Saturday, April 7, 2012

Setting a Pretty Holiday Table

This is a holiday-laden weekend: Tomorrow is Easter, yesterday was the first night of Passover, and I suppose pagans are celebrating, too, since there was a full moon last night. I really liked the way my Seder table turned out, and I wanted to share these pictures with you.

We hosted a fairly small gathering of 10 people (some people I know were hosting 20 or more!):


My friend C. helped me come up with some ideas for setting the table. I went with a white/green/pale blue color scheme and used vintage crystal and china, herbs and flowers from the garden, and some inexpensive grocery-store flowers to create the look. This same scheme would look beautiful for Easter, too--or Mother's Day, a Mother-Daughter brunch, or any spring gathering.

Since there was a lot of silver and crystal on the table, I counteracted all those glittery,  hard surfaces with some stuff  from Nature. I bought "kitty grass" from the grocery store and plopped it in a couple of vintage crystal dishes. To hide the roots and dirt, I tucked in rosemary and white roses from my garden:




I put white tulips from the grocery store on the French sideboard:


Across the room, I placed a bunch of pale-pink larkspur in a tall crystal pitcher, a family heirloom (as are the silver teapot and the samovar):


C. suggested that I tuck these vintage crystal salt cellars into the arrangement, even though I didn't need them to hold anything. They were just there to look cute and add visual interest:


 I grouped silver candlesticks--some matching, some not--including this one, which used to belong to my Nana:


Here's the traditional roasted egg, on a Seder plate that I'd been lusting over for years and finally broke down and bought. (Of course I lusted for it--it's blue-and-white china. Duh!)


Nothing too fancy for the place settings--stainless steel flatware, modest glassware from Bed, Bath & Beyond and Anthropologie, plates from BB&B. But I added big, pure-linen napkins that were professionally laundered and have that silky, heavy feel that you can't get from cotton or polyester:


Near the window, I gathered a small collection of Waterford decanters and added a bouquet of calla lilies from C's garden. 


Whatever you celebrate, I hope you have a lovely weekend surrounded by pretty things.


1 comment:

  1. LOVELY, and so creative!! I was thinking of you yesterday -- Happy Passover :-)

    ReplyDelete