Storage for Your Tablescape Collections

March 29, 2022 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I was asked to write a brief post about storage on a tablescaping Facebook site that I belong to and I decided to add more content and post it on my blog too. If you read my blog you saw this photo before with a blog post about storing napkin rings and place card holders. I decided to repeat that information in this post and add content about the storage of other tablescaping items. To start, I have been tablescaping for about 16 years. We are empty nesters and I have taken over some of the space that our three children used when they lived at home.

Tablescape Storage for Napkins and Place Card Holders

My system evolved as my collection increased in size. This is a photo of a corner of my study. While it isn’t a particularly pretty area, it works very well for me and I am the only one who comes in here most of the time. I spend a lot of my time in here on the computer doing genealogical research and planning tablescapes. Online you will see gorgeous photos of shelves with perfectly staged minimalist decor, that’s not me. I like to be surrounded by all my bits and pieces. This room was my daughter’s bedroom until she grew up and moved out, it isn’t very large. We added custom built in floor to ceiling book shelves mostly for all my genealogy books but many of them were out of date so I weeded the collection to create space for my napkin rings and place card holders. I use clear shoe box sized plastic containers and I label the end. I like them because I can see what is inside. We bought them on Amazon and at The Container Store. If I were a perfectionist I would create and print out labels to use but I just wanted to get them organized quickly so I could find things. Before they were scattered all over the house and I wasted a lot of time looking for things.

The containers are arranged by holiday, theme, or color because that is the way I create tablescapes. These are some of my Christmas napkin rings and place card holders. Keep in mind I have been tablescaping for 16 years, lots of stuff! I have inventoried all of these napkin rings and place card holders. Each one has a photo and a record of how many I have. I have the information stored in folders on my computer. The folders are arranged by holiday, theme, or color. I can easily look at the photos and think about the tablescape that I want to create. I am still working on inventorying other tablescape items. People often ask me how many I have of things and I always say I don’t know. Once I have inventoried them I do know but I don’t say!

We had the custom book shelves turn the corner and had them put a large desk area in the corner for me so I could spread out all my paperwork when I am doing genealogy research. It created a large deep space underneath the desk and to the right you can see more containers of napkin rings and place card holders. To the left are boxes of table scatter and other miscellaneous table decorations. To the left of the boxes are my containers of flatware. I will talk about them next.

Tablescape Storage for Flatware

I store my sets of flatware in clear containers as well. They are easy to see. I tried to keep them alphabetical by color but I finally gave up because they are in constant use and the colors move around. I am fortunate to have all this space under a large desk and out of the way. (My sterling is in silverware chests and hidden elsewhere.) When you are thinking about storage look down and up for ideas.

Tablescape Storage for Dishes and Goblets

My dishes and goblets are stored in the garage on racks that Hubby reinforced because of all the weight. This is a part of my charger collection. When I started tablescaping I decided that storage of the item was just as important as the item itself and I needed to buy whatever was needed to protect it. I have labeled on the lid or the box label what is in the container even if the container has a window. When I started tablescaping I bought the containers at our local Container Store but they were discontinued so I moved to Amazon. I buy a brand called Household Essentials China storage. (Keep in mind that they are made of cardboard and canvas.) If I had a huge house I would definitely have a dish room but this works for me.

The containers come in different sizes depending on the size of the dish or goblet.

The racks came from our local Costco and Hubby bought the heavier wheels at our Harbor Freight store. He added a wood base for more support. Because of the wheels I can move the racks around by myself although they are very heavy. (We have been married 50 years this year and we have never put a car in the garage since the beginning. There was always too much other stuff in there! Hubby does woodworking and we used to camp often.) We live in Southern California so the cars can sit out in the driveway. A few of these racks could sit along the interior garage wall easily if necessary as long as they could be swung out to reach the other side when needed.

Tablescape Storage for Tablecloths

In the top of each of our closets was a long shelf that was about 12” wide. I suddenly realized that I could double the space by having Hubby build another shelf just like it in front of it. You can see under the shelf in this photo how he used a bracket to join the two pieces of wood together. This additional space allows me to add a double row of stacked tablecloths.

My tablecloths are arranged by holiday, season, and color just like my napkin rings and place card holders. I have also taken photos of each one and put them in folders on my computer. You can see in the photo how I can store two stacks with the increased width of the shelving. I suspect that some might bring up the fact that these tight folded stacks are not good for the fabric but there is constant movement with them (I do a new tablescape every week) and from time to time I refold the tablecloths in a different pattern.

In one of the closets I only added the additional width to the top shelf and I left the bottom shelf as is.

The ideal storage for tablecloths would be to hang them in a closet on a special hanger like this one that I bought on Amazon however I have way too many tablecloths to store them like this. I do use these hangers for a few really heavy tablecloths like this one.

This is another special hanger from Amazon that you could use for tablecloth storage if you have the closet space. I use them to hang all my table runners.

Tablescape Storage for Napkins

My napkins are stored just like my tablecloths. I do take a photo of the entire back row of each shelf before I add the front row so I know where napkins are when I am looking for them. I do the same for tablecloths.

Storing tablescaping items by holiday, season, and color saves so much time when you are looking for something. You can see my fall napkins on the bottom shelf in one stack and my patriotic napkins on the top shelf in another stack. To choose what I am looking for I can either look in the appropriate folder on my computer or look at the stack on the shelf.

To see over 270 different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas or click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392

For lots of other Tablescaping DIY tips and tricks click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 We had a gathering for tablescapers in January in the Los Angeles area and we are planning another one sometime in the future.

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

Ladybugs on a Spring Tablescape

March 28, 2022 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I love ladybugs. Every couple of years I buy some at the nursery and release them in the evening and they have a feast on the aphids on some of my potted plants. When you see a ladybug it is supposed to be a sign of good luck too. I can’t remember whether I found the centerpiece or the salad plates first but I knew then that a ladybug tablescape was in the works. The simple white polyester tablecloth probably came from Amazon or a tablecloth site online several years ago. I actually set this table with a black and white tiny gingham check tablecloth first but it just looked too dark so I changed it to white.

These ladybug salad plates are labeled Boston Warehouse Trading Corp.. I found a few of them on Ebay and a few on Poshmark a few years ago. I love the antennae!

I added a couple extra plates to this plate stack because I wanted different colors stacked on top of each other. This small white salad plate is Gibson elite bone china. I think I found them at HomeGoods several years ago. Our HomeGoods always has a full aisle of white dishes with many patterns to chose from.

This black porcelain dinner plate was made by 10 Strawberry Street and the pattern was called Classic Black Porcelain. It’s always good to have a simple basic black dinner plate in you tablescaping collection. It can be used throughout the year. I think I found them at HomeGoods several years ago. You can see this plate on a Summer Barbeque themed tablescape here and a Winter Buffalo Check Pine Cone tablescape here.

Pottery Barn Red Cambria Charger

I am using this red Cambria charger from Pottery Barn as a second charger on this table setting. I have had them for several years. You can read about what you need to think about when you are buying chargers here.

This is the only black charger I have and I use it often. They are black glass Starburst chargers and they are called Charge It. They were made by Jay. I bought them several years ago on Amazon. They are heavy glass and work well with many different color schemes. You can see them on a Halloween tablescape here and a Christmas Eve tablescape here.

This Milano Red flatware is Ginkgo International LePrix. I have had this set for years but it is still for sale. I have the set in a few other colors as well. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

These napkins rings were custom made for me by SouthlandOnlineShop on Etsy a few years ago. I have bought napkin rings from her before. She has some really cute ones. The red cotton napkins probably came from HomeGoods, Pier 1, or Amazon several years ago.

I am using these ladybug napkin rings as place card holders. They were originally sold by Crate and Barrel but I bought them on Poshmark a few years ago. I set them on a Oleg Cassini clear glass place card holder. I bought the place card holders at HomeGoods several years ago when I first started tablescaping. They are heavy and solid and I really like the simple design. I often use them as a stand for place card items. (After I set this table, took photos, and took it all down I was organizing my place card holders and napkin rings and I found small ladybug place card holders that I had bought and forgotten!) You can read my blog post for ideas about how to store napkin rings and place card holders here.

The red goblet on the left probably came from HomeGoods several years ago. The goblet on the right with the black bowl and clear stem was made by Classic Touch and it is called V-Shaped Water Glass, Black With Clear Stem. I bought them at Houzz online a few years ago. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection here

This ladybug cookie jar came from Country Door online a few yerars ago. I just googled ladybug cookie jar and it popped out. I set it on a small black glass cake stand that I have had for many years. Don’t know where it came from.

I think these ladybug candles and candle holders came from Ebay.

I have done other insect tablescapes. You can see a Bees Tablescape here and a Bumblebees Tablescape here.

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 . We had a gathering in January 2025 and we plan to have others as well.

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks or click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

This blog post was featured at Penny’s Passion, https://pennyspassion.blogspot.com/ Please visit this blog, you will enjoy it!

A Spring Tablescape with Lemons and Navy Blue

March 21, 2022 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I was at HomeGoods a few years ago and I saw this tablecloth with lemons on a blue trellis pattern. As soon as I saw it I pictured a lemon tablescape that I could create using it. I did a lemon themed tablescape three years ago but it was yellow, green, and white. You can see that tablescape here. On that tablescape the lemons were a true yellow color. I knew I had dinner plates with lemons that had bits of orange and brown added on the lemons and I knew they would match this tablecloth. Looking at both tablescapes shows how a theme can be changed by using different colors and elements.

I bought these ironstone lemon dinner plates at Pier 1 several years ago before our store closed. The pattern was called Lemon. I decided not to add a salad plate to this tablescape because I didn’t want to cover up the design on the dinner plate.

This charger was made by Mikasa and it is called Color Spectrum in Royal Blue. I love this charger, it is heavy and a great color. I have several others in other colors. I bought them all a few at a time on Ebay over several years.

This navy blue placemat probably came Pier 1 several years ago. I have this placemat in many different colors. It’s a good basic placemat for a tablescaping collection. I decided to add them to this tablescape because I wanted to break up the busyness of the tablecloth a bit with a solid color.

I bought this frosted white flatware on sale online at Wayfair several years ago, it was made by Cambridge. It is 18/0 so the fork tines are a bit sharper than I would like but I really liked the frosted color. Wayfair has really good sales on flatware sometimes. Frosted flatware is really popular right now and a Google search will turn up several patterns and colors. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I found the lemon napkin rings on Ebay two years ago. I can’t remember where I bought the cotton royal blue napkins, I have had them for several years. Over the years I have shopped for napkins at HomeGoods, Pier 1, and World Market so they probably came from one of those stores.

I was looking for something with a lemon theme to use as place card holders on this table setting and I found these faux lemon slices on Etsy. I bought them not knowing how I would use them but I decided that I could figure it out. I just set two of them on a Oleg Cassini clear glass place card holder. I bought the place card holders at HomeGoods several years ago when I first started tablescaping. They are heavy and solid and I really like the simple design. I often use them as a stand for place card items. You can read my blog post for ideas about how to store napkin rings and place card holders here.

It can be difficult to find yellow glass goblets that don’t have a gold tint to them so when I saw these yellow goblets on Etsy a few years ago I immediately bought them. I love the color and the size of them. The dark blue acrylic goblet on the right came from Pier 1 on sale a couple years ago before our store closed. I like the matching texture on both goblets. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection here.

I knew I wanted to use a lemon branch centerpiece on this tablescape. I found these faux lemon branches at Michaels a few years ago and I added them to three smaller ones that I had already. I wanted to put them in a navy blue vase and I found this Frankoma G4 Prairie vase on Ebay a a few years ago too. I set it on a small blue stand that probably came from HomeGoods several years ago to give it a bit more height. Because of the busyness of the tablecloth I didn’t add anything else to the center of the table.

Blue and yellow is a great color scheme for a Spring tablescape.

To see 260+ other tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Tablescape Ideas group! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Tablescape Ideas. Don’t miss my Tablescaping How-To section at the top of this blog post (or here) for more tablescaping tips and tricks.

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week so please check back!

A Spring Tablescape with Frogs

March 14, 2022 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

We have tiny frogs in our backyard, they are about the size of two thumbnails. I love hearing them croak although it doesn’t sound like a croak, it’s a loud weird scratchy sound. Hubby says he can hear them down the block now too so they have migrated as well. I have been thinking about a frog themed tablescape for a couple of years and when I saw this frog figure last year that I could use as a centerpiece I decided to start pulling things together for it. I found the tablecloth on Amazon a few years ago.

Bordallo Pinheiro Frog Plates

I looked for frog salad plates for a long time and I finally bought these Bordallo Pinheiro frog salad plates on Ebay a couple of years ago. I love the little frogs on lily pads on the lip of the plate and there are also small butterflies among the flowers.

These Bordallo Pinheiro small green dinner plates came from Ebay several years ago. I thought I only had five so I have never used them on a tablescape but I counted and there were six. I’m not sure what the pattern name was if they had one. They are a good match for the green frog salad plates.

Pottery Barn Cambria Chargers

This white stoneware charger or dinner plate came from Pottery Barn a few years ago. I love this plate, I also have it in a few other colors as well. The pattern is called Cambria and the color is Stone. It is the perfect size to be either a dinner plate or a charger plate, I love plates that have that kind of versatility. You can read about what to consider when you are buying chargers in my blog post about them here.

This sage green placemat probably came from Pier 1 several years ago before our store closed. I have several of these in several different colors.

Cambridge Frosted White Flatware

I bought this frosted white flatware on sale online at Wayfair several years ago, it was made by Cambridge. It is 18/0 so the fork tines are a bit sharper than I would like but I really liked the frosted color. Wayfair has really good sales on flatware sometimes. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I found the metal frog napkin rings last year at Hobby Lobby and Hubby painted them green for me. I bought the vintage white damask napkins on Ebay several years ago. I have them in a few different colors. My mother loved damask napkins and tablecloths so I always think of her when I use them.

I found the frog tea light candles on Amazon a few years ago. I love that little face! I have them sitting on my Oleg Cassini clear glass place card holders. I bought them at HomeGoods several years ago when I first started tablescaping. They are heavy and solid and I really like the simple design. I often use them as a stand for place card items. You can read my blog post for ideas about how to store napkin rings and place card holders here.

The green acrylic goblets on the left came from our Pier 1 store before it closed a few years ago. Hubby found the green goblets on the right at an estate sale a couple of years ago. I joined estatesales.net and estatesales.org and I get emails every week that tell me what estate sales are going on in my area and it includes photos of everything that is for sale. I saw these green goblets for sale and he got them for me, he likes going to estate sales. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection here.

I found this frog figure at a Grocery Outlet store while we were on vacation a couple of years ago and it was really inexpensive. Hubby was dragging his feet about buying it but when I told him I had been looking at frog cookie jars for three times the price he quickly changed his mind! I love the expression on his face, his eyes, and his feet. He is sitting on a white plastic stand that probably came from HomeGoods several years ago. I put a green place mat under him for a bit more interest.

I really love hearing the sound of our garden frogs. I hope they like my gardens and stay a while!

To see 220+ other tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Tablescape Ideas group! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Tablescape Ideas. Don’t miss my Tablescaping How-To section at the top of this blog post (or here) for more tablescaping tips and tricks.

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week so please check back!

This blog post was featured at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, https://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.com/ Please visit this blog for lots of great recipes!