Creating a Color Pallet For Your Tablescape - How to Style A Tablescape Like A Professional - 3rd in this series
In the third blog in my series, How to Design A Table Like A Professional, I discuss how I created my color pallet using vintage dishes and a French confit pot as inspiration pieces for my “French Garden Table.”
Choosing color for a table design, or for that matter, any design, is personal; it just is. Where one person adores black and white, others love blue. It is a preference that should always be noticed. Color inspires us and affects our moods and behaviors.
“I wonder if any element of interior design is more personal than color? Nothing can more quickly reveal aspect of personality and character than the choice - or absence - of color.”
Now, let’s look at the two inspirational color elements I used for my “French Garden” tablescape.
These are vintage Spode plates I found at an estate sale. I love the casual yet elegant feel of the plates. They are very French in design, and I especially adore that they are all different in style.
First Inspiration: Is it any surprise I would choose blue and white to begin my color inspiration?
These vintage Spode plates are just so gorgeous, and each is different. All have a beautiful floral pattern which, to me, was representative of a casual French tablescape. I had just purchased these dishes at an estate sale and just loved them. I knew I wanted to use them eventually for a tablescape design, never realizing that Set to Celebrate was just around the corner.
Modern French Style Confit Pot
Second Inspiration: This confit pot is a modern version of the old French one found in Provence for hundreds of years.
The word "confit" stems from the French word "confire,” meaning "to preserve." Antique confit pots were historically used before refrigeration was invented as containers to cook and preserve duck in duck fat. The original pots are glazed, yellow top and clay bottom differentiates them from any other pot.
I own some very fragile antique French confit pots, so I chose this one to represent my table since it is a bit more modern and sturdy.
Together these two elements represented the beauty of Provence. The textures and colors are rich, warm, and complex.
Next, I looked around for additional elements to add to my design that would bring the color combinations and theme together further.
“Colors that are chosen for a design project can affect a person’s mood, state of mind, and overall disposition.”
The layering of these French-style dishes started taking on the romantic warmth I was seeking.
I have these beautiful deep blue votives that adds to the richness of the colors. It is exactly the pop of blue I was looking for.
I found these beautiful cream-colored chargers at a store in Greenwich, CT. I love their shape and texture, and they are so popular today. I wanted to add a modern and vintage feel to my table simultaneously. These were perfect!
I also found these lovely French country-style bowls at Sur La Tablet. They add a beautiful French style when layering them with the rest of the dishes.
The charger and the bowl have the cream color in the confit pot I was looking for.
Once I knew which place settings I wanted to use, I looked for a fabric to tie all the table colors together. I wanted a textured fabric that had different hues of blue, gray, and cream in it.
I found this lovely floral fabric with a beautifully embroidered design going down the middle of it. The fabric represents all the colors I hoped to find, and the textures are amazing!
I had a runner made from the material and then started to look for a tablecloth that I could put under the runner. The cream tablecloth I had was just too plain with the table runner, and I was looking for something to help the table runner stand out.
I went to William Sonoma and found this gorgeous gray French-style tablecloth. It has a beautiful pattern that wouldn’t compete with the runner. It’s a beautiful gray color, and the textures add to the layers of the tablescape.
These embroidered linen napkins complimented the different hues of blue in the tablescape. I had bumble bees in several different napkins throughout the table to represent a French heritiage.
I then added vintage silver flatware, which paired nicely with the gray colors in the linens.
I added more silver using items I had at home that were handed down from my mother. Little silver bowls and serving spoons riddled my tablescape.
I added modern crystal stemware that matched the chargers and small vintage drinking glasses I purchased at a flea market in Provence. I loved that the drinking glasses have a beautiful flower pattern etched on them and are quintessentially French. Perfect for my theme.
I found these napkins at an estate sale in Connecticut. They are vintage gold embroidered bees made in Paris. I adore the gold and silver colors on them. I added some macarons and blue flower blooms under the dome of this serving dish to add color and interest. The serving dish is modern.
Did you know that the French Provencal bee HAS origins in the 1st century Merovingian dynasty? It was considered a symbol of immortality and resurrection; the bee was chosen TO link the new dynasty to the very origins of France. Golden bees (in fact, cicadas) were discovered in 1653 in Tournai in Childeric’s tomb. The original bee was shaped more like the cicada, but the symbol has evolved to be more of a honeybee shape. The bee is believed to be one of the oldest symbols of French royalty.
This is a linen napkin that I had embroidered with my last name initial. I added the bee to match the bee in the other napkins I used on the table. It’s very French in style and the color’s coordinated with the rest of the table.
“the best color in the world is the ones that look good on you
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“The thing is…color is subjective. Most importantly, you love what you are designing, and the colors you use should represent who you are. Colors convey meaning more than, at times, words can. Express yourself through your creativity using colors that you love!”
To learn more about color basics in interior design, I have included a link to Freshhome.com. Here they discuss color basics in easy-to-understand verbiage related to interior design. It was a great, straightforward article about applying color to your design.
Here is a quick video of my finished tablescape.
“Mon Jardin à la Française” or “My French Garden”
As with everything I post on my blogs, please feel free to comment, or if you have any questions, please email me through my contact page. I welcome it anytime!
Design with your heart™️
Happy entertaining, my friends!
Mary
“May your home be a place where friends meet, family gathers, and love grows. ”
Next up…in the forth series, adding the flowers and other French elements.
