After transforming my old curtains (here), and making a table runner, I wanted to “set the stage” and get a few beauty shots of my summer dining table.
Summer Dining
I realized as I was writing this post that I have inherited a lot of the pieces pictured. I grew up visiting both sets of grandparents. My father’s father died when I was four, so I didn’t really ever know him, but my other grandparents all lived well and until about the age of 90, so I had lots of time with them, and many fond memories. I love that I have so many pieces from both sides, even though almost everything pictured in this post is from my mom’s side. I have stories associated with some of the pieces, and to me it’s wonderful to just be surrounded by things that have had sentiment through people I know and love. The chest of drawers is a Larkin chest. The Larkin soap company was founded around 1875 and was the first company to really do wholesale. They would sell an individual a box of soap, and they in turn would go out and sell individual bars. They also had an incentive program, where the more you sold, you could choose from products or furniture as a reward. My great-grandfather sold Larkin soap, and chose this oak chest out of their catalog. It lived at my grandparents house for about 50 years before coming to me. I think it’s in beautiful shape. The tray, candlesticks, and pitcher were also from my grandmother. She told me that her mother used to serve her soup when she was sick from the tray.
Looking down the summer table
The table runner I made is from a Waverly fabric called “Spotswood Stripe”. It also says something about being a historically inspired/recreated fabric from Colonial Williamsburg.
For the table setting, I used some woven linen placemats that were a gift. The china is “Florence” by Haviland. The china was originally bought by my great-great-aunt, who gave them to my grandmother, whose name was Florence. I think it’s very pretty, but I only have five settings. The yellow napkins and the blue glasses also came from my grandmother.
Florence Place Setting
The blue glasses are from Mexico and were a wedding gift to my grandparents in 1948. I love their color and beauty. And now they go perfectly with the drapes and table runner.
Detail Mexican Blue Glass
Peanut seems to want to get in on all the photoshoots. Here she is ready to eat!
Peanut is ready to eat
It was really difficult in getting the lighting and colors right. For not setting up any special lighting however, I think I did OK. It’s no magazine shoot, but I’ll take it for my point and shoot.
Centerpiece with pink paper pom-poms
For the centerpiece, I took a recent acquisition- a Cindy Crawford bowl from JCPenney’s (got it for $2 with coupon!), and added some pink tulle and pink paper pom-poms that I made for my wedding. I wanted to add a pop of pink in the room, and since I didn’t want to go to the store to get some fresh flowers (which I know would have really looked nice) I settle for this. The mini pitcher and silver jewelry dish are also from my grandmother.
A view from the other side, summer dining table
And finally, this is the view from the other side of the room. I really like the color combination of the creamy yellow and different blues. It feels very calming and relaxing to me, when paired with earthy brown wood. This room is filled with love. :)
