How to Create a Tablescape with Unexpected Colors

Retro and Refined Table…

This table came about because of the theme, “Retro and Refined,” which was the theme for an Instagram group, Tables for Soiree, I’m part of. We have a theme for two weeks and the members post their tables inspired by the theme. The pieces for this table came together so quickly and then just sat on my planning table. I had all the elements but no time. I finally got around to setting this table a few days later. It was such a fun, bright table!

Find Your Inspiration…

When I heard the theme, I pondered my supplies and what I had that said “Retro” and this rooster and pair of ducks in this fabulous turquoise and purple made me think retro. The funny thing about these pieces, while they’re giving 1960s vibes, they’re actually from the late 19^th/early 20^th century! I didn’t know any of the history until I posted them on Facebook. They were made for the export trade and symbolized good luck, faithfulness, and perseverance.

Select a Color Palette…

How could I go any direction other than the purple and turquoise of the statues? I mean the colors are fabulous. To think this glaze is probably close to 150 years and looks just as bright and rich as if it were manufactured yesterday! Now I’m not really a fan of roosters or geese but with these colors, I’ll allow it. Ha-ha!

Make it All About the Patterns…

When I started thinking about patterns, I knew one that was a given, these Mark and Graham napkins I found (on sale). Here is the link. My suggestion, wait for a sale! The patterns are so fun and bright and perfect! I’ve added several napkins from their site to my collection. You may have remembered seeing some on this Kentucky Derby Table and will be seeing them next week on a July 4^th table!

Since the statues and the napkins were predominantly turquoise, I needed to focus on purple for the tablecloth. When I’m layering, I tend to rotate colors which gives me the most pop. I knew a purple tablecloth would pop the turquoise glaze on the birds. This purple tablecloth was the perfect choice. It was a recent Etsy find and I hadn’t used it on a table. It was the perfect color.

Here’s a look at the border, which perfectly balances the vibrant, busy pattern. The center design features a purple background with white accents, while the border showcases white with striking purple stripes. This contrast ensures each section pops distinctly, avoiding any visual blend. This is one of the tips I use when mixing patterns—it allows the patterns to stand out while working together cohesively.

Typically, I aim for patterns with varied scale sizes, but the tablecloth and napkins had similar scales. What made them work was their color contrast. The tablecloth’s rich purple hue paired beautifully with the napkins, which featured a dominant turquoise with subtle purple and green accents, allowing the similar scales to harmonize.

I decided finding a large-scale or small-scale pattern could wait for the later steps, but I didn’t necessarily need them with what I had going on so far!

Pick Your Stack…

Elements of this stack were already making themselves known to my brain in the planning stages of this table. I had picked up some square salads at BTS Bash Wetumpka to use on this table. The purple was perfect and the blue-green was a bit off but since it’s in the same color family, it would work. You don’t have to have an exact shade match when mixing colors. You just don’t want undertones to clash, which is an entirely different lesson. Lol, but a quick thought. Since this shade of turquoise or blue-green or aqua (whatever you want to call it) leans more green, that means it has more yellow than a true turquoise. Since yellow and purple are complementary colors, this shade works with this table, even with the differences. I hope that makes sense!

I didn’t really have any turquoise dinner plates so I went with my trusty Spode Willow Lilac. Plus the border added a small pattern, so win-win!

I pulled out the La Porcellana Firenze Bianca reticulated dinner plates planning on using them as chargers. Funny thing is whenever I use these people always ask what the white chargers are? They are oversized so they work as a charger or a dinner plate! When I got everything stacked up it didn’t provide enough of a negative space between the dinner plate and the tablecloth. I really would have liked to use a turquoise placemat, but those were not in my stash. Shocking I know but placemats are the one area of tablesetting items I don’t have a lot of since finding a bargain isn’t always possible. I stuck with white placemats and was happy with the result.

Normally I take pics as I stack, but since this one developed from the top down, my pics didn’t line up, so now you can see the pics as I stacked.

Select the Linens…

All I had to worry about to complete the linens was a napkin ring. I used these white metal birds from Amazon to stick with the bird theme. After getting the table together and photographed I remembered I had the perfect shade of purple velvet ribbon that would have tied off the napkins fabulously. Does that happen to you? It happens to me frequently!!!

Time for Glassware & Flatware…

Organizing by color really helps me save time when I’m planning out tables, especially the glassware shelves. I quickly selected these aqua glasses. They were gifted to me by a friend of my step-mom’s who was downsizing in preparation of a move to be closer to the grandchildren. She brought over 5 boxes of treasures!!! These glasses were part of the goodies. She just remembered that her father brought them back from a trip oversees. I’ve used google lens a few times and can find some similar on Replacements but they’re just listed as unknown manufacturer and none this color. Maybe one day they’ll be identified!

I tried a few of my purple glassware patterns before going with these Casual Settings Amethyst by Cristal D’Arques-Durand. The clear stem and the purple bowl provides the perfect supporting cast to the turquoise glass.

Together, they’re the perfect blend!

If you read the previous blog post, A Charming Tablescape of Southern Charm, you saw my favorite Amazon flatware and I mentioned I had most all of the colors. Well here’s another color I needed, the turquoise. It’s such a pretty color! I love it! Here’s an affiliate link if you can’t live without them either! They list the color as blue.

Centerpiece Magic…

The one good thing about the delay in setting this table was that it gave my hydrangeas time to show out! Last year I had three blooms, but this year, they were fabulous.

Here they are early on. The sculpture you see was made by my Dad. I had seen a shiny modern one and asked if he could do one with wagon wheels, which since he was the most talented man on Earth, I knew he could. What made it even better was that he had a wagon wheel rim from my Papa (his dad) and a wagon wheel rim from my great-grandfather (his mom’s dad).

I’m sure if you use hydrangeas in your arrangements, you know they wilt pretty quickly. I’ve tried the dip in water hack but that never worked for me. This time I decided to try alum powder. I created a video for TikTok and Instagram showing the steps I took. This arrangement lasted 14 days! I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t trim or change the water at all. I did add water as needed, but that was all. My hydrangeas have faded or I’d try another test to see how long they’d last. Maybe when my Little Lamb hydrangeas bloom I’ll try it, but those don’t tend to wilt as quickly as my mophead hydrangeas.

Here’s the steps I followed:

Tucked in my inspiration pieces and voila!!