Vintage Pink & Silver Thanksgiving

 For my final inspiration Thanksgiving tablescape,
I'm really going in a different direction...

a Pink & Silver Thanksgiving Table!

I was inspired by my own PINK Sweet Sweater Pumpkins
and my mom's wedding china from the 1960's...
her china pattern has little pink rosebuds on gray stems with gray leaves.

In order to keep the whole look from going far too 'spring' in theme,
I introduced some deep silver/pewter 'winter' colors...
they serve to pull out the gray leaves in the patterns and highlight the silver plate rim.

The Centerpiece:
 I gathered up the family silver tea set,
three patterns of china, including an antique china pedestal,
along with my wire tomato cage dome and some antique chandelier crystals
to create a sparkling multi-level centerpiece for the table.
Some cuttings of passion vine and rosemary from the garden pair with pink petunias and roses.

Want to make your own wire dome from a two dollar tomato cage?! 
Click here for my tutorial!

 The Linens:
Over a pewter satin tablecloth, I laid a light-weight white crocheted lace tablecloth.
The contrast of the dark color underneath really makes the lace details pop.
Napkins are simple pewter satin.

The Rest:
The china shown here is a classic and feminine mid-century pattern,
with a silver plated rim, gray leaves, and pink rosebuds.
A secondary and complimentary pattern with larger roses and leaves
appears in the espresso cups & saucers,  and several of the serving pieces.

  Floral-motif antique silver flatware and cut crystal glassware brings sparkle to the neutral setting.

The napkin 'rings' are simple strands of vintage chandelier crystals,
wrapped around a rolled satin pewter napkins.
A variation has a small paper doily gathered with a pink vintage ribbon,
and a crystal ornament tied on.

I've placed a mini PINK Sweet Sweater Pumpkin at each place setting as a gift,
in a miniature espresso cup.
  It's an idea easily replicated with a real pumpkin, a chocolate pumpkin, or a candle.
Just a little token of thanks...

A Fabulous Fall Fete!

OK, just so we start off on the right foot here, that word is not 'FEET'! It's more like 'FATE':

fête [ fāt , fet/ ] (faet / fate)

noun

noun: fête; plural noun: fêtes; noun: fete; plural noun: fetes

1. 1.

   a celebration or festival.

   synonyms:

   gala, bazaar, fair, festival, fiesta, jubilee, carnival;

verb

verb: fête;

1.

honor or entertain (someone) lavishly.

"she was an instant celebrity, fêted by the media"

Let's go with BOTH definitions, for they certainly fit this story!

Today, I'd like to share with you some welcoming, elegant fall event decor.

I took the photos in this post back in October, 2010, at the Remnants of the Past Antique Show - 

which was held at the historic Dana-Powers House in Nipomo, CA at that time.
[it's now held at the glorious Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo]

Judi Powers (left) owns her family's historic property, and Judy Watkins (right) owns the show.

 Together, they created beautiful decor to welcome the show vendors for a party.
The gathering was held on the beautifully landscaped grounds of the farm on the night before the show.
And 'the Judys' always make things SPECIAL!

They have great style, and I know you'll love seeing what they did...

The setting was the beautiful gardens surrounding the historic house...

 a private and perfect site for weddings and parties all year long!

continue reading for more inspiration...

Happy Earth Day - Every Day!

Those of us who create using reclaimed & recycled materials  

observe Earth Day EVERY day!

It's fun to know that we are not only helping to keep the planet 'green' and healthy,

 but we are preserving parts of history by not sending architectural salvage to the landfill.

As I was arranging the frames for the presentation that I shared about in my post yesterday,

I remembered a similar project that I created, using old window frames.

They were used in several arrangements as props inside our Retreat Home booths
at vintage shows in 2010...

Basically, I just hung varied sizes and styles of old window frames

[both with and without glass in them]

at varied heights and levels from the booth frame, using wire,

to create an overhead 3-D composition.

Giant chandeliers completed the look and added sparkle!

You can see in the photos above that the window elements

can be arranged differently in each setting - 

in this case, vendor booths at three different shows - 

and yet the message or theme remains the same.

Windows are also pretty cheap at salvage stores, garage sales, and on Craigslist!

This idea is easily adapted to a 2-D wall arrangement

using old windows, frames, mirrors, shutters, crates, palettes....

any kind of salvage with character.

btw, that 'baby grand piano' in some of the shots above?

it's a bar. and it ended up in a magazine!

see more of it here!

photos above taken by and property of Debi Ward Kennedy (me!)

of my RETREAThome (my previous home furnishing & decor business) booths

at the Farm Chicks, Barn House, and UrbanBarn antique / vintage shows in 2010.

many thanks to HOMEBNC for including this post in their 2021 summer decor feature
40+ Old Window Outdoor Decor Ideas

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Decor, All Bottled Up!

 when i say 'found' materials, people look at me funny.

 what i mean by that is stuff that you find in a field, or on a curb, 

or at a yard sale or thrift store, or in your own garage or barn.

stuff that most people don't even SEE.

i crawled under a table at a yard sale to reach for the tattered corner of a dirty cardboard box.

no one else had even given the box a glance.

i opened it to discover these cool old medicine bottles!

i didn't need to do much to them to use them as decor...

after a careful washing to preserve the original labels,

they were corralled on a round silver tray to show them off.

the two bottles that didn't have lids are serving a flower vases, holding happy daisies.

this is a collection of miscellaneous old bottles that i found in thrift shops.

some were very detailed, and some were rather plain.

i embellished them 

using my stash of vintage trims, jewelry, and papers.

the jewelry hung on them, but some of it could also be removed to wear.

 [some of these photos were featured in 

Romantic Homes Magazine, February, 2013
in the mention of homewardFOUND on page 12]

i took the embellished bottles to a show, and some of them sold. some didn't.

which is fine, it just gave me the chance to do something ELSE with them:

so i painted them.

with white gloss enamel appliance spray paint.

and then i popped a few daisies & chamomile into them

and sat them on a silver tray.

i paid one dollar for that dirty box of brown medicine bottles.

and between one and three dollars for each of the clear bottles.
the silver trays cost me five bucks each.

i sold the first set for $35, and the second set for $45 

at the BarnHouse antique show. in the first hour.

here's the moral of this story:
these items were basically discards, with no inherent value to anyone.

all it took was an eye for using them in a new way

for them to have value and worth. 

THAT is what 'found' decor is all about. smile.

it doesn't take OLD stuff, either...

what about a six-pack of empty glass Coca Cola bottles for a patio table?

or maybe old glass baby bottles for a shower?
little glass yogurt containers for a brunch?

paint 'em. put 'em on a tray. fill 'em with posies.

you'll have some fresh spring decor all bottled up!

Don't Fence Me In!

i love using garden elements for decor.

watering cans, terra cotta pots, garden tools, birdbaths, fences...

especially fences.

over the years i've used old garden fencing in a multitude of ways...

i actually hauled a dozen vintage white wood fence sections around for ten years!

here are a few ideas to get YOU started!

* a section of fence as a backdrop in a vignette

it can be hung on the wall, or just leaned up there.

paired with a large garden urn, a large vase filled with lilac blooms,

and terra cotta pots that are stacked and tipped over, filled with various objects

[like balls of string and glass lamp globes and garden hand tools and seed packets]

keeps the whole 'garden' theme going...

another section of fencing was hung up higher and to the right, 

and another small section lies on its side below that...

the two pieces are visually connected  by adding some white wire garden fencing between them.

[this large arrangement was the focal point behind the cash register
during the spring vintage show on our farm in 2010.]

* fence pickets used as signs

i simply separate the pickets, and hand-paint them!
[that's also one of my headboard signs!]

* fencing as lumber supply: tables

 [the fence pickets have been separated from the fence structure before using as lumber]

another idea, shown below, is a little more complicated:

follow the white arrow in the photo, and you'll see

* fencing turned into a window awning

 some of the fencing i had hauled around for a decade was used in the making of it...

and that awning was used in four locations over five years!

* hung as shown above ^ in our antique store booth

*sitting on top of a metal tent frame in our show booth

* hung in my store on the farm (twice - two stores, two farms)

...and NOW it has been shrunk down in size,
and hangs over a bed in a young girl's bedroom!

fencing also works beautifully as:
*wainscot (lower wall treatment)
* headboards
* backs of benches
*shutters (hung vertically)
oh, yeah.... and in the garden!

have you ever used garden fencing as decor in your home?

*note: credit for the construction of the fence awning and tables shown above

goes to my late husband. he was very talented!*

shared online:

The Everyday Home Blog | Home{work} Wednesday
[thank you for the mention, Suzi at Worthing Court!]

cupcakes & crinoline | project inspire{d}