A Tablescape and Spring Buffet Plus, Decorating Tips for your Home

Brilliant blue skies, birds in construction mode flying back and forth with building materials in their beaks, Mourning Doves cooing, Barn Swallows swooping, Mockingbird’s singing, beautiful wisteria, azaleas, and roses blooming in all shades of pretty…it’s Spring!

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Adopting the pace of nature” I began setting our table for Easter, and the 5 Family Birthday’s we have in April. I thought a buffet style tablescape would be the most convenient way for everyone to serve themselves, and it seemed to come together easily as I collected the items I wanted to use…an iron bird bath, creamy Magnolia blossoms, natural wood rounds, a 3-tiered iron serving piece, white porcelain bunny’s, a chunky urn with a little bird nest inside, and some silver and crystal for sparkle; my favorite mixture of rustic elegance.

This adorable bunny runner with fuzzy bunny’s on both ends was my foundation piece and set the neutral tone for my color scheme.

A silver box and a domed glass butter server look even more elegant perched on their wooden platforms. The wood rounds were a special gift that my son and daughter in law gave me for Christmas.

The green leaves against the deep blue of the evening sky and lake make a beautiful backdrop. Napkins with tiny white pompoms have the word Happy embroidered on them, and are stacked on the top pedestal, ready to use. Look carefully and you’ll see the silverware gleaming and gathered in a crystal ice bucket under the wood round holding the napkins. Placed here on the table, the silverware is easy to reach while in the serving line…and the silver and crystal add another layer of sparkle to the table.

I love serving our desserts and coffee from our antique dining buffet, and after I completed setting the table, I began decorating and setting the buffet with the same theme of Rustic Elegance in mind. I mixed and blended silver and crystal with ceramic birds, moss and spring leaves, and lots of little bird nests filled with eggs.

More bird nests and eggs…moss and spring leaves…silver and crystal…“these are a few of my favorite things.”

Decorator Tip: Use the things you love, repeatedly, but display them in different ways throughout your home for unity and visual harmony.

A silver bird perches on a stack of dessert plates that are ready for service in a double plate rack on the buffet.

Decorator Tip: Add a little whimsy and unexpected visual surprises when decorating and accessorizing your home to create intrigue and interest.

Plates, an elegant coffee carafe with pedestaled server, a crystal biscuit barrel, and a silver tin…mix beautifully with a rustic iron birdbath, twiggy nests, bright moss, and bird eggs. The same “rustic elegance” theme continues…and “fancy stuff” is right at home amongst bits of spring, and pieces of the outdoors.

Decorator Tip: Mix elegant serving dishes, cutlery, and other collectibles with rustic pieces or bits of nature for contrast and interest.

After setting the table and buffet, I began adding touches of spring to the rest of the house. An unexpected piece of garden statuary looks right at home on the hall tree. I love the cherub’s happy presence and how it brings the outdoors…in. Wispy branches with tiny silver leaves and beads are entwined around the whimsical cherub and incorporate the colored porcelain, clusters of grapes, and bird nest at the angel’s feet.

Decorator Tip: Bringing outdoor items in, and using them in unexpected ways piques visual interest, and is an enchanting way to add Spring to your home.

I love this view down the staircase and the way it “beckons” and leads to see what is below.

An antique ceramic parrot, old books with browned, ruffly pages, and another little bird nest perched in a silver cup with intricate edges, mix beautifully with the large mirror over the fireplace, brass candlesticks, blue and white porcelain, and a mirrored frame of birds…and bring the look of Spring to the mantle.

Different and more brass candlesticks, old books, blue and white porcelain, and even another silver bowl holding a bird nest filled with eggs decorate the right side of the mantle and are styled to balance and compliment the left side of the mantle.

Decorating Tip: Repeat the same colors, finishes, and theme when decorating to pull your room together. In our living room…mirrors, birds, books, little nests, shiny gold finishes, silver bowls, and blue and white porcelain are “on repeat” throughout the room and tie everything together.

I love the rough texture of the bird nest against the carvings of the silver bowl…and the cedar branches up against the brick wall, and the way they contrast with the smooth gold look and finishes of the candlesticks and the shiny mirror.

Decorating Tip: Use different textures when decorating to create visual interest.

A sweet vignette tucked in the corner of the bookcase mirrors many of the same Spring decorations that are found throughout the living room.

Decorating Tip: Use the same decorating elements throughout your room to unify all your decorations and create a cohesive look.

April quickly blended into May and this weekend is Mother’s Day! Our tablescape, with it’s bunny theme, was perfect for Easter and all our April birthday’s, but is easily adaptable and can be used for Mother’s Day, also… a white Battenberg lace runner will replace the bunny table runner and the ceramic bunny’s will be put away until next year and exchanged for a beautiful, antique “Lady’s Head” vase filled with flowers.

I know some of you reading this are still waiting for spring and even had snowfall last week! Adding touches of spring to your home will help chase the winter blues away. Have patience, spring is just around the corner…“adopt the pace of nature!” (;

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

“See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.”

Song of Solomon 2:11-12

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Trenda@cottagegreenonthelake.com

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