Set a Transitional Table for Christmas through January

How do you set a transitional table that can be enjoyed both during the Christmas holidays and throughout the month of January? I started with traditional red with a large dose of green. I used table linens in a rich green in a shade between forest and pine. They have woven holly leaves in a slightly different tone with a sheen to the weave.

Dreaming of a White (and Blue) Christmas

Welcome to my dream of a white (and blue) Christmas!

I thought I'd set a table sprinkled with snow, featuring blue tones inspired by a Santa and two of his reindeer dressed in navy blue.

Adding Last-minute Thanksgiving Decor

If you're like me, Thanksgiving preparations revolve around menu selection and setting the table for a holiday dinner to be shared with family and friends. Last week in A Modern Take on a Traditional Pattern for Thanksgiving I shared the table that I plan to use though I will need to make slight changes since there will be two more joining us.

Today I want to talk about simple ways to add decor that will spread Thanksgiving vibes beyond your table. Whether you will have a house full of family and friends or you'll be heading out to be a guest at someone else's home, these are ideas that you can enjoy now — or they can easily be pulled together at the last minute.

 

 

Pumpkins

A Modern Take on a Traditional Pattern for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a holiday where the table really takes center place. Tradition often guides the selection of table linens, dishes and glassware as well as the recipes that are made and loved year after year. I'd like to show you a way of using traditional tableware as a starting point for a lovely table with modern touches that is both welcoming and festive.

  

Setting the Table with Art

Welcome friends! I'm celebrating seven years with Dinner at Eight by sharing a special tablescape with you. Thank you so much for visiting since I began posting tables!

   

Tablescapes can begin with lovely dishes, gorgeous crystal, or interesting table linens. Or they may celebrate an occasion, a holiday or a season, all of which come with traditional colors or iconic images. My table today begins with art.

An Autumn Tray with Leaves, Acorns and Pumpkins

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons! The others are winter, spring and summer! I consider myself lucky to live where I can experience all four seasons, though fall and winter aren't as long or as crisp/snowy as I'd like. Each season has its charms and autumn has many — among them are gloriously colored leaves as they prepare to fall, ripening acorns and pumpkins everywhere!

 

To celebrate them all, I gathered them together on a beautifully detailed silver tray

A Hauntingly Delightful Halloween

Welcome to my hauntingly delightful table!  I think it's such fun to style tables for Halloween where your imagination can take flight! 

 

 

So you know how excited I am to be joining friends

Setting the Table for Early Autumn

Welcome! I'm glad you're joining me today because I'm sharing a table I've set in anticipation of fall!

     

Dreaming of Travel — Where Palms Beckon

Staring at suitcases in the back of my closet, I began to dream of traveling to lands where the palm trees beckon.

Lands with beautiful vistas, delightful breezes, cooler temps and low humidity!

I gathered

A Tray for a Summer Gardener

Would you love to add a bit of seasonal decor to a spot in your house? Perhaps in an entryway, or a room where everyone gathers? 

 

Then consider using a tray as the basis! Besides being a confined space that highlights a group of interesting items, it's portable and can be moved around your house to dress up a table or move out of the way as needed.

 

Oh, did I mention that it's fun to do?!

A French Inspired Tablescape

Summertime, more than any other season, calls for evenings spent around a casual dinner table, with good food shared with good friends! Ideally they would be al fresco but with our days pummeled by recurring thunderstorms, I've decided to set this evening's table indoors.

 

For inspiration I looked to France,

Summer Decor with Flowers

Welcome! Today I thought I'd share some photos of our public spaces bedecked with flowers! I love growing flowers in my garden and I love having flowers inside the house, particularly those which don't grow well in my hot, humid mostly shaded summer garden. There's also puppy challenges to consider when I'm planting any kind of flowers or shrubs.

  

I was thrilled to receive these flowers from my daughter in vivid shades of orange, pink and chartreuse!

A Summer of Colors

It's summertime! Time to leave the dark moody colors of winter far behind and embrace an explosion of summer colors! Whether you choose pastel or bold colors or any combination with white, summer tables revel in color.

Vintage Meets Modern on a Late Spring Table

Today I was inspired by the fading ephemeral flowers of spring to set a table. My vintage plates sprinkled with violets were the obvious choice because I think they're lovely and I don't get to use them that often. But I didn't want to set a vintage table — I wanted to set a modern table that incorporates beautiful vintage touches!

   

A Tea Room, a Botanical Garden and an Emergency

Doesn't it seem the last month or two has gone by in an instant? When what you really want to do is savor every moment?

That's the way it's been for me! Let me share with you the great and the not so good.

In mid April we headed to New Mexico to spend a week with our daughter and celebrate her birthday.

This is the view that greeted me every morning — the bosque along the Rio Grande with the Sandia Mountains in the background. A bosque is a type of forest habitat found along stream and river banks in an open country such as deserts or grasslands. It derives its name from the Spanish word for 'woodlands'. 

A Bit of Spring Decor

Do you revamp your whole house every season or holiday? I generally don't, though I do like to sprinkle seasonal decor throughout my home. Thanksgiving through the winter holidays is the exception, when I want to bring a festive touch to every room. My home then tends to go dormant through the winter with perhaps a single vignette to acknowledge special days.

But then spring arrives and I want to add cheery notes throughout the house! I thought I'd share this year's spring touches.

In the front entry

Welcoming Spring with a Fluffle of Bunnies

We're welcoming spring in the garden with daffodils and tulips, and flowering deciduous magnolias, redbuds and cherry trees. And I'm welcoming spring on the table with a fluffle of bunnies! What is a "fluffle"? It's the cutest term for a group of bunnies! They can also be called a "colony" but where's the fun in that? 

 

Lucky Enough to be Irish

The saying goes "If you're lucky enough to be Irish, you're lucky enough!"  

 

So I must be lucky enough, having a large portion of Irish DNA in me! And I love to celebrate St. Patrick's Day by singing Irish folk songs (never mind they're off-key), shouting Slainté while raising my glass, and decorating my house with green and gold and a sprinkling of Celtic patterns.

I thought you'd like to see a few of the tables I've styled to get some inspiration for your own celebrations March 17. Just click on the title of each post to see all the details! In several posts I included bonus photos that I took on vacation in Ireland.

I started with a beautiful scarf that I bought in Dublin at Trinity College as a table runner for Celtic Patterns for the Table. I love the repeating Celtic patterns in a yellowish green on an emerald background.  

The Delights of Afternoon Tea Served on a Tray

There's nothing quite like enjoying tea served on a tray. And nothing quite like the delight that comes from pampering yourself with the fragrant aroma of hot tea, sweet treats and fresh flowers. Especially on gray winter days! 

 

 
So today I'm sharing with you an afternoon tea tray I set for myself!

A Table Setting in Blue and Yellow

Inspiration for tablescapes can come from all kinds of sources! Today I was inspired by a rather unlikely one — the morning news.

 

 

I've set a table in blue and yellow,

Greetings — The Birds of Winter

Winter came — for a short week at least! A real winter, with cold, crisp days and blustery nights. A week that required actual winter coats. Unfortunately, it didn't last, and we reverted to what passes for winter here: windy, rainy days in the 40's. 

The saving grace is that winter comes with a large number of birds, the ones who reside here year-round and those that over-winter from colder climates. And they've been coming inside to perch on my dining room table since the new year began!

  

Valentine's Day — A Table Set for Tea

Valentine's Day is nearly here! Valentine's Day can be romantic, friendly, sentimental, classic or a mixture of all of them. I didn't really focus on Valentine's until my daughter was born and I was able to see holidays of all kinds through her eyes. Suddenly Valentine's Day became something I looked forward to each year. When she was 4, 5, 6 and 7 she had a Valentine's Tea Party with three of her friends and their dolls, complete with "tea", treats and themed crafts. 

So of course I set a table for tea for Valentine's Day with the beautiful tea dishes she gave me for Christmas!

 

Celebrations and Travel, Gardens and Updates

January is a month full of transitions and the making of plans for the coming year. It is also a bit about looking back. Come with me as I look back on several things that haven't been shared in posts of their own — namely celebrations, travel, gardens and updates!

New Mexico

 

Much of the summer was spent traveling back and forth to New Mexico where our daughter had started a wonderful job and decided to buy a house! We helped her move from her apartment, shop for things she needed/wanted for the house, and tackle minor renovations such as replacing faucets and lighting fixtures and installing cabinet pulls and wooden blinds. Whew!

Two kittens were quickly added to Miss J's house! Both rescues, they were born a week apart. Kaladin on the left is white and black with short hair. His younger, but larger, sister Jasmine has fluffy cream-colored fur with gray points.