A Captivating Tablescape Full of Southern Charm

A Table Full of Southern Charm

Setting a table that feels like a warm hug from an early summer Georgia day (it would be a hot hug this week since our temps are in the upper 90s, actually I don’t think I’d want a hug at all with this heat!) I digress, chasing those purple bunnies again! Anyway a warm hug from an early summer Georgia day is my kinda magic! Picture this: a spread that’s got all the heart of a family supper (although I do belong to the dinner side of the debate, lol). This table is a tale of color, texture, and a sprinkle of Southern charm—perfect for gatherin’ family and friends around for good food and better stories.

Find Your Inspiration…

My muse for this table was the floral arrangement I whipped up during Dish Camp (if you missed that post you can find out about Dish Camp here). The colors were fabulous! The textures were fabulous! It really came together better than I had hoped.

People often ask, “Where’d you learn to arrange flowers like that? Well, when I was a little thing of eight, my step-mom handed me garden shears out to the flower beds that were around the farmhouse at Bradley Acres to snip some flowers for dinner arrangements. (I know some of y’all are clutchin’ your pearls thinkin’ about an eight-year-old with shears, but take the judgement elsewhere please, Every kid is different and I was ready for it. Teachable moment: trust what a child can handle, and don’t run with sharp things!) She showed me where to snip, how to angle, and to keep those shears steady. That’s where it all began!

For this table, I pulled out a majolica tureen I snagged on a treasure hunt during dish camp. I took Melissa to Monroe, Georgia (the next town over). They call it the Antiques Capital of Georgia for a reason with more antique shops in a concentrated area than all the other places in the state! More than you can shake a stick at! We didn’t even make it to all of them. I haven’t even made it to all of them and I’m less than 10 minutes away!

I only found the base of the tureen, but when I google imaged it I found this. I’d love to have the top! Isn’t it just fabulous! Oh well, it’s still pretty fabulous without the lid.

I grabbed two bouquets from Wellsprings Flower Farm, a local joint, where their bloomin’ barn is open most summer weekends. I added some hydrangeas and distylium/vintage jade from my yard and some roses that were part of a previous arrangement that still had some life left!

Confession: This might be one of my favorite arrangements ever!

Select a Color Palette…

Now, I could’ve gone a dozen ways with colors, but yellow, purple, and green just sang to my soul. Those hues felt like a warm breeze through a field of flowers!

A little color theory, yellow and purple are Complementary (note the e) Colors. They pop like fireflies at dusk! They’re statement makers and often colors selected by sports teams… think LSU Tigers, Miami Dolphins or well-known franchises like Krispy Kreem or Chili’s. That doesn’t mean yellow and purple don’t “complement” or go well with other colors, because they do. Complementary Colors are opposite on a color wheel. (yellow and purple, blue and orange, green and orange, blue-green and red-orange, yellow-green and red-violet, blue-violet and yellow-orange)

I chose green to add a bit of calm since it’s beside purple on a basic color wheel. They are analogous, meaning next to each other on the color wheel. Analogous colors provide harmony.

Pickin’ these three colors gave my table a balance of sassy contrast and soothing calm, not always easy, but oh-so-doable if you think about how colors dance together.

Make it All About the Patterns…

When I laid eyes on that majolica tureen, I knew it’d pair perfectly with my Target tablecloth, the one with the yellow stripes and the ruffle you may have seen here on my Stunning Spring Tablescape. With only three yellow tablecloths in my stash, it wasn’t a tough choice, bless my heart! Those wide stripes are a big, bold pattern—check!

Here’s where I got a tad flustered! During Dish Camp we went to one of my favorites, okay maybe my only favorite, thrift stores in Atlanta. It’s actually an upscale thrift and really the only one I have luck finding dishes and such. It’s Cathedral Thrift on Piedmont Rd. I found eight of these gorgeous majolica salad plates from Germany. They looked fabulous on the tablecloth with the floral arrangement and my heart swooned. The pattern on the plate provided a focus and it was a medium scale design in the middle and a small pattern around the border.

Buth then these Calico Bloom plates from Burleigh that I ordered from Vivo Veronika kept whispering to me. They were a brighter plum tone and just so fun!

I had both sittin’ pretty on the tablecloth and let me tell you, they were battling for the spotlight!

With the salad plates givin’ me fits, I decided to move on to the stack to see if that would help sort out the puzzle.

Pick Your Stack…

I wanted something natural in of my stack so I reached for these rattan chargers from Belk. Those scallops and loops made my heart go pitty-pat. They would frame whatever dinner plates I chose like a burst of sunshine. The warm wood tones cozied up to the yellows like they were old friends.

Next, I grabbed an old reliable, my Bordallo Pinheiro Basketweave Green dinner plates. I could use these on every table and not get tired of them. Finding ten on FBMP for $35 was sweeter than pecan pie.

Now back to those salad plates. I tried both the majolica and the calico and wouldn’t you know it, I loved them both! One was light and breezy like spring evenings, the other warm like a late summer day. I swapped ‘em back and forth ‘til I was dizzy! Usually I’m quicker to decide, but these had me stumped.

Select the Linens…

I chose a few napkins in plum and yellow to try, hoping they’d settle the great salad plate debate! Guess what? No such luck!

The plum color sang with the Calico Bloom and the yellow ones danced with the majolica. That’s when it hit me—why choose? I’d just set two tables! Swap a few pieces and I could showcase both plates and both napkins. Win-win, y’all!

For the plum napkin, I decided to play up the springier tones and added green beaded napkin rings from Pier 1, snagged new-in-box at an estate sale. It always amazes me how many things I find that have never been used! Use your stuff, people!! I’m not going to have a bunch of unused stuff when it comes time for my estate sale! I expect to see a line longer than a country mile!

The yellow napkin got these floral napkin rings by Dick Sulser, picked up at BTS Bash Vicksburg. If you’re near Tyler, Texas, you need to check his fabulous designs at Painted Tree Boutique. He is so talented!

Time for Glassware & Flatware…

With one table leaning towards richer colors, I chose different glassware for each. I’d been itchin’ to use my white Portieux Vallerysthal glasses, and they finally got their moment to shine.

Have you ever seen opaline? I fell head over heels after spotting blue opaline on a table in one of my groups. Prices on eBay were steeper than a barn roof, so I kept my eyes peeled at estate sales. Lo and behold, at a slightly sketchy sale, I found a lone blue opaline goblet with the Portieux Vallerysthal sticker—priced at $4, and it was half-off day! I grabbed it, plus two Royal Doulton E2928 salad plates, and tossed $8 at the cashier like I was in that IKEA ad screamin’, “Start the car! Start the car!” If you are unfamiliar with that commercial, you must watch it! I laugh every time!

When I pulled some sneaky ninja grab to get it unnoticed out of the china cabinet, my husband was like what is it? I’m like shhhhh, stop talking. I was glaring at him hoping he’d get the hint to stop talking until we had left the sale!!!

In the car, I pulled up one on eBay for $150 explaining that I didn’t want them to realize they had priced it incorrectly. I was the woman in the IKEA commercial running towards her husband yelling at him, “Start the car!” although I was yelling, “Don’t mention the goblet!” I did find more on eBay at a better price than $150 a glass, but not even close to $2 a glass!!!! Don’t get me started on the pink, or the green, or the yellow, which I have not added to my collection! Those are lottery winning purchases, lol!

I needed a titch more green. My Villeroy and Boch Boston glasses were the perfect addition. I have these in almost every color made!

For flatware I stuck with keeping the “light and springy” tones of the calico blooms table, I went with my white flatware from Amazon. Here is an affiliate link to them. I have them in almost every color and highly recommend them! They are a great weight and look fabulous no matter the color!

For the majolica table I opted for these glasses in a richer plum color. I love the depth they provide to the table!

Which meant for the majolica table I wanted a deeper color handle. Enter the green handle version of the Cathylin flatware. They played off the green in the dinner plate and the majolica plate perfectly! Here’s a link to the green handles.

Centerpiece Magic…

Since that floral arrangement was my spark, I didn’t need much more, but I wanted a little extra to fill the space. For the bloom table, I pulled out some gold mini table lamps from TJMaxx. Did I need more gold table lamps? No! BUT, in my defense these gold table lamps came with 4 different shades! Gold tablelamps and 4 different shades, how could I not buy them? The rattan shades echoed the rattan placemats, tyin’ it all together like a bow on a gift. Repetition’s a mighty fine design trick—it makes everything look like you meant it.

I also added some little capodimante porcelain flowers that I had in yellows and purples.

For the majolica table, I wanted something a touch fancier. I added the gold scallop lamp shades and elevated the arrangement on a plateau. Funny story—these gold extras on the table are curtain finials! Found a bag of them at an estate sale. My husband said, “We don’t need curtain finials.” I said, “They’re not curtain finials, they’re gonna be table finials!” They add a rich, unexpected texture that’s as delightful as your preferred cold beverage, make mine a half-and-half tea) on a hot day.