Three Things That Make You Want to Set a Beautiful Table

So there we were at the beach, on vacation, and even though I was trying to be casual, I just HAD to set a beautiful table! My friends were amused that I couldn’t control myself, but it ended up being the perfect touch for our beach dinner.

Thinking it over, I realized there were three things that all came together to make me want to set a beautiful table. I’ll tell you about them, and you can see if they inspire you too.

A Little Background

Our good friends had invited us to join them at the beach house they rented one weekend, and we jumped at the chance. The house was lovely! Big and open, lots of bedrooms, and also lots of wonderful bright spaces to cozy up and read. Or play cribbage! 🙂

You can tell from the light in the photo below, that there was lots of sunlight from the huge windows facing the ocean!

I was using the weekend to completely relax and be totally casual – something I don’t do very often. No doing any work on the laptop, no dressing up, no organizing, (all things I love, btw) but mostly, no worrying about anything!

It had been a blissful day of girl-chats on the rooftop patio over tea, reading in the sunshine, and generally hanging out watching the waves.

When it came time to make dinner, I was completely off the hook. All I had to do was sip my cocktail and chat with the cooks. Our host had made a fire in the big rock fireplace, and the light was reflecting in the darkening picture windows. Through which, we could see a stunning sunset. It was an absolutely beautiful scene.

And that’s Thing Number One.

Thing Number One – A Beautiful Place

There’s something about beauty, isn’t there? It’s been a catalyst for art all through history. So it’s only natural, that when we’re in a beautiful place, we’re inspired.

For me – and maybe some of you, I’m betting – table setting is an artistic expression. I love it for myself, and it’s also a gift to the others at the table. Some beauty to elevate our everyday-ness.

In this case, the lovely house, the sunset, and the fire, created a beautiful place, and made me want to set a beautiful table.

Flowers make me want to set a beautiful table

Flowers also contribute so much to making a space beautiful. If you’ve been around M&T for a while, I’m sure you’ve realized I’m a flower person. My host and hostess gifts are almost always flowers.

Lots of times, they’re in wine, or other interesting bottles, like the ones on our beach table. (You can read more about how I started that tradition in this post.)

I brought these flowers with us from Portland for our hosts. And as you can see, they fit right in with the table. I didn’t plan it, but they match the color of the furniture almost exactly.

In my mind, the finishing touch for any table is flowers, so whenever some are around, my thoughts turn to tablescaping. You can make almost any space beautiful by the addition of flowers – real or faux.

Thing Number Two – Good Friends

Being around good friends made me want to set a beautiful table. Maybe it’s because I was having so much fun, that I wanted to do something extra for them.

As I mentioned above, I think of a lovely tablescape as a gift. While everyone else was cooking, setting a beautiful table was something I could do to contribute to the evening.

Plus, it’s fun to share something I love so much, with my friends!

Thing Number Three – Items for Creativity

And last but not least, is items for creativity! I don’t know about you, but I love to set a beautiful table someplace new. It’s always so fun to see what kind of tablescape you can come up with, using pretty much just what’s at hand. (I did bring the flowers, but nothing else.)

Tableware to set a beautiful table

As I said, this was a lovely house. But even so, I didn’t really expect to find such high quality tableware! I was perfectly prepared to use paper napkins. But I found these great cloth napkins and even napkin rings in one of the kitchen drawers!

If I had searched further I would have found some great woven placemats too. But I was so excited with my original haul, that I stopped looking, and just set the table. (We found the placemats later, and I wished I’d continued my earlier exploration.)

The flatware was solid and sturdy – perfect for a vacation rental. And even more perfect, was the pretty seashell-esque design on the handles.

The glassware was lovely too. I wasn’t expecting wine glasses, but there they were! Plus, the water glasses were pretty, and the design was sparkly, which I love.

Table decor

One of the super fun things I got to do, was go around the house and scout out things to decorate the table! The woven runner that was already there, and the rope napkin rings set the ocean-side vibe. So I was thrilled when I came up with what I think are weights for fishing nets.

I just loved the look of them on the table. They carried out the theme and color scheme, and I do enjoy a conversation piece.

That was all our beach table really needed, but I was very happy with the texture and simplicity. The table was big enough for 10, but since it was just the two couples, we could spread out down at our end.

With the fireplace behind us, the ocean in front of us, and good friends on either side, it was the perfect dinner!

I hope you’re inspired to set a beautiful table when you’re off on vacation somewhere. Or even just at home for an ordinary night – there’s nothing like a pretty table setting!

Let us know what you’re up to in the comments.

Shop the Set a Beautiful Table post

Click on the pictures below for links to the pieces I mentioned in this post. If something’s not available, I chose a similar replacement.

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This Post Shared With

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