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It’s been awhile since I used my Pier 1 “Spring Birds” salad plates in a tablescape, and our weird February weather this year has been playing havoc with my internal seasonal clock. I know it’s too early to actually be Spring, but this whole month (except for Wednesday of this week) has been very mild so I’m anxious to get outside and do garden stuff – even though it’s too early! I’ve settled for maintaining my bird feeders, and of course setting a bird-themed Spring tablescape!

I mentioned these salad plates were originally from Pier 1 – oh how I miss that store! – and they have the sweetest images on each plate. Do you have a favorite?

I used a flat bed sheet featuring pretty blue hydrangeas for the tablecloth. Flat sheets are wonderful for this purpose because they’re inexpensive and plentiful in the thrift stores I frequent. They are a great way to get a large amount of fabric for a small amount of money!

Flatware is one of my favorite patterns for a tablescape with a garden vibe. It is “Napoleon Bee” by Wallace. Does that make this a “birds and bees” tablescape? Why yes, I think it does! 😉 I splurged on four place settings over on Amazon. (This is an affiliate link – if you purchase through my link it costs you nothing extra but I get a small commission to help offset blog hosting fees. Thank you!) You can also see the edge of the plain white dinner plates in the photo below – these were clearance from Home Goods several years ago, and I just love the casual “stitching” border!

Glassware is my favorite tumbler – I don’t think I’ll ever know for sure if these are “American” by Fostoria or “Whitehall” by Indiana Glass, but let me tell you, they are the perfect tumbler: generously sized, durable, and attractive! These have been thrifted over time.

Napkins were thrifted, and napkin rings were also clearance from Pier 1 several years ago.

For the centerpiece, I crafted a sweet little nest-building vignette inside a thrifted lantern, using elements I had on hand plus some supplies from Dollar Tree. Check out the blog post on how I made this!

Other elements of the centerpiece include thrifted hand-painted glass candlesticks (more hydrangeas!), a handmade rustic-looking pillar stand, and a hand-crafted clay bird figure. The bed of ivy and the taper candles were thrifted; the pillar was clearance from Pier 1.

Here are a few more views around the table, and the “birdseye view”:

And here is the put-away shot, with everything gathered up looking pretty while waiting to go back into the cupboards!

I’ll be sharing my bird-themed Spring tablescape over at Tablescape Thursday on Susan’s blog, Between Naps on the Porch! And, here’s a Pinnable image in case you’d like to save this post for future ideas!

As always, thank you so much for stopping by! For more budget-friendly tablescaping ideas, please come check out my Facebook Group, Thrifty Tablescapers! Our members love sharing photos of their home-grown tablescapes and the stories behind their beloved tablescaping treasures!

A few years ago, I picked up a teacup at a thrift store made by Noritake. It didn’t have a saucer, but for 99 cents I bought it because I liked the pattern and thought, the saucer probably just got separated from the cup and I’ll find it here on my next visit. (Unlikely, perhaps, but it’s happened before so it wasn’t a scenario without precedent.) That Fall I tucked it into an Autumn vignette on top of my barrister bookcase, and it looked divine.

The pattern is called “Harvesting,” and the backstamp included a secondary stamp indicating Ireland. Now I’m not sure if that means Noritake china made in Ireland, if the pattern name is actually “Ireland Harvesting,” or if Noritake has a line of wares called Ireland and “Harvesting” is one of the patterns in that line. At any rate, over time, I have really become enamored with this pattern – like most Noritake I’ve seen, it is just very sumptuous in color and detail, and the little pears are just so lovely.

Sadly, years have gone by and I’ve never found a saucer – indeed, I’ve never seen another piece of Noritake Ireland anything in the wild.

I did, however, recently come upon a couple of faux gilded pears and suddenly I knew two things: they would go beautifully with my Noritake Ireland Harvesting teacup, and I was officially out of patience trying to find a saucer.

Cue Ebay!

This pattern isn’t particularly plentiful, but I did locate a single saucer for a price that I was willing to pay (including the shipping) to finally mark this piece off my long list of Things I’ve Lost Hope of Finding Randomly While Thrifting.” Because of a really wonderful seller who shipped immediately, I had the saucer within just a few days and immediately set a pretty little tea table using my gilded pears and several other gold-themed pieces.

You’ve probably noticed I’m not very good at photographing food, but this did look very bare without any food at all on the riser/cake stand so I ran out and bought some stunt grapes to go with apples and cheese I had on hand. I do fully realize that apples aren’t really very practical for a tea party – but I do think grapes and cheese are perfect!

Here is our lovely Miss Ireland Harvesting with her new friend, along with a silver-plated spoon by 1847 Rogers Brothers called “Flair.”

This gorgeous cup is not marked except for a tiny, under-glaze gold swirl on the bottom. I’m sure there’s a name for this heavily-textured style of embellishment, but I can’t find it. Another thrift store set!

Pretty thrifted linens await.

My ivory-and-gold Sadler teapot, also thrifted, stands ready for you to steep your favorite variety of Twining’s. (Yes, my OCD friends, I should have turned the teapot lid so the gold stripes matched up… I’m trying not to care but it’s driving me nuts too now that I’ve noticed it!)

Gold-rimmed Old Country Roses creamer and sugar bowl are standing by to help you concoct your perfect blend. These were also a Goodwill find – part of a whole tub full of English bone china tea things I found for $20! (OCR in a thrift store? Unheard of!)

And a view from the other direction so you can see a little more of our vintage tablecloth in muted Spring colors – an antique store find many years ago!

Here’s an image to Pin if you’re like me and convinced you’ll forget – but will want to remember – the name of that pretty teacup by Noritake!

I hope you’ve enjoyed our little tablescape in celebration of finding a mate for the Noritake Ireland Harvesting teacup! Do you have a favorite tea blend? A favorite teacup? An item you finally gave up hunting for and finally just went to Ebay? 🙂 I’d love to hear about it!

A few months ago I found a really amazing table runner at one of my favorite local thrift stores. It had such a gorgeous mix of textures, and an understated elegant vibe… and oh, that fringe! I’ve used it in at least two tablescapes so far, including this Valentine’s Day tablescape, and I’ve also left it on the table even when not set for a bit of Winter warmth.

For this table, the runner is used to delineate the “table for two” space – it creates the boundaries for the tablescape when the boundary isn’t the whole table, and makes it feel just a bit more intimate. This year it’s more about Winter warmth and a variety of textures than it is about over-the-top hearts and flowers. Here’s the Valentine’s day tablescape for two that my sweetie and I will be enjoying – so simple, but quietly lovely!

We’ll be enjoying our simple fare using thrifted “Old Britain Castles” by Johnson Brothers of England. This venerable pattern features a different castle on each piece, and comes in several transferware colors including blue, pink, and mulberry. The dinner plate (shown here in pink) features Blarney Castle in Ireland.

Look at that detailed edge design!

Our thrifted napkins are a wonderful faux suede, wrapped in a luxurious beaded ring that looks like pomegranate seeds. I found these at my favorite consignment store. Have you heard the theory that pomegranates – not apples – were the “forbidden fruit” in the Garden of Eden? Some scholars believe this to be true primarily because of the likely geographic location of the garden in the Middle East. A fruit used for temptation is certainly appropriate for a Valentine’s table!

Flatware is thrifted “Springtime” stainless – I only have the two dinner forks in this pattern, so they were perfect for this table where there’s no salad. The other side of the plate is a modern utilitarian steak knife by Palm.

Our glassware is the sturdy and generously-sized “Duratuff” by Libbey – these are in pink, but I also have them in purple.

More of that wonderful runner and its various textures – it’s velvet on the back, and the fringe is beautifully nubby like drapery fringe. I love the heavy weave and the shirred velvet!

Here’s a look at the fringe from another tablescape – I only have this “candlelight” shot!

The centerpiece for this table so simple… I’ve had these heart Christmas ornaments in tan and pink for several years, but have only ever use them as Valentine’s decor. A friend once told me they “look delicious,” and she’s right – they look like little Valentine macaroons!

The little soft pink votive/tea light holders were a recent thrift store find, as were the silverplated salt and pepper set and bowl.

After I set and photographed this table, I began to play around with a different idea for the napkin – I did a heart-shaped napkin fold, which I ended up really liking. So now for the actual day, I have to choose between “temptation pomegranate” napkin rings, or a super-suggestive heart-shaped bed napkin fold (bow-chicka-bow-wow)! Here’s the staging shot from my napkin folding video tutorial over on TikTok, where you can find me as @vfcstyle.

For more tablescape inspiration, join me over on Instagram (@vintagefloralcottage) where I’ll be participating in Tables for Soiree (#tablesforsoiree), a weekly hashtag filled with beautiful tables! I’ll also be sharing for Tablescape Thursday at Susan’s blog, Between Naps on the Porch. And of course, be sure to check out my Facebook Group, Thrifty Tablescapers, where we share creative ideas for beautiful tablescapes on a budget!

Here’s an image for Pinterest, too, in case you’d like to save my “textured table for two” for future ideas!