Beautiful Valentine’s Day Table Settings & A Clever Idea for Candle Storage

Welcome to the 439th Tablescape Thursday!

Last week I used the very latest version of InLinkz for Metamorphosis Monday and Tablescape Thursday. For most folks, it worked fine, but I’ve heard from 4-5 readers who were unable to see the party links. Until we can figure out what’s causing that issue, I’ve gone back to using the old version of InLinkz for today.

If you were having an issue seeing the party links last week, please leave a comment letting me know so I can let the good folks at InLinkz know, also. I was told that an out-of-date browser can sometimes cause these issues, but if your browser is up-to-date and you were unable to see last week’s party links, please do let me know in the comments. Thanks for your patience with this issue.

Beautiful Valentine’s Day Table Settings, Elegant and Whimsical

For her Valentine’s Day celebrations, my friend, Marie, created several beautiful Valentine’s Day tables. This beautiful table was set in her dining room when we got together a few days ago.

 

 

Marie found this gorgeous china while antiquing. It has a small crown and I had trouble reading it, but I think it said H & C on the back. It’s so perfect for an elegant Valentine’s Day or Christmas table setting. King and Queen of Hearts playing cards make such a cute place card for this stunningly elegant table.

 

It’s even more beautiful in person. Marie paired it with gold-rimmed stemware and gold-plated flatware. This flatware is currently on sale here: Gold-plated Flatware

 

The napkins are edged in gold-beaded fringe. Marie and I each purchased a set of those in Tuesday Morning on one of our shopping trips together. The beautiful pierced chargers are by Ralph Lauren and say “Ralph Lauren Dunham” on the back. Marie found those several years ago on the Ralph Lauren Home website.

 

In her breakfast room, Marie set a whimsical table for her grandchildren.

 

This table is the one that’s closest to her fabulous Valentine’s Day tree! You may have caught a glimpse of that table in a previous post where I shared Marie’s Valentine’s decorations. (See that post here: Decorate for Valentine’s Day)

Valentine's Day Tree with Valentine's Day Ornaments and Decorations

Marie found Mr. Frog in Pier 1 several years back. I think the red swirl glasses are from Pier 1 a few years back.

 

In another area of her home, she had this table set with beautiful heart plates, another find in HomeGoods many years ago. I love the little heart-shaped beaded bowls.

 

Remember the little children’s table that Marie has always set for her youngest grandchildren? Marie use it for her own children when they were little, too.

Well, her grandchildren did that thing that all our children and grand-children have a tendency to do, they grew up and got too big for their wee table.

Children's Valentine's Day Table Setting Tablescape

 

So sadly it was put away recently, definitely a bittersweet moment!

 

Marie still created a pretty little tree for this corner and I love how she decorated all the windows as seen in the photo above.

 

When I share Marie’s beautiful holiday decorations and table settings here on the blog, Marie gets a lot of questions about where she stores her decorations. Marie’s home has a lot of great closets and a full basement, so she has a lot of storage room for all the decorations she uses for each season and holiday.

She recently came up with the most clever way to store all the candles she uses around her home and in table settings. In one of the unfinished areas of her basement, Marie had 2 x 4 wood pieces nailed in place between the studs. It created instant shelving for her candles! The basement is the perfect place to store them since it’s so nice and cool there.

So if you have an unfinished area, think about what you could store by adding a few little shelves between the studs. Love this idea!

 

Looking forward to all the beautiful tables for this week’s Tablescape Thursday!

Tablescape Thursday

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Comments

  1. Hi Susan, At the holidays, it’s always a treat to see what creative views you’ll post. Your friend Marie’s decorations are always a bright reveal…and as always, thanks for hosting!

  2. I always enjoy seeing Marie’s tables and how she decorates for the seasons Susan! Her candle storage solution is genius!

    P.S. I was able to see the links fine last week, this week a got the message: “Image not valid, too big or probably not an image, if problem persists upload an image from your blog.” I uploaded to link, just wondering if it’s me or anyone had else that problem?

  3. How pretty! I’m sooo in love with those beautiful red & white heart plates! Gotta love those adorable frogs too! That’s what stood out to me in the last post as far as ornaments on the tree. They were so cute tucked in here & there on the tree. Great idea on the storage! I’m all for more storage!

  4. Thanks so much for continuing to host TT! It’s always a pleasure to join in. It has been so fun seeing Marie’s decorations and ideas and of course, I always enjoy seeing yours.

  5. That Marie, she is amazing! What a candle collection! Very clever!

  6. Cyndi Raines says

    Hello Susan! Hope you are having a great day! Love the candle storage idea! In the other post regarding Marie’s outside decorating – which was awesome, I asked, did you know were she purchased the stand up hearts by her front door. Would love to know if you can find out – thanks. She is one awesome lady to decorate so beautifully for family, friends and neighbors. Thanks for sharing.

    • Oh, sorry I missed that question. Someone asked that recently in a comment on an older post, so I actually know the answer. Yay! 🙂 When I texted Marie to ask a week or two ago, she replied back that she found those in HomeGoods a few years back. She also said they are metal…which is the other thing the reader had wanted to know. Hope that helps, Cyndi. I haven’t been to HomeGoods in a while. I need to pay them a visit and see what’s up for spring!

  7. Everything looks amazing. I’m still in love with those frogs! The table for her grandchildren was precious. Puts a smile on your face and in your heart.
    Marie is so talented and creative. And so are you, Susan. xo

  8. Elizabeth Roderick says

    Thanks to you and Marie for letting us peek into her beautiful home again. I was wondering where she kept all of her decorations between holidays. I thought maybe she used her attic as you have used yours. Thank you again!

    • I thought she did, too…but a while back I asked and she said that she stores almost everything in her basement. She has a nice, big basement. I probably shouldn’t be storing things in my attic since attics go through BIG temperature fluctuations, but so far everything has been okay. Definitely wouldn’t store candles there, though.

  9. That corner looks so bare without the kids table. Like looking at the old swing set that never gets used! I like the heart shaped dishes. Great idea for the candle storage. Would work in a garage for paint cans too.

  10. Wow her formal dining table setting was gorgeous! Those beaded napkins are beautiful! Love the whimsical children’s table- such cute detail- I especially love the frogs 🙂 After you fixed the link up situation last week it worked great for me.

  11. Regality (aka The Quing) says

    Yay, the links are back!

    Oh, Marie, I am soooo jealous. *L* I have a similar pattern of china. It’s not identical, but close–Mikasa, French Embassy Red (http://www.replacements.com/webquote/mikfremr.htm). Of course, as soon as I discovered it, they discontinued it. I was able to find enough pieces at Replacements, so that I can feed my whole family of 16 on special occasions.

  12. Awesome Valentine decorations! Always look forward to your posts. I am one of those who was unable to see any links last week. Every thing is fine today. Thanks for sharing so many wonderful ideas. Have a blessed day.

  13. Susan, thank you and Marie for sharing her stunning decorations. Her dining table is elegant…the china is gorgeous. The tree is fabulous, so glad to see how she stores it all. She is amazing with her energy and creativity!

  14. Marie celebrates beautifully. I always love seeing her decor. I love the addition of the playing cards to that elegant table. Some of my grands have also outgrown the children’s table. Fortunately, mine is a high/low table. I use it as a coffee table, but it can be raised to dining height. I’ve had to raise it for some of the grands and get taller seats for it for the smaller grands. Thanks for hosting.

  15. The tablescapes Marie created are clever, whimsical and refined all in one. I love her Valentine’s Day Trees. You two shopping together must be fun. I find many of my treasures at the same places.
    Thanks for sharing your magical creativity.
    Happy Creating,
    Karen Marie
    PS. I am still looking forward to lemonade on the porch one day.

    • We get in all kinds of trouble shopping together! lol Not this time, but the time before, I will pillow crazy and bought a lot of pillows. 🙂 We do have fun, though. Thanks, Karen!

  16. Marie is something! Tons of energy to make her family feel extra special! And all those candles! Wow!

  17. Everything looks so beautiful and well thought out. I am glad to know I’m not the only person with lots of candles and nowhere to put them! My solution was a big, plastic covered tub. Not as ideal as Marie’s idea, but at least it corralled them all in one place.

  18. I always enjoy seeing the posts about your friend Marie. It’s always fun to see her tables and home. She must make her friends and family feel special when they visit. It is a bittersweet time when the little ones grow up and there’s not a need for a little table. I wish I had a basement for candle storage. What a clever idea!

  19. Sadly, I haven’t been able to see your links for the last couple of weeks and was giving up hope of being able to see them from now on. I do hope whatever the issue is can be resolved. Marie’s house is fabulous as always – such a treat!

  20. Thanks for sharing Marie’s beautiful table and thank you for hosting.

  21. I love the black phrases artwork in Marie’s grands table area…appreciate any feedback on where to get those!

  22. Susan, thanks were those purchased recently?

    • No, I’ve seen them in her kitchen for several years, but I’ve seen similar signs in HomeGoods before, so you may still be able to find them there.

  23. I love reading your blog and enjoy looking at all your party links. I was unable to access it this past week and really missed it.

  24. How lucky you are to have Marie as a friend and go shopping together! Love all of her Valentine’s tables! Thanks again to you both for sharing Marie’s amazing creativity!!!

  25. Thank you, susan!

  26. I love that Marie’s dining room tablescape showcases the beautiful inlaid wood of her dining room table. I always think it’s a shame to cover up such gorgeous woodwork. Also love her genius candle storage hack! (And I’ll never beat myself up over having too many candles and no place to put them again!) Looking forward to spring, Easter and St. Patty’s day decor, and keep on sending those shopping tips!

  27. Thanks again for sharing Marie’s incredible holiday decorating! I just don’t know how she does it ALL! I, too, store my candles in the basement between the studs! Makes them easy to see and retrieve!

  28. I was not able to see last weeks post

  29. Thanks for sharing Marie and her beautiful decorations for the holidays with us. I hope you will let us see her gorgeous house decorated for every holiday. She has wonderful ideas and I appreciate her sharing with us. Thanks Susan.

  30. sharon walper says

    Hi Susan,
    You mentioned that Marie had the white Christmas tree up all year long. I’m curious to know how she decorates it throughout the year. I understand the obvious holidays, but what about the in-between times?

    • I think there’s pretty much always some holiday coming up. She does a lot of decorating so she tends to get them up early. I’m guessing Valentine’s probably went up sometime in mid January after Christmas was all down and packed away. Sharon, click on the category heading “Holiday Home” at the top of the blog, and under each holiday, click on the subheading “Decor.” You’ll see her previous Valentine’s Day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas…etc… under there. Sometimes I’ll show her tree when I post a tablescape since it’s right behind the table, so some may be visible under the Tablescapes under the “Holiday Home” category heading. This year she is decorating for Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day, too. Not sure if she has plans to decorate the tree for Mardi Gras but I think she may be decorating it for St. Patrick’s Day.
      She does 23 Christmas trees at Christmas time, including one for Mardi Gras. You can see it in this previous post: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/the-christmas-tree-post-23-themed-christmas-trees/

  31. I could not see the posts from last week either.. 🙁

  32. Karen russo says

    I love how Marie set up her beautiful dining room table without padding and a tablecloth. I just love the look but I’m afraid to do that because I worry someone will scratch it or spill something on it or worse, get a ring from something hot. Does she really host guests that way, or is it for show ?

    • No, she uses it like this. I’m guessing she places hot pads under anything that she would place on the table that could leave a ring. I don’t use a table pad or tablecloth on my table when I have a dinner party or have family for holiday dinners and I’ve never had a ring left from a glass or anything else. Tables like Marie’s have a super high-gloss finish on them, so a wet/damp glass could probably remain even overnight and not hurt it, but usually the glass is just there for the evening. I don’t know if Marie puts the food dishes on the table, but I don’t do that. My family/friends serve themselves from dishes on the kitchen counter because there’s usually so much food, it would never fit on the table. Personally, I don’t like talking over dishes over food, much prefer a pretty centerpiece. 🙂 If I were to put a hot or cold dish on the table, I would use one of the many trivets I have. I’m guessing that’s what Marie would do, also, but again, I’d be surprised if she puts the food on the table. For casual family dinners, they probably dine at their breakfast table or at a table she has in her family room.

  33. Love Marie’s candle storage solution! But the removal of the table made me feel so sad. Bittersweet moment, for sure.

  34. Marie, never fails to please as enjoyed the tour immensely. Re her candle storage brought a smile as recall when we first moved into our home I decided I would store my seasonal decorations in a portion of our basement called a crawl space. Needless to say, when retrieving my candles the following year the ‘taper’ ones were blobs of melted wax; as not thinking at the time I had stored them in close proximity to a heating duct. Lesson learned! -Brenda-

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