Saturday's neighborhood event - annual progressive dinner - was fun and our part of hosting dinner for 10 was a great success. We met these 8 neighbors for the first time. We were all an hour late to the next course - dessert/nightcap - as everyone was having such a great time.
The table was warm and inviting with an eclectic mix of styles and formal pieces interspersed with less formal ones. The infusion of turquoise, orange, lapis, gold, hints of green, and of course, white to lighten things up helped create a fun and relaxed space. This was certainly not meant to be a formal event.
Everything came together perfectly.
I took pictures at every opportunity I could during the day therefore the change in the light in different pictures. I set the table in stages and the flowers were added Saturday afternoon.
Much later in the day I added soup bowls for salad so you will see the table set without these in some of the pictures.
Everything I used I already own and I would have used flowers from my own garden if I had anything in white that was in bloom. But I bought 5 bouquets of the daisy poms at $4.99 a bouquet.
And the turquoise shells and glass gems added perfect color in my assorted jar collection and the arrangements were intentionally simple but effective with the mini flameless candles for a soft glow - more effective at night.
Like I had mentioned in my previous post, I kept the floral arrangements low so as to allow for easy conversation across the table.
This table is a beautiful piece and I like to enjoy it without a tablecloth whenever I can.
I only have place settings for 8 and so I had to add white china at the heads pf the table. My formal china is Grande Ivory in Imperial Lapis by Mikasa. It is about 18 years old and so is the flatware which has just a hint of gold in the delicate tassel pattern to tie in with the gold border on the china.
I did not include additional forks for salad as I have noticed in the past for such an occasion these are rarely used.
The placemats are woven vinyl ones by Chilewich. They were a great buy from a few years ago. I even have another set for daily use at the kitchen table. These are strong and so easily washed by hand - so perfect with kids around. They come in a variety of colors.
I used crystal glasses for water and a set with different tinted colored glasses for wine. The wine glasses did not take away from the overall look and color scheme of the table.
The coasters for the glasses are 2 different sets; old. I need to find new ones. But these served their purpose.
I also had only 8 beaded napkin rings...
...and so I made my own for the heads of the table and did this at the last minute before the guests walked in the door so the flowers were fresh. I used daisy poms and some hemp I already had.
The orange cotton napkins are from Crate & Barrel. These I have had for a few years. I decided to use fabric napkins (instead of paper) in order to soften the space particularly as I have removed the rug from beneath the table and do not have any curtains in place right now.
The dining table, when extended, can comfortably seat 10 and we have even hosted 12 at the table. But we bought 8 chairs for it and so I pulled in 2 extra chairs - the ones with spindles - from around the kitchen table.
I added some of my tallest flameless candles for additional ambient light.
For those who might be interested, on the menu for dinner (this was catered):
Pear Delight Salad - poached pears, mesclun greens, mozzarella, mango and homemade pot wine dressing
Cavatelli in a pink sauce
Chicken alla Sophia - prosciutto with mozzarella, spinach in a brown demi-glaze.
The table before:
After:
It was a fun evening and we walked home from the last house (dessert/nightcap) after 1 a.m.!
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