to set a table for 12, or maybe 8...and at least 6.  But that just does not always happen.

Such is the case with these gorgeous canary dishes...something that my Aunt Tess just had to have!  Can you blame her?

So what do I do with just 2 place settings?  Set a table for two, of course.

vintage canary yellow stoneware: pattern and source unknown

tablerunner: a scarf from Ten Thousand Villages

napkins: made by me (fabric is Paperweight Algae by Kaffe Fassett)

I've Got the Autumn Blues (and Purples)

Well, I stopped by Crate & Barrel the other day and stumbled upon these absolutely gorgeous Mrya embroidered placemats.  Did I need more table linens?  No.  Did I bring them home with me anyway?  You bet!

I chose to use the floral placemats as a runner, lined up end-to-end...

since I also found these great eggplant-colored grass mats (Tropical Palm Plum) and napkins (Aubergine), also from the Crate.

Certainly these are bound to mix and match with pieces I already have.  (Ah...the famous last words of a dish-aholic.)

My beautiful navy blue plates (The Blues by Arabia of Finland) are old favorites.

I love the way these cobalt and gold stemmed wine glasses and water goblets (Crate & Barrel...circa late 80's) tie it all together.

Having the blues can be a pretty sweet thing.  Make sure to stop by Between Naps on the Porch to see what my fellow tablescapers are up to this week!

Plain White Plates (or White Goes With Everything)

When it came time to choose my wedding china, I took the task VERY seriously.  What should I select that I would like forever?  (Little did I know at the time that dishes were meant to collect...why stop at just one set!)

Ultimately, I chose this gorgeous, subtly patterned white china...

...Chess by Boda Nova.  Not too plain, but also not so fancy.

I can dress it up, or play it casual.  And best of all, I do not take this china too seriously.  These dishes never require a special occasion.  They come out of the cabinet, all year long.

Microwave?  No problem.  Dishwasher?  You bet.  White dishes are perfect to show off beautiful linens and glassware.

So plan on seeing my favorite white plates in many tablescapes to come.  Also, please stop by Between Naps on the Porch every Thursday and see what my fellow dish-aholic friends are up to.