The Christmas tree is put away, the comfortable chairs are back in the window, and there’s a fresh coating of snow outside. It seems like the perfect day to take a visit to Germany in the Winter’s Blue Tablescape.
I’ve talked about my next door neighbor and her dishes many times. The tableware and decor items that I selected (and salvaged from destruction) from her estate sales have been sources of inspiration for tablescapes, including Paperwhites in a Punch Bowl, Family Reunion Gifts Bring a Sunflower Tablescape, and most recently, Downton Abbey Tablescape for the Servantless Home Decorator. Her house remodel is almost finished by the flippers and it is up for sale; hopefully we will soon have a lovely family living in Oksana’s home and bringing life back to it after almost six years. Today I’m honoring her once again with a tablescape inspired by her set of Hutschenreuther collectors’ plates, each with a different scene from a German village.
Starting with the sheer organza snowflake table runner that was a gift from my niece and her husband many years ago, I built the setting for Oksana’s wintery collectors’ plates.
The dazzling blue placemats provide a blast of bold color and a little shine against the oak table. Remember when I talked about the Pantone colors of the year?
I snapped up the antique white wooden chargers when they went on sale at Pier One. They were still more than I wanted to pay, but are a classic addition to my gold and pewter chargers. P.S. They are still on sale at Pier One, and I went back yesterday and bought four more. Everyone needs a solid white charger, and I really like how the Frenchy scrollwork fits in with the snowflake theme.
The Noritake Stanwyck takes on the wintry colors of the setting, and the chameleon-like blue in the flowers blends perfectly with the poinsettia napkins that I made one year as centerpiece starters for our church Christmas suppers. My little Hummel Hansel and Gretel (marked W. Germany) adds a little whimsy to the scene. Topping the stack are the Hutschenreuther collectors’ plates showing wintry scenes. I don’t know if these are food safe — can anyone confirm this?
Because this table is set for just the two of us, I added a beer glass for Music Man’s stout or porter, and a wine glass for a nice Riesling for me.
I saw the silver hydrangea blossoms in the sale bin at Pier One and created a blue and white grouping for the centerpiece. I have several blue and white tea sets and they always add some style and color to the table.
I grew up seeing the Japanese porcelain coffee set on my mom’s special shelf in the kitchen. I don’t remember ever using it, but I’m feeling that some hot chocolate would just hit the spot on this wintry day. Check out this site for some interesting information on hot chocolate from different countries.
After all the cozy home posts over the last couple of weeks, I decided to freshen up my wing chairs in the front window. They are in desperate need of neutral updating as they still have 80s-tastic mauve and blue upholstery, so I decided to cover them with white coverlets and add blue pillows. Please don’t judge — I’m not quite ready to spend the re-upholstery dollars just yet. We’ll sink comfortably into those chairs tonight when we eat our dinner in front of the window and watch the world go by.
Sources
- Snowflake Sheer Organza Table Runner: similar here
- Blue Placemat: Dollar Tree
- Carved White Wooden Charger: Pier One Imports
- Noritake Stanwyck Dinner Plate: Replacements
- Hutschenreuther Alzeyer Schloss collector plate: ebay
- Hutschenreuther Eltzer HofEltville am Rheim collector plate: Antiques Navigator
- Pilsner Beer glasses: Libbey (similar here)
- Blue poinsettia napkin: similar fabric here
- Japan Hand Painted Antique Coffee/Chocolate Set; (similar here)
- Indigo Paisley Decorative Pillow: Tuesday Morning (similar here)
I’m linking up today with the creative bloggers at The Scoop at Confessions of a Plate Addict, History and Home Link Party at We Call It Junkin’, Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life, Centerpiece Wednesday at The Style Sisters, Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch, and Anything Blue Friday at The Dedicated House. Be sure to stop by and say, “Hello!”
Got my bags, got my reservations,
Spent each dime I could afford.
Like a child in wild anticipation,
I long to hear that, “All aboard!”
Music and lyrics by Bud Green, Les Brown and Ben Homer (1944)
Wow I love those wintry plates from Oksana’s estate sale that you rescued. They really look perfect with your Noritake Stanwyck china. Blue seems so natural in the winter doesn’t it! Love the extra details like the blue & white napkins and the silver hydrangea blossoms! Your mother’s tea set is beautiful- so ladylike and rich in detail.
I know it can be unnerving to have a home empty and suddenly a “house flipper” appears, but that exact thing happened next to us and it was a Godsend for us. We didn’t have a great neighbor before that- in fact all they did was degrade the home the entire time they lived there. The home was updated and sold in a matter of months and a very nice family lives there now.
Liz, thanks for the lovely words and hope for our future with a new neighbor. It’s a big house, so we are looking for a nice family!
Coverlets are the way to go until you decide on what you really want. Having stuff reupholstered is P-R-I-C-E-Y!!! I had considered having some of our living room furniture re-covered, and heck…it’s just as much as to buy new!!!
You did Oksana proud with this tablescape. It’s beautiful and serene…just what’s needed during these winter months. I’m glad you got to use the pretty indigo placemats!!! Way to go!!! I thought of you yesterday when I was out shopping and saw some indigo chargers. Yes, I bought them! 😉 They were in the clearance section at Pier 1. Hmmmm….maybe they’re not really indigo, but more of a cobalt? I don’t know. I just liked them and the price was right! 🙂
Beautiful table, Jennie. Enjoy your weekend!
I saw those indigo chargers, too. Beautiful — and I can’t wait to see them in one of your tablescapes. As for reupholstering or buying new, it’s a hard call. Since agencies no longer take donated upholstered items due to bug problems, it seems that perfectly sound but out-of-date chairs would then be thrown away. I think I will probably choose to reupholster rather than add more to the landfill.
Such a pretty table…..love the blue and white! I have some of those white chargers too and love them!
I have all kinds of plans for those chargers — maybe Kathleen will do another white challenge! Hope you are all okay with yesterday’s snow; right now the wind is just howling outside my windows.
Those plates are a treasure! They are beautiful, and they must be a special part of Germany’s history. I need to check out Pier 1. Don’t know why, but I forget to shop there. Those chargers would be wonderful for many tablescapes, as you are proving! I’m glad you rescued your neighbor’s collections. Surely she would agree! Enjoy the memories – it’s lovely. Another great post, Jennie. 🙂
I usually go to Pier 1 for ideas, but not to shop, because it is pricier than my normal haunts. Still, when one sees the perfect thing, one must act. 🙂 That’s what I keep telling Music Man.
Judge you? If you only saw the Laz-Y-Boy chair I have in my bedroom! I bought it in ’92 when my youngest was one. He’s now 22. The chair has never been recovered, despIte continuous service, but I don’t know that it’s worth to spend the money on reupholstering it, and yet, it’s too comfortable to throw out! Enjoy your comfortable old chairs. Heck, with this cold weather we deserve all the cozy comforts we can get!
Btw – I hope you are feeling better!
My recliner has been my godsend over the last eleven weeks of recovery, and thank you, I am feeling better. The recovery is quite slow, however, and requires almost daily physical therapy. That’s getting old very quickly. It’s good that I can climb a stepladder now and get out stuff for new tablescapes!
This is a beautiful tablescape Jennie. I love the dazzling blue place mats and the new white chargers. Everything looks marvelous together. I love blue and white for a winter tablescape.
Oksana would be so proud, not only do you display her cherished plates in a beautiful tablescape, but you honor her memory in such a loving manner. I went back and read the other posts that you had linked about Oksana’s lovely things. I know you must miss her a lot.
My neighbor’s death from a massive heart attack was a shock and it happened a couple years after her husband had been killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding a bike. Perhaps that’s why I am so sentimental about her things; it feels as though they both were first cheated by life and then disrespected by their children while settling the estate. Wow — I don’t think I ever actually said that out loud. Thanks for visiting and offering kind words, Candy.
Another masterpiece, Jennie! Decorative plates usually say on the back they aren’t food safe, but if yours don’t say, then…I don’t know…I’m not much help, lol! Is your blogroll new, or am I just not very observant? Anyway thanks so much for having We Call It Junkin there, I really appreciate that! Your photography is always so stunningly gorgeous, which I’m sure is largely due to your skill, but I’d also love to know what type of camera you use, I’m shopping for an upgrade and would appreciate a recommendation if you can make one. As always, thanks for joining my History & Home Link Party, appreciate your participating each week! -Dawn
Dawn, mostly I’m a lucky photographer and I take a lot of duds. Thank goodness for digital photography! I use editing in Picasa and PicMonkey to help with lighting and cropping. My camera is an entry level DSLR, the Canon EOS Rebel T3i, and I use a Canon EF 50mm/1.4 lens for a lot of my photos. The macro lens is very forgiving and gives me some great shots. I’m actually going to take a photography class starting in February and I hope to get some help with photographing still life scenes, which is what we tablescapers and food photographers do. Thanks for visiting and I’m am proud to have your lovely blog on my linky list!
This is a beautiful table, so perfect for this time of year.. Well, I’m partial to blue and white so any time of year is just fine with me.
– Alma, The Tablescaper
Alma, I love your blue and white tablescapes, so a compliment from you means a lot to me!