Spring Comes in Shades of Violet and Lavender

All the colors of purple are lovely — lavender, lilac, violet, amethyst, iris, plum, orchid, grape, and eggplant. And perhaps a few more hues I haven't thought of! All of them are spring-like except perhaps for plum and eggplant. To welcome spring, I've set a table using lavender and violet, with white and a bit of blue for contrast.

We're working from home now, as many of you are I'm sure. With social distancing a necessary part of our lives, we find ourselves cooking more dinners and lunches than we've been accustomed to. Not having friends over for dinner is hard, but I still want to infuse our tables with a bit of joy by designing tablescapes that are special.

I started with two things — a pretty lavender tablecloth for the base, and deeply colored faux lilacs for the centerpiece.

Although I would have liked to have real flowers, I made do with the ones I had in the house.

A cute bunny pitcher will bring smiles!

A generous soup bowl sits atop the dinner plate. These are covered in pretty spring violets, with a sweet sprig in the center of both pieces. The bowls date from the late '40s, the plates from the '50s. Although they're the same pattern, from the same manufacturer, the violets on the plates are a redder purple than those on the bowls.

I placed them on gold chargers that you've seen on a number of my tables. In the light from the chandelier, the chargers appear a brighter gold than they are.

Baby bunnies masquerading as salt and pepper shakers have scampered to the other end of the table.

A punch of blue from faux lilacs brings the color of the walls to the table. The scent of lilacs on a spring breeze is one of the things I've missed since I moved from Ohio to Georgia.

On the buffet are cups and saucers for after-dinner coffee, something that Greg particularly enjoys. I've laid a sheaf of dried lavender on the tray to add a more muted shade in my color theme. A French antiques dealer had included many sheaves of lavender in a shipment to a Georgia dealer from whom we bought a lovely painting. So one of the sheaves came home with me!

Vintage glassware in a lovely amethyst joins each place setting. I've used a water goblet in place of the wine glass because antique and vintage stemware is smaller than today's patterns. But that's not to say they're dainty. After all, they've lasted 60 years or more! I was amused to find that I captured one of the bunnies through the goblet, lol.

I have a confession to make. I don't always iron my table linens when I set a table. After they're cleaned, they're pressed, then hung or folded when I put them away. Depending on how frequently they're used, they may have creases when they're put on the table. I'm generally okay with that! The only exception is when I set a very formal table. But this isn't one of those!

I'm also perfectly okay with using faux florals. Many are beautifully made and often hard to distinguish from the real thing. And they can be the perfect choice when you find you have little time to create a table or don't have real flowers readily available.

I love using vintage or antique items in a modern way, particularly those with classic lines.

Even though the table is 'just' for us, using pretty china, sparkling stemware, candles and flowers makes the dinner that much more enjoyable.

In uncertain times, that's reason enough!

Table resources
Plates, bowls, saucers, cups | Rossetti 'Spring Violets' used here
Stemware | Fostoria 'Classic' also used here
Silverware | Reed & Barton 'Eighteenth Century'
Bunnies | Fitz & Floyd 'Blackberry Rabbit'