tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35058410517559488622024-03-19T00:47:08.229-07:00Affordable AccoutrementsBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-63675672806360915982012-02-13T14:40:00.002-08:002012-03-02T14:31:43.085-08:00A Valentine's Table: Roses, Romance & Peacocks!When it's time to set a table for a Valentine's Day dinner party, certain obvious symbols come to mind: hearts, flowers, candy, cards ...Since this is a table for eight, rather than an intimate setting for two, I took a slightly different approach. There had to be flowers, of course -- preferably roses, the quintessential choice for Valentine's Day.There are flowers on the vintage Theodore Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com62tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-67322198286712969212011-12-28T00:17:00.000-08:002011-12-28T18:21:11.186-08:00Holiday Table for Eight! Minus Four?Hi Everyone,Thank you for your visits and, to so many of my favorite blogging friends, for the thoughtful comments you left for me last week.As promised, here's a look at the table I set for a holiday dinner party. I used Lenox Holiday salad plates. The dinner plates are Lenox Hayworth. The glass chargers are a Goodwill find.I starched and ironed the hemstitched linen napkins and added a simple, Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-34851554706316891922011-12-23T21:09:00.000-08:002011-12-24T04:20:32.698-08:00'Tis the night before Christmas Eve!'Tis the night before Christmas Eve! And it's been a long time since I've done a new post. I thought of putting the blog to bed and saying it's been a good run, but I think I'd miss blogging. I know I'd miss the sweet friends I've made in Blogland. I appreciate all of you more than you know.After a busy day of cooking, wrapping gifts, and dropping off food and flowers for neighbors and friends, IBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-69258331863172059682011-11-15T05:05:00.000-08:002011-11-16T18:08:01.464-08:00Mikasa Again!I recently learned that Mikasa, a division of Lifetime Brands, Inc., is bringing back "The Great Dinner Party." As many of you know, it's a website where people who love to entertain and set beautiful tables can share photos of their table settings (all dinnerware is welcome), menus, and recipes with their family and friends and gain inspiration for their next entertaining event.I thought it Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com63tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-15291358898504220232011-09-27T20:39:00.000-07:002011-10-02T09:43:29.645-07:00Celebrating Centerpieces 2: The Journey Continues!In Celebrating Centerpieces (HERE) I took a look back at the first 50 tables I set for Affordable Accoutrements. Perhaps it's time for an update.I think a centerpiece provides the heart and soul of an eye-pleasing table setting. Naturally it's only one element of an overall design, but decorating the center of the table can require as much energy, imagination, and creativity as the rest of the Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-302550672540431372011-09-14T11:48:00.000-07:002011-09-14T18:08:33.726-07:00In Respectful MemoriamI was hesitant to set a table and label it a tribute to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. There have been countless beautiful and moving observances, memorials, and commemerations over the past few days, and I wasn't sure I should take on such a formidable challenge. But how could I not?As I set the table and took photographs on September 11, 2011, I was ever mindful of what had Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-56573224842580125992011-08-31T13:21:00.000-07:002011-08-31T18:08:07.766-07:00If Dinnerware Could Dance!The dishes were a gift from a neighbor who was downsizing and moving to Florida. They've been wrapped in newsprint and packed away in a tote for months. I've struggled to decide how I could use them in a tablescape post. Mid-century modern isn't my favorite design period. There, I've said it, and I know it makes me hopelessly uncool. But it was more than that; the pattern's design says one thing,Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-32482662103539963522011-08-22T13:45:00.000-07:002011-08-24T18:06:53.775-07:00The Real Tables of Affordable Accoutrements!Often readers will ask if the tables they see on Affordable Accoutrements are used for "real world" entertaining. Sometimes the answer is yes. On those occasions, the table settings are often scaled back considerably by the time guests arrive.
The table below was set quickly, using dishes, glassware, and flatware that are all automatic dishwasher-friendly. I was serving a simple lunch for Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-38329569117850289532011-08-16T14:00:00.000-07:002011-08-17T18:06:49.053-07:00A Tropical Table and a TributeWhen the table seats eight, and it's dinner for seven, how does one avoid creating a visual void?
One solution might be to let the centerpiece become an "end piece." That's what I've done today. Well, naturally, I continued the design down the center of the table, but the emphasis is on the tall floral arrangement at the end.
I wanted to create a relaxed, tropical mood in the sunroom.
I tendBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-78907254716448330192011-08-10T11:48:00.000-07:002011-08-10T19:27:54.433-07:00Estate Sale at Casa De La Pradera!If you've visited Affordable Accoutrements before, you're aware that I enjoy setting tables that incorporate (mostly vintage) items I've purchased at local estate sales. There was a particularly interesting one last Saturday.
It was advertised on estatesales.net as a "majestic palatial gated old world stone, stucco, and brick English Tudor located in the countryside of historic Brownsville, Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-63538021570058575012011-07-19T14:29:00.000-07:002011-07-19T14:38:28.382-07:00Glads Make Me Happy Table!Today's table began with a vintage champagne glass, one that might also have been used as a tall sherbet dish. The pattern is Laurel Wreath, manufactured by Duncan & Miller sometime between 1943 and 1955. I purchased 7 of them at a local antiques mall recently. I started to buy them last year, when they were priced at $24 for the set. I was drawn to them from a distance by the way they Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com50tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-83060205932270292052011-07-06T10:16:00.000-07:002011-07-06T10:20:15.967-07:00Royal Doulton & Tiaras!I first posted this table in November, 2009. It was Thanksgiving, and I'd decided to host a (virtual) appreciation dinner ... along with a "coronation." In honor of this being the 150th week of Tablescape Thursdays, hosted by the inimitable Susan of Between Naps on the Porch!), I thought I'd share it again.If the tablescaping community has a queen (Susan of course!), perhaps we should also have aBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com50tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-15923677162787911852011-06-28T12:54:00.000-07:002011-06-29T20:22:04.694-07:00Informal Formality?So, what does "informal formality" mean, and how does it relate to setting the table for a dinner party? While I can't claim to be an expert on the topic, I can certainly share my personal approach.For me, it's a concept that allows us to use our "Sunday best" china and silver in an unpretentious way, one that both makes our guests feel special and puts them at absolute ease. Setting a beautiful Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-86187134202997896212011-06-01T13:29:00.000-07:002011-06-01T19:46:00.293-07:00Mikasa Daylight - Freshness of Spring!Afternoon temperatures have soared into the 90s in Tennessee this week. How have I coped with the heat? Air conditioning helps, of course, but so does setting a table with Mikasa's fresh, energetic Daylight dishes. For me, this table creates the feeling of a cool, soothing oasis. I was so pleased when I won the Daylight giveaway hosted by the very talented Marlis of Creative Journeys! See the Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-10934183495253018592011-05-24T20:39:00.000-07:002011-05-25T20:51:15.132-07:00Joyous Garden!Inspiration for table settings can come from a variety of sources. I didn't decide which dishes to use today until after I'd taken a stroll through the garden with secateurs in hand. I returned with a bucket filled with colorful cut flowers. The loosely-structured arrangement of oak leaf hydrangeas, roses, Anthony Waterer spirea (pink bridal wreath), Stella d'Oro daylilies, Japanese painted fern,Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-89002076268623140172011-04-20T12:25:00.000-07:002011-04-20T20:47:08.613-07:00Thrift Meets Limoges, with Bunnies!It seems to me that appealing table settings often include vintage treasures, thrifty finds, garden flowers, new acquisitions, and ... something else -- elements that are unexpected, even whimsical. Little surprises can take a table from pretty (but generic) to fresh, modern, unique, and interesting! I hope some of these adjectives can be applied to the table I've set for you today. You decide ..Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-34849154635692503672011-04-11T22:02:00.000-07:002011-04-13T19:53:59.185-07:00The Unparalleled Versatility of Whiteness!I wasn't in the market for (yet) another set of dishes when I stopped by my favorite local thrift store on Saturday morning. I saw the box in the picture below. I quickly moved the dozen or so items piled on top of it and peered inside. I expected to see something other than pristine white dishes. I assumed there'd be clothing, toys, kitchen items, VHS tapes ... anyone's guess! It's a shop that Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com72tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-60521520207566440642011-04-04T04:49:00.000-07:002011-04-05T11:19:26.211-07:00Mikasa for Me!It's all your fault, Susan of Between Naps on the Porch! Well, I could also blame Anita of Far Above Rubies and, more recently, Alycia of Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One. All three lovely and talented ladies have set beautiful tables with Mikasa china and hosted giveaways that led me (like a moth to a seductively shiny flame) to Mikasa's Facebook fan page. From there, to the Mikasa website to Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com66tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-35577516115450112002011-03-30T08:37:00.000-07:002011-03-30T08:40:34.359-07:00Listen my children ...Listen my children and you shall hearOf the midnight ride of Paul Revere ...What does "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow have to do with setting a festive table? In addition to being the man who sounded the alarm "to every Middlesex village and farm," Mr. Revere was a skilled silversmith. Paul Revere is seen below in a 1768 portrait by John Singleton Copley.He Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-50496261706991883222011-03-07T13:41:00.000-08:002011-03-09T18:05:24.664-08:00Carnivale!One commonly accepted derivation of the word "carnival" (or carnivale) is the Latin "carne vale" or "farewell to meat." Carnival was the final hurrah as winter headed towards spring, and the long Lenten season of fasting and abstinence. It was, perhaps, not only a last chance to indulge the passions of the flesh, but an opportunity to consume any meat which had been put up for winter that might Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-54445346080318705162011-03-01T04:15:00.000-08:002011-03-02T17:42:34.898-08:00Simply Vintage Table Setting!I set a simple table for you today, using mostly vintage items. My goal was to keep the overall look clean, functional, and uncluttered. No fine china, no candelabra, no place mats/tablecloth, no chargers, no place cards, no delicate crystal -- although I very much like ALL those things!The centerpiece is elevated. This serves a twofold purpose, preserving precious space on the tabletop and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-17863363936884977622011-02-23T06:12:00.000-08:002011-02-24T20:13:37.449-08:00Lenox and Magnolias!What makes a dinner party memorable? The menu of course; that goes without saying. A carefully crafted guest list can provide sparkling dialogue. Do you want the sweet, soothing sounds of companionable, sympatico spirits or the lively banter of good-natured, but wildly opposing, viewpoints?If you've visited Affordable Accoutrements before, you won't be surprised to learn that setting a visually Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com59tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-58857386681524043342011-02-14T14:21:00.000-08:002011-02-14T21:05:56.419-08:00Rumpled Chic! For Valentine's??Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! This week, I’m sharing a romantic table for eight. Yes, I know it’s traditional to set a table à deux for this particular holiday. I’m speaking here in terms of romance that evokes a mood that’s fanciful and extravagant, one that offers pleasures for all the senses.The “table linens” I used were inspired by Joni of Cote de Texas. She did a post HERE that began Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com59tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-20597773709193306292011-02-07T11:35:00.000-08:002011-02-07T11:42:51.446-08:00Unvalentine's Table with Roses & Hydrangeas!It was time to set the table, and I thought, "It's not Valentine's Day yet. This isn't a table for two, and I'm not using anything red or lacy."Then I remembered "unbirthdays" and a wonderful Lewis Carroll quote from Through the Looking Glass, "There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents ... and only one for birthday presents, you know."From a quick online Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com91tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505841051755948862.post-79814698155138583922011-02-01T13:44:00.001-08:002011-02-02T16:37:16.442-08:00Tablescape with Velvet & Lace!Dear Readers,Thank you for the kind, generous comments and e-mails I've received from so many of you during my hiatus from blogging. It was nice to have a break, but even nicer to be back this week with a post for Tablescape Thursday with Susan of Between Naps on the Porch! I honestly thought my "Taking a Break" post might receive a half dozen comments at most. I assumed I'd lose followers and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15467769804679511645noreply@blogger.com58