Whenever we design tabletops for the blog, I typically try and pull items that you can easily purchase online, so that you can recreate the looks yourself. But at home? If we’re being honest, it’s typically a mix of new and old at my table, and I’ll give you one good reason why: PERSONALITY.
Some of my favorite items to entertain with (a set of colored glass champagne coupes, a batch of pink fish faced dishes), are vintage and they always bring a bit of delight. So when EBTH asked me to team up with them to shop their site for some treasures to add to my own table, I was thrilled to do so. More importantly, though, I was inspired.
First things first here. If you’re new to EBTH, you’ll want to know a two things. 1) It stands for “Everything But The House” which is a perfect name because 2) it’s basically a site full of online estate sales that let you shop for just about everything you can imagine. Except the house. You bid on items that are up for auction, and there are no minimum bids, so that means that you can really score some great items.
And believe it or not, sometimes it’s easier to create when faced with some challenges and limitations. For example: The product on EBTH is changing all the time (sales only last for a week), so I used color palette to hone in on my shopping and bidding, instead of relying on style. Turns out, that was a good strategy because I ended up not with one, but two tables full of gorgeous items.
Let’s start with this modern mix:
This tabletop began with the glassware, which was one of the first items I found while perusing the EBTH site. They were pieces I might not normally be drawn to, but I was looking for color and I loved the mix of blues and greens they would bring to the table setting. I decided to take them in a Mod direction, so I found these cool abstract dishes to pair with simple white dinnerware and my usual gold flatware.
Enter the part of the post where I tell you that all it takes is an unexpected element (or two) to take your everyday stuff to a whole other level with some quirky vintage.
Oh hello, gorgeous blue and white porcelain bird candlesticks!!! These pair were a game changer in the style direction of this table. I bid hard to get these babies.
What was at first a fairly simple setting changed completely when I added on this whimsical piece. Suddenly I felt it absolutely necessary to hang a houseplant above this table rather than add in a centerpiece that might detract from this lovely pair.
Adding in these candlesticks with such a modern setting took this table over the top for me. The lesson here? When you’re really attracted to a piece, just go for it. I end up with a lot of pieces that people think I’m crazy for purchasing, but then they see them in a setting like this, and they get it!
The final element was a big batch of these beaded flowers that I found on the EBTH site. They came in all shapes and colors and felt very antiquated all together, but when I pulled them apart and highlighted just a couple there became something more special about them.
So this is one way to do vintage. Mixed in, sort of simple and unexpected. And then there’s this way to do vintage…
ALL OUT.
There’s no apologizing for being a hopeless romantic here. This tabletop is just as at home on an 19th century antique as it is our modern white lacquer table, and I like it that way. This table was inspired by the citron lettuce ware which is pretty fabulous all on its own. I was amazed by the number of settings that came with this set, the condition they were in and the fact that those little lettuce bowls even exist… they obviously needed to be the focal point of the table.
To complement them – beautiful peachy pink toned glassware. While searching through vintage sites can be quite hit or miss, I have to say that the glassware options seemed endless on EBTH! I decided I wanted pink glassware for this table, and pink I got.
Don’t you agree that these pieces bring so much personality to these tables? I love how unique they are! Which is your favorite setting, and how do you incorporate vintage pieces into your own tabletop? Any favorite finds from over the years?
To get my top 10 Tips for Tablescaping, you can head over to the EBTH site along with some more curated shopping! I’ve certainly got my eye on a few more dishes…
