Swede

Today's Pretty Picture: White Hydrangeas

 

 

Today's love of white: Hydrangeas in the foyer.

 

All the best wishes to you,

Summer

Photo: Swede  

 

 

Tablescape: Dinner for Two in Aqua

 

Today's tablescape is a dinner for two in the living room for a quiet evening meal.  The scheme is aqua tones with a simple centerpiece of potted white miniature four inch Cyclamen to keep the arrangement low to enhance conversation. The center plant is in a cherub planter of matte glazed jasperware similar to Wedgwood in a green toned aqua.

 

The aqua toned elements include the tablecloth in aqua and gold silk that has a sort of hand-painted effect. Many times I will make a tablecloth so I can get the exact color I want and the right size since I find them very hard to purchase right off the shelf in the look and measurements I need.  I scout fabric stores for the sale aisle and select 54" width washable fabric. I cut two four-yard pieces and sew them together lengthwise and then hem the edges. Very simple and fast.  I like the seam going down the length of the table instead of crosswise as I find it less noticeable that way when the china is on the table. This is the easiest way I can get a tablecloth to cover the table and fall on all sides to the floor.  I am not a fan of tablecloths that hang over the edges all around a few inches or even up to 12-14".  I would rather see it go to the floor and cover up the legs of the table.

 

To build the layers, I started with a Kim Seybert capiz shell round placemat in light aqua in the center and blue/green around the outside edge.

 

The napkins are 22" pale aqua hemstitched fine handkerchief linen from Martha Stewart Collection paired with large cuff bracelet size napkin rings having aqua stones and small silver beads from Kim Seybert.  The heart-shaped aqua stones sealed the deal. When visiting Jackson, MS one day, I was smitten with the Kim Seybert items on a table of interior design retail store Annelle Primos [beautiful store] and just had to have them.  I have a very soft spot for aquas.

 

Here is the Royal Worcester dinner plate above and the Dresden service plate below.

 

 

The chargers I have had over 15 years. They are Mikasa Spectrum Sage. The dinner Royal Worcester English plates have a date mark of W which I believe is 1950, and I don't know the pattern name. I just loved the color which I thought was popular about that time.

 

 

The service plates for the beginning of the meal are these turquoise monogrammed Dresden plates which I found at an estate sale. They have romantic couples in the cartouches alternating with flowers. I am attracted to china with monograms, particularly if the monogram is so ornate you can't figure out what it is. I do like to have at least one of the initials mine but if the quality is outstanding, I will purchase them with a mixture of unknown initials for my family. There is one initial I am not allowed to bring into the house [inside family joke]. Just in case my husband is reading this [smile].

 

 

 

For appetizers or salads, I will use this aqua toned Limoges shell-shaped dish.  I found these in a rainbow of colors in San Francisco about 20 years ago at an antique show -- blue, aqua, pink and yellow. I love the gold trim on these as well.

 

For bread and butter plates and dessert, I sometimes use these Royal Crown Derby Darley Abbey pattern plates. I was thrilled when RCD came out with this unusual color in 2004.  My husband and I were watching the movie Emma when I spotted the family dinner table was set with this English pattern.  I started yelling, "There's my china. Look, quick."

 

My favorite love of all are these antique Hammersley fish plates which are in such delicate condition that I only use them for service plates and remove them or for a light dessert such as a cake.  I do not use them for fish service as they are now too fragile for that.  I love the stunning gold edges. Stemware is Waterford Colleen pattern.

 

Each of the 12 fish plates has a different species on it.  

 

Here are a couple French Limoges platters with aqua to serve the dinner that I just adore. The first one is Haviland and the second one Guerin.

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed this week's aqua theme.

I am participating in Tablescape Thursday this week on the blog Between Naps on the Porch.

 

You can view the other entries here:

 http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

All the best to you,

Summer

Photo credit: Swede

January White Stuff Coming Down

 

It is snowing here with white stuff, but this is the kind of white stuff I like.

Viviane spray roses on my office desk.  Forty white small roses from Columbia in a chunky glass vase.

 

All the best to you if you are in cold weather.

Summer

Photo cerdit: Swede

 

Rumba Roses for a Cold January Day

 

Today's photos are of Rumba spray roses for your enjoyment. Rumba is grown in Columbia and is a red edged golden color rose.

 
I feel lucky to be able to get these at my local grocery store.

 

 

A warm color for a cold day.

 

Sitting in a chair.

All the best,

Summer

Photo: Swede

DIY Furniture Painting Fix Up of Karges Chest

 

A year or so ago I purchased a chest made by Karges knowing I would have to fix up the top surface.  I finally finished this project this past September. When I want to repaint a piece of used furniture, I search for the highest name brand quality I can find which to me is a company like Karges or John Widdicomb. They are probably the most expensive furniture brands made in America with the exception of bespoke custom made pieces. For the most part they are bench made with a lot of care taken by highly skilled workers.  They also retain their value more than other brands so even used you are not going to get them cheap. 

Here is the chest with the drawers removed sitting on the dropcloth ready to go.

 

I do not know when this piece was made.  I would not say it was mid century modern. Maybe made in the 1970's or so.  I think I paid around $515 for it delivered to the house.  I knew it had a dated painted top that was no longer in style and someone had left a drink on it too long and there was a circle where the paint had lifted off.

 

That's pretty ugly, huh? It is not marbelized, just some crazy black string lines all over. I considered for a long time what color I should paint the top.  I finally decided on a metallic gold because the drawers had inlaid brass.

Keep in mind this is NOT how a professional would have done this.  I had several requirements: 1) not to mess up the bottom 2) not to strip it down to the bare wood; and 3) make it liveable but not a high grade finish.  I was wanting a simple fix.  I did not use the kind of paint a pro would.

This is just paint from Lowe's. This is actually wall paint. Valspar Brilliant Metals line.

 

Here's the base coat going on. 

 

Here is the finished piece.  It has a calmer look to it now. I think it looks fine with the brass inlay on the drawers. Designers say you should have at least one black painted piece in a room to "ground" it, so I guess I am grounded. What I do like about Karges is the sound it makes when you close the drawers caused by the air rushing out.  It just has a very high quality sound to it.

I might add, if you have a project like this, do it right, don't do what I did. Since this is a water-based paint, I don't know how well it will hold up over time.  I might have to strip it down to the wood and do it right the next time.

All the best,

Summer

Photos: Swede

Parisian Francois Sicard's Fountain in Sydney, AU

 

 

Here are some photos my husband took near his hotel in Sydney, Australia last week. The sculptor is Francois Sicard of Paris.

 

As you know, this is their summer season now so everything is green in the parks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is a church that was nearby.

 

Hope you enjoyed your brief Australian tour.

Summer

Photo Credits:  Nice Husband

 

Pink Tablescapes Continued

 

 

Last week for Tablescape Thursday, I showed a pink theme tablescape as a nod to the 2011 Pantone color of the year, Honeysuckle.  In looking through my cupboards, I found more china with pink colorways.

With the flowers from that posting, I have substituted French Alberto Pinto service plates for variety should you do two dinners back to back with the same flowers. If I have guests staying at the house for several days, I like to mix up the china but keep the same flower arrangements. In the six styles of these service plates or chargers, three of them have bright pink in the design as shown below.

 

Here are a few photos of the individual plates.

 

 You just gotta dig those fancy tailfeathers!

 

 

 

 

 

Also in my stash, below, are these pink luster W.T.Copeland plates from the 1860's. They are a lighter color pink and I haven't used them since I found them in 1992 in San Diego when I went to a thrift shop with a friend. I will work them in as a dinner plate.

 

 

I also have some pale pink Limoges shell shaped plates which I have used to serve appetizers or sometimes cake for dessert. I found a dozen of these at an antique show in San Franciso around 1994.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you have china that you have lost your passion for?  Perhaps some that is now discontinued and seems outdated?  I bought this Wedgwood Cuckoo bird pattern in 1977, and it falls into that category. Do you look for a way to update your lost love?  Perhaps that plate will fit into this pink scheme.

 

 

 

I think remixing the china with newer pieces creates a new look for these plates or casts them in a new role.

 

I didn't realize how many plates I had with pink in them. Here is a Limoges  dessert plate with pink Carnations. I bought this set of a dozen from a seller on eBay who raved about them. Of course, when I got them, I discovered that was all sales pitch. But I kept them to use "someday".

 

I found a small number of these pink lunch plates, below, in Missouri around 1985. That was when I was very much into the Victoria magazine look.  They are unmarked but I think they are English Coalport or Copeland. They now live in an English pine plate rack in one of the guest rooms.

 

To get more variety, I could also choose green dinner plates to tone down so much pink. Also, for those who asked, the color of the wall in my dining room is a peachy color that goes with the silk plaid drapes and is not really pink. It is Martha Stewart's Nasturtium.

 

Are you willing to give Pantone's Honeysuckle or any bright pink a spot in your decor for 2011?

I am participating in Tablescape Thursday this week on the blog Between Naps on the Porch.

 

You can view the other entries here:

 http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

All the best,

Summer

Photos: Swede  

White Roses in the Winter

 

Tonight's pretty picture for you are these miniature white fully opened spray roses.

Enjoy!

 

All the best,

Summer

Photo: Swede

 

 

Chasing Off Ole Man Winter: Hyacinth Time

 

 

At this time of year while we are awaiting spring, I like to purchase potted Hyacinths from my local grocery store.  After they have bloomed, I plant the bulbs in the front flower bed where they will get the first warm rays of sun the next year.  My favorite color of Hyacinth is a carmine coral but they are hard to find. So I get blue and standard pink ones. 

 

I love how these bulbs look with mercury glass.

 

And, of course, the smell they provide for the house is just wonderful.

 

I always take advantage of the short time they are available because they are so heavenly.

 

All the best,

Summer,

Photos: Swede

Winter Pansies - Honoring Mom

 

 

Our local Home Depot store got a delivery of jumbo Pansies just before the snow came Sunday.  I have them in the house and won't be able to plant them outside for a few weeks.

 

My Mother was a gardener who loved many flowers including Pansies so I grew up with their cute faces. Mom died six years ago this week, so this is for you, Mom.

All the best,

Summer

Photo: Swede

Florist Potted Plants for Good Cheer

 

 

In this freezing January weather, these colorful potted plants are just what I need.

Summer

Photo: Swede

Creating Beauty: Pink Tablescape

 

When Pantone announced in December the color of the year for 2011 was Honeysuckle, I started thinking about what I already owned in pink. Not exactly Honeysuckle in hue, but bright pink which is similar.  Being a self-confessed plate addict who cannot pass by a beautiful stack of plates for sale, I do have some pink plates in my stash.  Truthfully, doing a table in all pink is not really something I have a passion for but due to the selection of Honeysuckle, we will all be seeing a lot more pink in 2011.  So I decided to let the pink plates have their day. I started to build the tablescape around my garden statue Lucy who you have seen in several past posts. 

 

 

 

I am not a fan of totally cluttered table tops where some object occupies every square inch. Some of these plants, especially the scented Hyacinths, would be removed prior to the meal. I think this tablescape would look just fine with just the statue and the Primroses at each place setting.  I only want just enough objects to make it intriguing to my guests and interesting enough to start light conversation.

For the flowers, I already had the pink English Primroses, so I went to the grocery store and purchased two pink Hydrangeas and two pink Hyacinths. The Primroses are inside lion-head soup bowls from Williams-Sonoma and the other potted plants are placed on top of pedestal cake plates. The pink china in this tablescape is: 1) an antique Royal Worcester dessert service from around 1877 which has five cake stands and 14 plates; 2) hand-painted service plates by artist A. Rhodes, date unknown, set of 12 all with different painted scenes; and 3) a set of 10 dinner plates by English maker Cauldon and sold in Tiffany's New York store sometime between 1920 and 1930. 

First let me show you the overall tablescape with each of the three services and then I will show more detailed photos.

 

Starting the meal with the service plates, each of these has a garden scene painted in exquisite detail.  I don't know who A. Rhodes was, of course, but she was extremely talented. I always wonder who had the china before me and what they were like.  These would be wonderful for a small bridal shower in a garden or a lunch for a group of garden club members.

 

Here we have the Cauldon for Tiffany dinner plates with cartouches and leaves around the edge in a very bright pink border.

 

And the last service is the dessert plate by Royal Worcester.

 

Now for the details of the build-out. I first started with a bright pink linen tablecloth from Williams-Sonoma but it looked awful.  Too much pink. So I went to white and put on a cutwork tablecloth I purchased from Canada in a crosswise position over top of a white quilt.  I am not really a tablecloth fan because it seems they never are made the right size and I don't like just 9" hanging down the sides. But I am okay with layering different cloths on an angle.

 

 

I started with my largest gold charger Hemisphere by Jl Coquet below.

 

The flatware is antique 1898 St.James by Tiffany. I used two sizes of stemware, a water and a wine, with a pink flash stem and bubble clear top from Pottery Barn.  My husband inherited from his mother two wine stems  in cranberry glass which I believe are Moser Cabochon and then I added more glasses to his set. 

 

Here is a close up of the dinner plate. You can see the lion-head soup bowls as well. They have a gold rim around the top.

 

Below is a close up of the Royal Worcester dessert plate with a hand-painted floral grouping in the center.

 

And with some cookies.  Honey if you are reading this they will be all gone by the time you get home.

 

I also want to show you a few of the hand painted service plates.

 

All are outdoor garden scenes. This one is of a garden staircase.

 

Roses on an arbor.

 

A pathway through two columns. 

 

This one has a sundial on a pedestal.

 

This one has an archway.

Here is the backside of the tablesetting showing how the cake pedestals give height to the flowers. I always like vertical height in my tablescapes.

 

 

The remainder of photos in this post are miscellaneous ones you might enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next week I will show the remainder of pink plates in my collection.

I am participating in Tablescape Thursday this week on the blog Between Naps on the Porch.

 

You can view the other entries here:

 http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

I hope this inspires you to put a little pink in your life during 2011.

All the best,

Summer

Photo credits: Swede

 

What's Under Your Glass Cloche?

 

 

I'm sure you've seen these a million times in decor magazines over the past few years.  They are a decorative take off from the original glass cloches used in England to keep frost in the spring from nipping plants. Today they are used for a variety of different things.  Recently I decided to place some antique French documents in mine.  These are letters and official documents from the 1810's to 1860's.  Some have royal stamps on them. I wish I could read French to know what they are all about.  I can read a few words which are the same in English as in French.  One I can tell is a prenup as it uses the words marriage and discusses what property the bride brings to the marriage.  I think they are just pure fun.

 

I had some thin purple ribbon from a gift that I cut up and tied around the documents.

 

I love the beautiful script of the handwriting on the parchment paper. This cloche is sitting on a mirrored brass plateau.

 

Since this cloche is quite tall, I used a photocopy machine's enlargement feature to print some of the letters on 11x17 paper. All the documents are loosely rolled so as to not destroy them with creases.  I think this is just a fun way to display these papers and protect them under glass.

All the best,

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

 

 

Winter Beauty: Weeping Peach in Two Seasons

 

I know for those of you in cold climates living with feet of snow [lived there myself for 22 years], my talking about snow isn't big news. I can remember walking to school in 15 below weather, so I have my history to know what you are dealing with. But here in Zone 7, we don't often get snow, maybe one day every other year or so.  Well, Mother Nature gave us 3" of snow last night. It will be gone by tomorrow.  Here is my favorite Weeping Peach tree this morning.

 

And three months from today, it will look like this:

 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this tree. I highly recommend it if you have the space and climate for one.

I hope you can find some beauty in this season.

All the best,

Summer

Photo: Swede

Beautiful Places: Paris at Christmas

 

 

My husband forgot to tell me he had a few photos on his camera from his trip to Paris last week.

 

One of the Laduree stores decked out for the season. Everybody knows what this store sells.

 

Isn't the decor on this building unusual?  Look at those Christmas trees and the green draped bunting.

 

It was very cold so he didn't venture far from his hotel this time.

 

 

I have a standing order with him to take photos of Paris doorways, architectural details and balconies.  He brought me this doorway.

 

And here is a little holiday decoration on a balcony.

 

And, I have another standing order with him to take me with him next time.

All the best,

Summer

Photos:  Mr. Sweet Husband

 

 

Finding Beauty: Spring Flowers for Winter Doldrums

 

I really look forward to the week after Christmas. That is the time when the florists order in spring bulbs and potted plants.  My local grocery store without fail each year on December 26th is stocked with English Primroses in little colored pots. I anticipate their arrival and am overjoyed when I find them that day.  This to me means Spring even though we have January and February to get through.  Sometimes our florists will stock red Tulips the week of Christmas but the supply is pretty limited.

Meet the Onion Girl.  The rest of the year she sits on the kitchen countertop and holds onions. But come the last week of December, she gets to hold the Primroses.  This bowl is a vegetable bowl from a china set that I found at an estate sale in Memphis, TN at the Anniedale mansion.  I don't know where the rest of the set went to.  I had an idea of what I could use her for the moment I saw her and she came home with me.

 

So here she is holding the Primroses.

 

I usually purchase the pink and purple ones and place them around the house.  Sometimes I also use soup tureens to hold a grouping of them.

 

 

I love having baskets full of spring color around the house. 

 

 

 This antique hand-painted English soup tureen has a retailer's  mark from San Francisco at the turn of the century. I found this with six soup bowls at an estate sale in Alameda, CA in 1993.

 

 A white Primrose on my mantle with coral.

 

Cyclamen in brilliant hues are available now also.

 

Have you seen more adorable faces?

 

 

 

Here a Primrose grouping is used with magenta china and linens.

 

This Primrose is in an antique silverplate loving cup from Scotland.

 

This white Primrose is in an Anna Weatherley cachepot.

 

Primroses and Hyacinths in mercury glass.

 

 

Pretty Parrot Tulips in an antique hand-painted porcelain vase.

 

More mercury glass.

 

Hyacinths and mercury glass with coral.

 

This garden statute is Lucy named after my Great Grandmother. She has never spent a day outside in the garden. You will recognize her in my blog banner on the right side.

I hope you have some pretty spring bulbs and plants to chase your winter days.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Belgian Design Going Strong in Atlanta

 

 

At Scott Market in Atlanta I found Belgian design still going strong. Here is the booth of Luz and Hernando Punto, owners of La Casita Home Decor of Tampa, Florida.

 

These vintage chairs are reupholstered in linen. They displayed a table of many styles of grain sacks with the printed dates and logos that have been so popular this past year.

 

Here's a cute chair.

 

 

Cute chairs in chocolate.

 

 

Pillows with embroidery or stamped designs.

 

Here is a large bench. I think you could also pad a large coffee table and convert it to a bench.

 

 

La Casita's business card does not have a web address, only an email address. If you would like to contact them, send me an email and I will pass it along.

All the best,

Summer

Photos: Swede

Women Who Make Beautiful Things: Shell Chic

When I went to the December show at Scott Market in Atlanta, I met Mary Robertson of Shell Art & Design. I wanted to show you some of her work.

She said she is showing pieces of jewelry and shell decorative accessories at the Jacksonville Beach Museum, in Jacksonville Beach, Florida until January 6th if you are close by and want to see her work there.

 

This is a lidded box with the shells afixed.

 

She attaches the shells to sconces, statues, picture frames, lamps and mirrors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sure you have seen books published the past few years on Shell Chic interiors.  I still love decorating with white natural coral and some large shells.  In the past couple of years shelter magazines have overdone the look and some say it is a trend that has gone.  To me my coral pieces are everlasting and a room can still be beautifully done with shells as accessories if not done to extremes, as with any trend.

Mary's business card does not have an email or website, so I can't give it to you.  I do have her phone number if you just email me.

All the best on this early Janaury Sunday.

Summer

Photos: Swede