Six Summer Tablescapes Ideas for the 4th of July

May 08, 2024 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I have always loved the color combination of red, white, and blue. For many years our family room was decorated with patriotic colors and designs. Since I started tablescaping several years ago, I have created several 4th of July tablescapes and I decided to repost some of those tablescapes to share again. Maybe they will give you some ideas for your summer holiday tables this year.

This tablescape was one of five 4th of July tablescapes that I did in 2019. I called this tablescape Uncle Sam’s Tablescape because of the Uncle Sam pitcher that I used as a centerpiece. Every time I show this tablecloth I get lots of comments about it, people love it as much as I do. The bunting detail down the sides is really unusual. I was browsing on Ebay several years ago looking for vintage tablecloths (I collected them for a while) and this tablecloth popped out. I have never seen another one like it. I love how the white stars stand out against the blue background and the bunting design down the sides is amazing. I suspect the tablecloth was maybe made in the 60’s or 70’s.

My Uncle Sam pitcher took center stage as the centerpiece on this tablescape. He is standing on a Rhodes drinks dispenser stand from Pottery Barn that I bought on sale several years ago. I use it often to elevate whatever I am using as a centerpiece. It is just the right height, not too short and not too tall. I actually bought it in a couple other colors too and I have used them all. The stand is resting on three plastic trays I bought on sale online at Sur la Table a few years ago. They match the napkins I used on this table, I must have bought them all at the same time. I love the way the repetition of the design on the trays defines that space. I collected Uncle Sams for a while when the family room was decorated with red, white, and blue and I bought this Uncle Sam pitcher several years ago, can’t remember where. It was made by Department 56. I have always loved pitchers, I think because with a large family we always had one on the table while I was growing up. My mother never allowed a milk carton on the table! My four brothers tried to sneak one on a few times but it never worked. Then they would sometimes put it on the floor next to their chair! I love this pitcher, it is one of my favorites.

This patriotic salad plate is enamelware and I think it’s the only enamel plate in my plate collection. It was made by Golden Rabbit. Can’t remember where I bought it but I have had it for several years. I like the bright colors and bold design. For more information about everything on this Uncle Sam Tablescape please click here.

This tablescape was one of the other 4th of July tablescapes I did in 2019. I called it A Stars and Stripes Tablescape because of the stars and stripes on the melamine salad and dinner plates and the tablecloth. I really love this tablecloth, it is a favorite of mine. The napkins and the tablecloth came from Sur la Table several years ago. They are soft and heavy, a really good quality, and I love the simple bold design. I really like the way the stripes on the tablecloth and the stripes on the salad plate copy each other.

I have a weakness for patriotic tableware. These salad and dinner plates are melamine and they came from Sur La Table a few years ago. I wait for their after season sales and buy online. Their stock seems to be not as varied as it has been in the past but maybe it will get better.

This set of creamers or small pitchers that I added to this tablescape make me laugh. We are a two political parties household so when I saw this set I had to have them. They are from Fitz and Floyd, I can’t remember where I bought them. I have had them for a long time. For more information about everything on this Stars and Stripes Tablescape please click here.

This is another 4th of July Tablescape from 2019. I called it, Red, White, and Blue for Me and You on the 4th of July. The Heartwood Creek angel centerpiece was designed by Jim Shore in 2003, it is no longer in production. It was called “I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag” and it was licensed by Enesco Group, Inc.. The angel is standing on a Pottery Barn Rhodes drink dispenser stand to give it a bit more height.

I love this angel’s sweet little face. I have a large collection of vintage doilies and I suddenly remembered that I had a few red, white, and blue ones. I really like how this doily centerpiece adds a bit of excitement to this table.

The small star appetizer plate and the dinner plate are heavy melamine and they came from Sur La Table several years ago. I like the combination of the wide red and white stripes on the small plate, the small red and white stripes on the dinner plate and the red and white stripes on the napkins.

I used my red Waterford Marquis Brookside goblets for this table setting. I think if I were starting a tablescaping hobby, a set of red goblets would be one of my first purchases. They can be used several times a year. I love the fact that they are a bit taller than other goblets and the design goes with everything. I bought the blue goblets at Pier 1 a few years ago. I love this shade of blue and the etched design. I also like the height of these goblets. For more information about everything on this tablescape please click here.

This is another 4th of July tablescape that I did in 2019. I called it Flags and More Flags because of the plates and centerpiece. I really like the contrast between the dark tablecloth and the bright American flags plate stack. This was an easy centerpiece to pull together. I found a large bowl at a garage sale and I bought it because I knew I would be able to use it as a centerpiece in some way sometime. I just put patriotic napkins in it and tucked in small American flags and it was done.

When I bought the napkin rings they were brown but Hubby painted them white for me because I knew I would use them more often if they were white. They are a great match for the stars on these melamine flag plates. I can’t remember where I bought them. It’s good to remember that whatever you are looking at can usually be painted if you need a different color. For more information about everything on this tablescape please click here.

This was another 4th of July tablescape that I did in 2019. This one was called Stars and Stripes and Uncle Sam. I found the tablecloth and napkins at Kohl’s a few years ago. I used one of the Uncle Sams from my collection, a nutcracker, as a centerpiece. You can see items on this tablescape that I have used on some of the other tablescapes.

If you don’t have a napkin ring that works on your tablescape, and you don’t have a design on the salad plate that you don’t want covered, you can fold the napkin around some of the plates and it becomes part of the plate stack design. This is such a colorful plate stack and the napkin really makes it pop. For more information about everything on this tablescape, please click here.

This was the 4th of July Tablescape that I did a few years ago. It was called Ready for 4th of July. It is similar to the first tablescape I mentioned that I did for the 4th of July in 2019 but I made a few changes. I added different plates to the plate stack but I used the same enamel patriotic salad plates that I had used the year before.

I bought this flag stand online at Grandin Road a couple years ago. I really love the design, with all the flags it definitely makes a statement!

I have a weakness for small salt and pepper sets and when I saw these patriotic eagles online at Cracker Barrel last year I had to have them. I often add small salt and pepper sets to my tablescapes that help illustrate the theme of the table.

If you look at all these tablescapes you will see that I used this white frosted flatware set on every one. I bought the frosted white flatware on sale online at Wayfair a few years ago, it is made by Cambridge. It is 18/0 (18/10 is the best) so the fork tines are a bit sharper than I would like but I really liked the frosted color. I use this set often. If you are going to buy colored flatware, white is a good color to start with and then I would buy red, black and green. Those seem to be the colors I use the most. For more information about everything on this tablescape please click here.

I hope you have found some inspiration for your holiday tables!

To see 220+ tablescapes that I have created including these tablescapes 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 for more tablescaping tips and tricks.

If you live in Southern California please join our tablescaping group, Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 We are planning an event next January.

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

Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group

May 05, 2024 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

We have started a tablescaping group for hobbyists in Southern California who create unique table settings just for fun. https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 We had an event for our group January 18, 2025 and we are planning more. Come join us!

A Starfish Summer Tablescape

May 02, 2024 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

Summer is just around the corner so it’s time for an ocean themed tablescape. I love starfish and I did a starfish tablescape four years ago but this one is a bit different. A couple of interesting facts about starfish; they can live up to 35 years and they have no brain and no blood. There are about 2,000 different species of sea stars (starfish). I found this starfish tablecloth at HomeGoods earlier this year. It was made by Sigrid Olsen Home.

I found these Akcam Iridescent Turkish Glass Starfish Plates on Ebay a couple of months ago. I love the different colors and they match the tablecloth too.

This is a Fiesta White dinner plate. I found them on sale in Salt Lake City on a trip there a couple of years ago.

This is one of my favorite glass chargers. I bought them when I first started tablescaping. They are a heavy blue glass and I love the color and the tweed like design in the glass. They are made by Villeroy and Boch and the pattern is Verona. Not sure where I found them online. I have this charger in a few other colors as well. To read about what you should be considering when you are buying chargers, please click here.

I have had this frosted blue flatware set for a few years. It is labeled D & D Inox in Italy. It was made by Vietri and the pattern is Aladdin Brilliant in light blue. (Don’t mix it up with Aladdin Antique, that stainless set has a darker matte finish on the stainless.) I bought this set at Neiman Marcus or Bloomingdales during a major sale several years ago. There are similar frosted patterns available for sale online now. I have other frosted flatware sets from different companies and I use them often. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I have several different blue napkins but often I don’t have the right shade for a table setting. It took two tries on Amazon before I got this color right two years ago. I needed this color for my napkin collection anyway. I wish computer monitors were better at showing colors correctly. I found these silver finish metal napkin rings at Bella Coastal Decor online a couple of months ago. Hubby painted them blue for me and I didn’t realize that they would be a perfect match for the napkins.

To read about the What, Where and How of napkin rings please click here.

I found these white starfish place card holders on Etsy last month. I was going to paint them blue but I decided to leave them as is. The place cards came from Amazon a few years ago. To read about the what, where and how of place card holders, please click here.

I’m not sure where I found the blue glass goblet on the left but I love this shade of blue. The blue and green glass goblet on the right was one of the first goblets that I bought when I started tablescaping and I can’t remember where I found them. The pattern is called Bormioli Rocco Bahia. The blue and green color goes perfectly with this tablescape. I see this pattern on Ebay from time to time. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

I think this starfish stack came from Michaels. It was a white gray color and Hubby painted it blue for me. I really like the design on the stars. I set it on a white wood cake stand and added some small starfish and sea glass to the base.

This is the thirtieth ocean themed tablescape that I have done over the past ten years. Because we are about a mile and a half as the crow flies from the Pacific Ocean I seem to be drawn to that theme sometimes.

To see 220+ 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 for more tablescaping tips and tricks.

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 We are planning a gathering for tablescapers sometime early next year.

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

This blog post was featured at The Cottage Market, https://thecottagemarket.com/ Please visit this blog, you will enjoy it!

A Petal Power Tablescape for Spring

April 25, 2024 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I have had this cotton tablecloth for many years and I have wanted to use it on a tablescape for a long long time. I finally decided that it was now or never. Many years ago I collected vintage tablecloths and I found most of them on Ebay. This one probably came from there. I don’t think that it is vintage. It has a label that indicates that it may have been made in Brazil.

The colors on the tablecloth dictated what colors I used on the tablescape.

I knew that I wanted to use three different colors of plate stacks on this tablescape to match the tablecloth but I wanted the top plate on the plate stack to be the same plate on each setting and I wanted it to be a plate that was full of flowers. Luckily I had this plate already with the right colors on it. I used it two years ago on another Spring tablescape. I like to check the Sur La Table website online from time to time, I have bought salad plates and napkin sets from there on sale in the past. Sometimes they have really cute plate designs. I found these small Jardin Floral porcelain appetizer plates there two years ago and they looked just like Spring to me. I like all the different flower colors and designs.

Two of the table settings on this tablescape have yellow items. The dinner plates on this tablescape are all Fiesta plates in different colors. This color is called Sunflower. I have this plate in several different colors now and I use them often.

How I love the bright yellow on this charger. If you read my blog you have seen many chargers in this pattern in different colors over the years. This is a Color Spectrum charger by Mikasa, the color is Sun Yellow. I bought these chargers on Ebay a few at a time several years ago because I loved the quality and the colors. I have this pattern in several different colors.

I really like this flatware set, it is well made and a strong bright yellow color. The knife is marked MEPRA INOX. I found the set at Pottery Barn a few years ago. Pottery Barn calls it Fantasia Italian. The set is made in Italy and is 18/10 stainless. Pottery Barn has this set in fourteen other colors and I have my eye on a few of the other colors if they go on sale for a good price. It is difficult to find flatware that is good quality in different colors. The five piece place setting also include a much smaller spoon. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

To make things easier I decided to use colored flowers on the napkin rings and place card holders. I found all the faux flowers at Michaels. The clear acrylic vase napkin rings came from Amazon last year. They were made by Deco-Mate. I love being able to add small flower arrangements to these napkin rings depending on what is on the tablescape. The red plaid napkin is marked DII (Design Imports) for the Home. I think I bought them at HomeGoods a few years ago.

I picked these white vase place card holders for this tablescape so that I could put faux flowers in them as you can see here. I really love these small vase place card holders. They often appear on my Spring tablescapes. I bought them on Amazon four years ago.

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 two years ago I immediately bought them. I love the color and the size of them. I suspect that they are vintage but I am not sure of the maker or the pattern. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection here.

Two of the table settings on this tablescape have red items. This Fiesta Scarlet dinner plate is one of our every day dinner plates. We bought them when we remodeled our kitchen a few years ago.

This is a charger that Hubby bought at the Dollar Store for me last December and I had him spray-paint it a bright Christmas red to use on a Christmas tablescape. To read about what you should be considering when you are buying chargers, please click here.

This red flatware set is Ginkgo LePrix in Milano Red. It was one of the first flatware sets that I bought when I started tablescaping several years ago. I can’t remember where I bought the set. I use it often when I need a more informal red flatware set for a tablescape. I have this set in other colors now as well.

These red glass goblets match the yellow goblets on this tablescape except for a slight difference in the shape of the stem and the color. These goblets might be made by Artland and called Iris Ruby Red. I think Hubby found them at an estate sale.

Two of the table settings on this tablescape have blue items. I wanted to add Cobalt Blue Fiesta dinner plates to my tablescaping collection for a while and I finally bought some online at Everything Kitchens LLC four years ago. This pattern was our everyday dishes pattern before we remodeled our kitchen a few years ago. They were really worn so we replaced them with red ones after we finished the kitchen because the kitchen design is white with red accents. I knew that they would be a good match for this tablescape.

This charger was made by Mikasa and the pattern was called Color Spectrum. They came in several different colors and this color was Royal Blue, I love this shade of blue. I bought them on Ebay several years ago, a few at a time as I saw them until I had the number that I wanted.

This flatware is labeled SR Made in Italy, Inox. It was made by Zaffiro and I think I bought it on sale online at Horchow several years ago. I have the set in a few other colors as well. I love the intense deep cobalt blue color. Over the years I bought six different colors because I love the way it looks.

In this photo you can see the hole in the napkin ring where flowers can be placed.

These acrylic cobalt blue goblets came from Pier 1 several years ago. I have this goblet in several different colors made in both glass and acrylic and it is one of my favorite goblet shapes and size.

I went to Michael’s recently and found red, blue, and yellow faux flowers for the centerpiece on this tablescape. The large white pottery vase is one of a pair that I inherited from my mother. She received them as a wedding present in 1938. I have used this vase several times on my tablescapes.