3 Special Table Settings Featuring Beautiful Vintage Tablecloths!

Welcome to the 762nd Tablescape Thursday! Oh my gosh, it’s been a wild week around here! I had planned to complete the work on the unfinished part of my basement at a gradual pace over the next couple of months, but I got a bee in my bonnet and decided to go full-steam ahead. I’m eager to get my workbench and freezer moved back into the room as soon as possible, so that means going ahead and scheduling to have the painting done as soon as the electrical work is completed. The electrician was here yesterday and is coming back to finish up his work today. In addition to adding better lighting in the basement, I’m also changing out the light fixtures in an upstairs hallway. So I’ll have a lot of fun things to share very soon.

With all that has been going on this week, I didn’t get a chance to set a table, but I have a wonderful table setting to share that I know you’re going to love! Recently, I heard from Elena who shared three beautiful tables that she has created for spring and Easter over the past three years. I love how she tells the story of how her tables have changed and progressed over the years so I’ll let her share it in her own words.

Elena shared, “I had 2 ideas for the table this year and actually wanted to try them both. Through the years I inherited a ton of vintage linens. At one point I had six large Rubbermaid totes FULL of them. No one else even wanted them, I guess I’m the only one crazy enough to hand soak, rinse, dry, and iron that many tablecloths, runners, and napkins! Anyway, I THOUGHT I was using the same large Della Robbia tablecloth in the Easter 2016 photo, it had light stains from storage so I soaked, rinsed, and ironed it.” (Elena’s 2016 table…love that tablecloth!)

Spring Table with Vintage Tablecloth

Elena’s 2016 table…love that tablecloth!

Elena shared, “Definitely NOT the same cloth, it was way too narrow and the napkins were a weird shape and size. I think my Aunt may have washed and dried it in a washing machine and dryer. It’s way too narrow and even the middle was off-center. I SHOULD have stopped right there, but I kept going.”

Beautiful Spring Table, Vintage Tablecloth

 

Elena said, “I do like the Villeroy and Boch with the English countryside charger and Peter Rabbit salad plate but it ends there! If I had napkin rings, they would have helped, I can see the napkin running up the plate, with Peter sitting right beside it. My Mom never used napkin rings but I’m thinking I need some! The Fitz and Floyd rabbits are just TOO busy with the cloth, maybe the place setting is too. Years ago (maybe early 2000s) there were a lot of craft shows on TV and I remember one had a special where the host showed several different tables, completely tablescaped. I think Mackenzie Childs was bursting onto the scene and she used A LOT of it. One critic said that it looked like the sale aisle at an AC Moore threw up all over her tables! Well, this table reminded me of that critique!”

Beautiful Vintage Linenes in Easter Spring Table Setting

 

Oh, Elena–I LOVE this table setting! Definitely not too busy for this girl! Love everything about it including the wonderful Villeroy & Boch dinnerware and the adorable Peter Rabbit plates. I also love the idea of a napkin alongside Peter–that would look so cute since he’s offset in the design of the plate. Either way, I love this table!

Gorgeous Vintage Tablecloth for Spring

 

Elena said, “I just had to put it all away and start over. I really like the way the second table came out. Of course, my husband quoted A Christmas Story and said that it looks like a pink nightmare, but hey, it’s Easter!!!” Hahaha! Elena’s husband sounds like a hoot!

Spring, Easter Table, Beautiful Vintage Tablecloth, Vintage Linens

 

Elena said, “The flowers are a little over the top, but if I remove them when we eat it will be OK! My father was a florist in Manhattan, as was his father, my mother’s father, and several uncles on both sides! We lived in Westchester so I never worked in the shop. I can make a great florist’s bow but have not gotten the nerve to try floral arranging, they were all SO good at it. One of these days…”

Floral Centerpiece for Spring Table

 

Oh, I think the arrangements are beautiful and I love that Elena wasn’t afraid to make this nice and wonderfully grand! As she mentioned, they can always be moved to a sideboard once everyone sits down for dinner.

Beautiful Spring Easter Table Setting with Gorgeous Vintage Floral Tablecloth

 

What a beautiful setting! And look at that gorgeous, vintage tablecloth! Elena did such a nice job of washing them, you would never know they weren’t brand new, well except for how special they are. You don’t see tablecloths like this being made today!

Beautiful Spring Table, Vintage Floral Tablecloth, Vintage Linens

 

Such a beautiful table!

Spring Table, Vintage Floral Tablecloth

 

Adorable bunny centerpiece!

Spring Easter Table, Bunny and Floral Centerpiece

 

Thanks so much to Elena for sharing her beautiful spring tables! Elena also renovates doll houses and I’m hoping she will share some “Before and After” pictures with me of those. I would love to see how she does it since I have a vintage doll house that needs some interior renovations, but I’m not sure how or where to even start.

 

Spring, Easter Table, Beautiful Vintage Tablecloth, Vintage Linens

 

Looking forward to the beautiful tables linked for this week’s Tablescape Thursday! (If you enjoyed this post, subscribe for free email updates when a new post is up here: Subscribe for post updates.)

Tablescape Thursday

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Comments

  1. Six totes full of heirloom linens?!! Oh my goodness, I’d be playing with them for weeks. Lucky, Elena! And I know they went to exactly the right person in the family. I don’t care what your husband says, Elena, I love the pink nightmare, lol. What is that charger plate? I’ve not seen anything sparkly like that. Very pretty for the setting. And I too would love to learn flower arranging. I can’t help but wonder if that’s another skill Susan has up her sleeve. A tutorial might be in order. 😉

  2. Tina W Reynolds says

    I love the tables. Not too busy for me! I especially love her narration about how the tables have evolved. I have the same “stream of consciousness” style thinking going on every time I get ready for holiday company. I also own a mishmash of old stuff. Part of the fun is figuring out how to make it all dance together. One way my tables have changed relates to the times in our lives. When you have small children in the house, your tables reflect that. Now that our grandson is nearly 19 and a college man, I have adapted. Things are more sedate, but I miss the ‘kid stuff’!

  3. Tina W Reynolds says

    One more thing related to all of the beautiful tables I see so well photographed here: each time I am setting a “big” table, I am the only one doing all of the work and I just never, ever get the time to take pictures. I am whirling all around! I want to share a big regret— I wish, oh, I wish I had kept a little notebook documenting the occasion, the guests, the menu and descriptions of the table settings, all with photographs. Such a notebook would be a huge treasure to me now and I wonder if anyone that reads this has ever done such a thing? (I am thinking about Warren!) If not, I guess it is never too late to start!

    • I love that idea, Tina! If it weren’t for blogging about tables, I wouldn’t have a diary of the ones I’ve set, either…but that’s a brilliant idea!

  4. Fifi Flowers says

    You always have wonderful tables… so GREAT to see you’re still posting Tablescape Thursdays… WOW! in the 700s!

  5. Thanks to Elena for sharing her beautiful tables with us. I think we are a generation of keepers. These plastic tubs are ideal storage, but they are not the old cedar chest or wooden drawers.
    Susan, we are all excited to see the progress.

  6. Snowflake281 says

    I also inherited a small batch of vintage linens, along with a pair of hand stitched pillow cases. The linens fill only 1 storage bin though, which is just fine with me. Like Elana, I treated them all with TLC & they came out beautifully. To me using vintage tablecloths in any table setting, but especially for holidays is just the best way to add special meaning to a gathering with family & friends.

  7. Kathy Keeley says

    Such beautiful linens and tablescapes. Love the large vases filled with gorgeous flowers. Just love your blog. Wanted to ask if you had seen the Lego typewriter-it looks challenging but fun. Happy Spring!

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