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I wasn’t going to do a July 4th tablescape – I don’t really have any themed dishes for this holiday, and I didn’t want to buy anything new. But I decided to give it a go, when I realized that all I really needed to do was to shop my own stash – SURELY I could pull something together with items I already owned? That’s the thrifty way, after all!

Now I admit I was firmly entrenched in my TV-watching chair when this occurred to me. So while I was thinking about what I might pull from my cupboards, I happened to watch a short video on YouTube about a museum that housed a number of Revolutionary War era artifacts. One of these was the now-famous letter written by Abigail Adams to her husband John, remanding him to “remember the ladies” when drafting the documents essential to forming the new nation: “…be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands.”

The fact that Mr. Adams didn’t listen to his wife is a subject for a different blog, but it did spark a thought: “Were there other women who attempted to have some influence over the forming of the nation? What else did they do – by their words or actions – to further the cause of the Revolution?” A quick Google search yielded some very interesting results, which I compiled into an element used in the final tablescape.

So with all of that – using my stash, the concept of “interesting women of the Revolution,” and an idea for how to use my newly discovered information – I decided to dedicate my tablescape to those extraordinary women who used their time, their intelligence, and their talents to further the great cause of achieving independence. Here is what I came up with!

As I mentioned, I didn’t have any themed dishes. But I did have elements in red, white, and blue, so I decided that the July 4 theme would be established through the use of color. I also chose items when possible that could be interpreted as at least vaguely historical. You’ll see what I mean in the pictures.

I had a couple options for color-appropriate tablecloths, but ultimately chose this one because to me it just set off the plate stack a bit better than the other choice.

The place setting stack starts with white – pretty scalloped Fire King salad plates with a gold-trimmed edge.

The dinner plate brings blue to the stack and has that historical element I mentioned. These are “Currier and Ives” by Royal China, depicting their famous print image, “The Homestead in Winter.” I inherited these from my Great Aunt Hazel.

I’m using this red Dollar Tree plate as a charger, because it’s slightly larger than the blue dinner plate and brings in the color red to the setting.

I’ve used these metal napkin rings before at Christmas, but I think the star pattern also works well here.

I had a couple of choices for glassware, but settled on this set of vintage Libbey “Gibraltar” in a dusky blue color that pulled from the Currier and Ives dinnerware. Oddly enough, I had some long-stemmed wine glasses also in this color, but this pattern seemed more at home in this particular table setting – they are reminiscent of Fostoria Jamestown, with the wide pane pattern, but are a darker blue. I think that wide pane pattern has more of an “early Federal” look to it.

Here’s where my Google search for interesting women of the era came into play! I used the information from my search to create a little scroll for each guest, providing a brief introduction to each of 12 “revolutionary women”!

Our centerpiece contains the only items I purchased new for this table: fresh carnations! I arranged them in a little white ironstone vessel, which repeated the “federal-looking” wide pane pattern of the glassware, along with fresh ivy sprigs cut from one of my garden containers. Chunky taper candles in vintage milk-glass holders flank the flowers, which are also surrounded by a primitive-style garland of fabric scraps and empty thread spools.

Flatware is my vintage “Flair”silverplated flatware by 1847 Rogers Brothers, gifted to me by my grandmother Verdie – a set we used regularly at family dinners in her home while I was growing up.

Here are a few more views around the table:

Here is the birdseye view of the full table from my perch atop the step-stool!

And here’s the put-away shot, where all the elements are gathered up while waiting to go back into the cupboards:

Finally, here’s an image for Pinterest in case you want to save this post for future ideas!

I am linking my “Revolutionary Women” tablescape to Susan’s incredible blog, Between Naps on the Porch, where she is celebrating the 927th (yes you read that right!) Tablescape Thursday link party! Be sure to click through for more gorgeous tablescape inspiration!

Wishing you and yours a happy and safe Fourth of July celebration!

A couple of recent forces inspired what I think turned out to be a really lovely tablescape: first, we had absolutely gorgeous weather the weekend of Valentine’s Day, which rarely happens, and which prompted me to get out into the garden do some clean-up of last year’s spent perennials. This “False Spring” (because we’re now, at least temporarily, back to snowy cold here in Iowa) sure got me thinking about how close we are to actual Spring – so that was one thing.

And second, I saw a tablescape someone had posted online showing some very pretty salad plates they had found at Home Goods, themed for St. Patrick’s Day. And that reminded me that I still had a Home Goods gift card that I had not redeemed yet!

When I walked into my local HG, it was like stepping into Springtime overload: silk florals, pastel colors, and Easter-themed decor everywhere. I made my way over to the tableware section where I found one endcap that had the St. Patrick’s themed items, but alas none of the salad plates I was looking for. I did find several beautiful plates, though, and eventually chose four of these by Grace Teaware.

They remind me so much of artwork by one of my favorite artist/illustrators, the Dutch watercolorist Marjolein Bastin. And, standing there in the store, I was also able to think of several items I already owned that would go nicely with them – so that made them seem like the best possible buy out of everything I had considered.

The final tally for my shopping trip was four dinner plates, four placemats, and a set of three kitchen towels. My gift card was for $50, so with all of this I only spent $8 of my own money!

Of course I had to immediately set a table with my new items when I got home and decided to go for a French country look. I’m sad to say my phone camera is kind of washing out the pink tones of the placemats – please consider them a true muted dusty rose color. Here’s the table!

The thrifted tablecloth is a champagne-colored damask – although, funny sidebar about the color: I used to have a car in this color, and my mother referred to it as “muckledon.” That term has Scots-Irish roots (as do I, on my mother’s side), and is often used to describe an animal that is the color of gray-brown mud or even manure. It’s not entirely complimentary… which is why it always makes me laugh, but also why I prefer the term “champagne” to describe this soft hue that is just past ivory but not quite tan.

Salad plates are “Nautica” by Pink Sands Tableware (thrifted). They are a soft pink and green plaid, though a bit washed out by my camera. The Grace Teaware dinner plates are called “Magnolia Garden,” but that seems odd because the primary flowers depicted look more like roses to me. The unique placemats, also from Home Goods, are very thick and a woven texture, the primary color being more of a pink than is showing up in the photos.

Napkins and napkin rings were thrifted and already in my stash. The napkins are perfect for this color scheme and vibe; I love the woven texture, short fringe, and subtle color scheme of these napkins – they feel just a bit rustic to me! !

The metal napkin rings with verdigris finish also look appropriately rustic, like aged garden urns.

Flatware is the beautiful stainless “Napoleon Bee” by Wallace – these were an Amazon purchase a few years ago. Here’s an affiliate link, meaning I do earn a small commission if you purchase though it doesn’t increase the price. If you purchase, thank you! (Stainless Napoleon Bee flatware by Wallace)

Glassware is a columnar tumbler in a rose-pink color; I think these are highball glasses in pale Amethyst by Libbey.

I decided to use fresh flowers for this table, so on my way back from Home Goods I stopped at Trader Joe’s and picked up three bundles including roses, baby’s breath, and filler greenery. I found what I think is a perfect French Country vase in my stash, so they look very pretty even if unprofessionally arranged.

Silverplate salt and pepper shakers are Oneida Community “Henley,” and were thrifted.

Here are a few more views around the table!

Here’s a birdseye view from the top of the step stool!

And of course the put-away shot, with everything ready to go back into the cupboards – except of course for those lovely roses, which I’ll be enjoying for the next week!

And finally, here’s a Pinnable image in case you want to save this post for future ideas… or, just to save a picture of those gorgeous dinner plates!

I’ll be linking my French Country Home Goods tablescape to Susan’s long-running link party, Tablescape Thursday, as soon as next week’s party goes live – for now, have a look at her blog “Between Naps on the Porch” and past tablescape link parties!

This is the first year that my long-time sweetie and I are living together on Valentine’s Day, so I decided to embrace a deep, passionate red on the table. I’ve frequently used pink, and even a very sweet blue in the past, but this year on a recent junking jaunt I happened to find four beautiful red footed tumblers and four beautiful deep red chargers at a couple of local thrift stores. So that pretty much sealed the deal for red, and I love how the table turned out!

Because it’s Valentine’s Day, I of course only set the table for two. I used a pretty square of upholstery fabric, set on a diagonal, to ground the setting, then stacked chargers, dinner plates, and salad plates.

The salad plates are not marked with a pattern name, but they are by Seltmann Weiden.

Dinner plates are the simple and gorgeous “Empress Golden” by Sango. I love the subtle pattern of that outer gold band.

The chargers – don’t let the lighting in my home fool you, they are a deep rich red acrylic with a lot of depth in the finish. They were originally from Pottery Barn, according to a sticker still remaining on the back of one.

The napkins and rings were also thrifted some time ago – again, my camera isn’t capturing the deep red color, and they are a very heavy – almost luxurious – woven damask.

Glassware by Villeroy & Boch – these are a generous size and a similar pattern to vintage Indiana Glass Diamond Point.

Flatware is my inherited “Chandelier” by Oneida – handed down from my great-Aunt and, between the two of us, in daily use since its inception in 1976 – yep this pattern officially turns the big 5-0 this year!

I kept the centerpiece low and simple, to encourage those loving looks across the table 😉 I used an opalescent ruffled hobnail bowl by Fenton to hold dark red silk roses, flanked by two gold-tone candlesticks that carry through the gold rims of the dinner plates. The candles themselves are thick textured tapers, and again are a deeper red than they appear. All of these items were also previously thrifted.

Here’s a birds-eye view – I’m not sure why this shot feels like a must-have for all my tablescape posts, but it does! I guess I feel like I’m not giving it my all if I don’t risk life and limb by climbing up on a step stool and hovering my phone precariously over the breakables on the table.

And of course the put-away shot… I’ll be setting this table again on actual Valentine’s Day later in the week, but in the meantime I need to move it out of the way for our more casual meals. So in this case, this is more of a “put aside” shot. Another favorite type of tablescape picture, because my tables are not always planned thoroughly in advance, this shot always shows whether and how well my impulse decisions came together in the end.

And of course, here is a Pinnable image in case you want to save any ideas here for future inspiration!

I’ll be sharing my Valentine’s table over at Susan’s long-running blog link party, Tablescape Thursday, at Between Naps on the Porch.

Hope you have a lovely Valentine’s Day, whether or however you celebrate!