Creating A Simple and Beautiful Table Setting

Creating a beautiful table setting using dishes and glassware that belonged to my great grandmothers was special. As the girls and I put the dishes on the table I was able to see the past, present, and future at the same time.

Last week I shared a little about preparing for our adoption fundraiser garage sale. Before the garage sale, Mom had me come over and go through all the stuff she was donating. I ended up taking home 4 boxes of things that belonged to my great grandmother’s years ago. After I got everything home, I decided I wanted to create a beautiful and simple table setting using at least one piece that belonged to each great grandmother.

Initially I didn’t think I’d share this with the girls. My girls are so young, it’s very likely they’d break something, but as I remembered each great grandmother I realized they wouldn’t care. They would be thrilled to have my little girls sharing a meal with the same dishes they once did. So here we are! Creating a beautiful and simple table setting that spans generations.

Flowers

The first thing I did when I was setting this table was look out the window. I’m always scanning to see what flowers are blooming. Lucky me, my favorite wildflower/weed is currently in bloom!! Queen Anne’s Lace!

I knew I wanted to use my great grandmothers serving dish in an unconventional way for this setting. I was drawn to the muted silver because of its simple beauty and the way it would contrast with the white of the Queen Anne’s Lace. But because this dish is deep and wide I put 3 small vases inside of this serving dish to keep the blooms from falling over so easily.

How to Keep Bugs Out When You Bring Blooms In

That evening I ran outside with my vase of cold water and cut a bunch of Queen Anne’s Lace to bring in. I’ve tried to be diligent about keeping the bugs out ever since I started bringing cut flowers into the house. I learned a trick with my peony and the ants that love them so: stick the bloom head down in a bucket of water for 10-15 minutes before bringing the blooms inside. It worked wonders for the peonies, so why not try it on all my stems? The half of Queen Anne’s Lace stems I soaked got very heavy and droopy until they dried, but I didn’t get any bugs crawling across my dining room table! With the other half of the Queen Anne’s Lace I cut, I just gave them a little shake and had the same level of success without having to wait for the bloom to dry from being submerged!

Finally, for this setting, I added a cake stand under the flowers. Next to the candlesticks, I felt like the flowers weren’t making a big enough statement. Since I believe no flower, even a wildflower, should be quieted, I raised it with a clear glass cake stand. I purchased that cake stand from a garage sale and I’m so glad I didn’t pass it up!

Candles

I love candles. When I first started turning everyday meals into special occasions I started with candles. There’s something about candles. The way they flicker. The way they get drippy as they begin melting. They have a calm and beautiful kind of ambience. I’ve always loved decorating the entire house with candles, so why not put some on my table and turn an everyday meal into a special occasion?

One fun way to use candles in a table setting is to have candles at varying heights. For this setting, I used 2 muted silver candlestick holders that match the serving dish, 2 clear candlestick holders, and filled in the spaced between with small candles in clear votives. Doing this I was able to create a more visually interesting display yet keep it simple because of the consistency from one side of the table to the other.

Dinnerware

This was the fun part for me! I didn’t even realize it until I got going, but the dishes from my one great grandmother have what appears to be wildflowers on them, and the stemware from another great grandmother has wildflowers on them as well. It was such a perfect misMATCH I can’t even take credit for it. Then when placed on the table beside a serving dish full of wildflowers – Perfect!

I love the way the stemware had a consistent look against the clear votives, and cake stand. Yet they were slightly more with the etchings of flowers on them. In a way, each piece on this table seems to connect to another until everything on the table has found a way to be a perfect addition.

Music

The final piece for this setting is the music. I’m a lover of almost all kinds of music, but for a simple and elegant setting like this, I went for “French Café Radio”. I like not knowing what’s being said in the music sometimes. For me it almost turns the song into an instrumental song without losing the beautiful sound of a human voice.

For this setting, I used what I had. Around here, working with what you’ve got is the name of the game. If you read my back storage room post, you know I’ve got a lot to work with! But when I’m using items from my family’s past it means even more. Click here to read a post all about how much I love the family stuff and how I try to incorporate it into my home decor.

Since I took these pictures in the evening, the table was still set in the morning. So for breakfast, we each took a seat and ate and drank from plates and glassware that our great (great) grandmothers used. I loved watching the girls do this. Knowing that in some slight way they were connecting with a past they never knew was special.

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Open Your Doors,
Aliya