Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Girls' Tea with the Hazel Atlas "Ripple" Pink

It's time for tea at the little cottage in the woods! The girls and I "took" tea every day last week. What fun, and work, it was but worth every minute! We are sharing our pink table for "Tablescape Thursday" at "Between Naps on the Porch."


I had some help from my sweeties.


Miranda wanted to take photos.


Evelyn just wanted to eat.




We used Aunt Jody's Hydrangeas again and beautiful linens made of fabric from a local store.









We decided to use the Wallace "Louvre" sterling forks and teaspoons, but chose the "Landers/Frary/Clark" sterling and mother of pearl antique knives.


The plates are Hazel Atlas "Ripple" pink. I inherited these from my maternal great-great uncle, and some from my paternal great grandmother.




Oh no it looks like little brother wanted to get in on the action. Looks like my little Sheriff has eaten all the evidence!


Back to our table...beautiful pink for two beautiful girls:-)




Thanks for stopping by!!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are inspired to take a little bit of time and take tea with someone you love. That's what life is all about:-)

Anita


Be sure to go see beautiful tablescapes at "Between Naps on the Porch"

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Duncan Phyfe makeover...

What do you see cluttering up the corner of my dining room?? Eight, yes eight antique mahogany "Duncan Phyfe" dining chairs! 


If you saw a post a few months ago, you will remember that Luis was planning to make some chairs for my dining table similar to ones we saw at World Market. In the meantime, I have four leather parsons chairs, and a bench with it. My plan was to add two more leather parsons chairs so I would have three on each side, then the new chairs at each end. Ok, that was months away from actually happening! I am planning a tea for some ladies at church, and thought they would not be very comfortable climbing on the bench, so I was looking around for some "extra" chairs that were not too large and really cheap. Amazingly, I found on Craig's List a Duncan Phyfe (style) double pedestal mahogany table with 8 chairs all for $125!! Yes, $125!! Do I need another table, no. But, I will use it somewhere! But just look at these chairs...




Just look at the lines on this chair...I LOVE this empire style. 


Here is a little background on Duncan Phyfe. He was born in 1768 in Scotland and died Aug. 16, 1854 in New York, N.Y. His family settled in Albany, N.Y.,  in 1784; there he became an apprentice cabinetmaker and eventually opened his own shop. In 1792 he moved to New York City, where he changed the spelling of his name and became so successful that he employed 100 carvers and cabinetmakers. He was one of the first Americans to use the factory method of manufacturing furniture successfully. Though he did not originate a new furniture style, he interpreted fashionable European styles— Sheraton, Regency, Directoire, Empire—with such grace that he became a major exponent of Neoclassicism. His furniture, decorated with typical period ornaments such as harps and acanthus leaves, was generally of high-quality mahogany.

His designs enjoyed popularity in American furniture factories early in the 19th century. These chairs were manufactured by Tomlinson of High Point, N.C., and were made in 1938.  Here are some more examples of his style: 




The chair on the right is an actual Phyfe chair. Most of the ones around now are copies from the early 20th century.


This lovely piece below sold for $42,000!


Now I'll show you the before and after. I sanded each chair, then stained with a rubbing stain and finish combination. I then reupholstered the seat bottoms, after my husband lovingly stripped them of the two layers of upholstery and lots of nails.


Ta da!!! We are in love with these chairs! I love dark, rich wood, and this mahogany makes my heart sing:-)


We will use the parsons chairs at each end and six of these...

                        
 I added the single candleholders after I bought more candles:-)


This is what happens when you need new chairs! I love antiques, but what I love is restoring them to their original glory and giving them more life. I hope you are inspired to take something old and gently make it new again:-)

I will be linking up to Susan's Metamorphosis Monday over at "Between Naps on the Porch." I am also linking up for the first time to "Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays" at Coastal Charm, hosted by Linda, and Debbiedoos "Garage Salen partay!"  Looking forward to seeing more great transformations and thrifty finds!

Anita





Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Aunt Jody's Hydrangeas...

"There is no happier way of entertaining one's women friends than at a luncheon. (Men, as a rule, are not devotees of this pleasant sport.)
Naturally, if one does not have a maid one does not attempt a luncheon on a very large scale.


For a formal luncheon, the table is spread with the handsomest luncheon cloth, or runners and placemats,  or centerpiece and doilies that the hostess possesses. A handsome bowl or vase in the center holds some of the more delicate varieties of garden or hothouse flowers arranged loosely, their stems cut at uneven lengths, so that the effect is of grace and fragility...






"It is the better part of wisdom not to string out the silver in a bewildering row at each place, but to have the dessert spoons brought on when the last course is served. "

















"If tea or chocolate is to be served, it is probably more successful for the hostess to pour it at the table from the prettiest service she can beg, borrow or buy..."










Excerpts from "The Art of Cooking and Serving" by Sarah Field Splint, Copywright 1931.

Hydrangeas from Aunt Jody's garden
Mikasa "Italian Countryside" dinnerware
Wallace "Louvre" sterling flatware, 1893
Cristal D'Arques "Longchamp" crystal
Oneida butter dish
Vintage Irish Linen napkins and placemats
vintage quilt
vintage lace tablecloth
Minton pitcher
Leonard coffee service

Congratulations to Susan for her 100th Tablescape Thursday!! Please go by and see many beautiful and inspiring tables. Also, make sure you stop by "Affordable Accoutrements" to see Bill's gorgeous table!

Anita

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

April Cornell and vintage Hull...

I found a beautiful runner at April Cornell and wanted to do a table with it for a while. The only floral options I have right now are my lilies, and since they are just about finished blooming for the season, I thought I better do it now! This is probably not a table you would look at and think "April Cornell" but you know I always like to go a different direction. Let's start with the centerpiece...


I gathered lilies, "butterfly weed," coreopsis, daisies, black-eyed susans, ferns, mums, zinnias and queen Anne's lace from my mom's property and mine. I used a vintage cookie jar to hold the flowers. See the runner? That is from April Cornell online.  


Again, I used my everyday candleholders, chargers, flatware and napkin rings just to show you that you can change only a few items and create a whole different look. 


The gold napkins are from World Market. I made the red and green ticking napkins from fabric I bought at a local store. I was looking for something for everyday napkins, and I just love this. It washes very well also, which for me is very important.  


I started out with only the red, but it looked too "Autumnal" so I added the green, and I kind of like the randomness of using both!


These are Hull "Brown Drip" dinner plates and salad plates. You will notice I used a cream plate with brown edging on each end. I really wanted to keep it as light and summery as possible with all the dark, warm colors.









These iced tea glasses are "Argus" by Fostoria and were made in the 1970s. These are pretty much our everyday glasses as I use them with the Franciscan Ivy also. I had eight 3-piece place settings, and my mom just added four more for me:-)










So there you have another way to use beautiful April Cornell linens with everyday dinnerware. I encourage you to shop vintage, antique, used, etc., for dinnerware because it's the "greenest" thing you can do. There are so many beautiful dishes, glassware and flatware patterns that were made in American factories.

I'll be joining Susan at "Between Naps on the Porch" for "Tablescape Thursday" so stop by there to see some wonderful tables! 

Thanks so much for stopping by here:-) I have some vintage pink and blue "Melmac" for a fun 1950s table coming soon!!

Anita