Creating a French Market Basket Design - How to Style A Tablescape Like A Professional - 7th in this series
I just adore French market baskets and use them when gardening all the time. I collect flowers in them and bring them in to design centerpieces. It is a working basket for me that I use over and over again.
First, let’s talk market baskets!
Market baskets have been used in Europe and France for decades. The ones originally used long ago were made of heavy material. They had been commonly used throughout Europe to carry fresh produce, cheeses, and baguettes from outdoor markets. Today, they are lightweight and strong which make them great for carrying items when going to a farmers market, beach or even on a picnic. You don’t have to worry about them getting wet since all you need to do is reshape them when wet, let them dry and you are ready to go on your next great excursion.
Indoors, they are wonderful for storing blankets, magazines and yarn for knitting. I will often use mine when guests come to visit for the weekend. I will roll beautiful guest towels and place them in my french basket along with a little lavender potpourri sachet bag tucked in between the towels. I will either place the basket in my guest bedroom or bathroom. It makes for a beautiful vignette and the fragrance is calming and spa like. I want them to feel like they are staying at a small chateau in Provence! When my guests are ready to leave, I will gift them an unused lavender sachet bag simular to the ones in the market basket. It’s just my way of saying thank-you for coming to stay and to remember us by. Fragrances often elicits memories like no other.
Why did I choose a french market basket for my design?
I wanted a design elemement that is quintessentially French
Market baskets go hand in hand when thinking about Provence and flowers. The long standing beauty and history of these baskets remind me of the French marketplace and the organic surroundings of the rustic countryside.
I wanted to tell the full story of my table design
When creating a tablescape, or any design for that matter, I have a theme in my mind that I can create to. I talk about that fully in my blog, “Choosing a Design Theme For Your Table: My French Garden” if you want to learn more.
In my story, My French Garden, I saw a French woman preparing her beautiful garden tablescape in haste. She collected flowers from her garden using her favorite market basket. Once she was done placing most of the flowers she collected on the table, the ones remaining in her basket along with her scissors and her favorite book, “Paris In Bloom” were left on one of the chair, and there it stayed.
One of my inspirations for this tablescape and for using the market basket was from Georgianna Lane’s book, Paris in Bloom. It is a book full of gorgeous photographs of Paris and all the lovely blooms that surround this remarkable city. I have had the book on my coffee table for some time now and I adore it. It was the first place I went to find inspiration for my tablescape.
This is the photo from Paris in Bloom that inspired me to use my own market basket. Photo by Georgianna Lane.
Here is how I created my market basket design
First, I used my own market basket which has a leather double handle.
One of the Paris In Bloom pages that inspired me. Photo by Georgianna Lane
Next, I collected items that would convey the image of an intimate French garden party. I went to a bakery that created authentic bagettes that you would find in France and added them to my basket. I then added my book and finally my favorite pair of garden sheers.
This is at my home as I was created the design. It is all trial and error until you feel it is perfect.
I chose six types of flowers to decorate my market basket. I looked for flowers that would cascade around the top of the basket as well as give additional color and texture to the design. I wanted to have a soft romantic feel to the basket.
Here are all the flowers collected. The hydrangea was not added yet in this photo since they require such special attention. I added them last when the event started. Hydrangeas are really touchy when going from a cold enviorment to a warm one. I had to transfer all of my flowers when it was very cold outside to a warm interior. Hydrangeas are not a fan of cold weather…I’ll just leave it at that.
Dusty Miller: I chose dusty miller for its green/gray color. The leaves match nicely with the different grays in the table as well it added both texture and warmth to the arrangement. The fuzzy softly curved leaves cascaded down the side of the basket giving it a romantic soft look.
Delphinium: I added just a few delphinium for the pop of deep blue I was looking for. I chose stalks that were small and fell in a beautiful manner.
David Austin Roses - Heritage: I then added beautiful David Austin Heritage roses to the bouquet. The blush color added nicely to the brown hues in the confit pot as well gave my basket a warm richness I was looking for. Perfect for the look I was going for, cozy, warm and romantic.
Eucalyptus: I chose seeded and silver dollar eucalyptus for its arid feel as well as its ability to both cascade around the basket. It also capture some of the warm greens in the runner. I love the old world feel to that this beautiful flower has.
Creamy White Hypericum Berries: Hypericum berries add just a touch of warmth and beauty to any arrangement. They both cascaded beautifully and mixed well with the heritage roses.
Hydrangea’s: I then added only a few cream-colored hydrangea so that they would fill the open areas around the basket. I wanted the basket to be full of blooms and this did the trick.
NOTE: This event was 3 days long and I had to keep the flowers in my basket hydrated, therefore the floral stems had a water tube attached to the bottom of each one. It worked perfectly.
Here is one of my French Linen kitchen dish cloths. I just adore them. I purchased them in France. They are so luxious and soft.
Because I had to use water tubes , I wanted to hide them. I used one of my favorite French linen dish towels and ran it through the leather handles of the market basket. I then tied the towel in a knot in order to close the basket. I then draped the ends of the linen cloth over any additional exposed area. It worked great and appeared as if it belonged there! French linens are so common is households all through Provence.
Here is a close up of my lovely French dish towel draped over the flower tubes. No one would have suspected I was hiding them!
I also added another gray linen napkin to the inside of the basket just in case my other dish towel moved. I wanted to be sure I secured the stems of the flowers the best I could.
““The details are not the details. They make the design.””
The basket with my cream hydrangeas and my French linen towel.
“The thing is…adding little details to your design to tell a story makes sense. It captures the intrinsic nature of the story you are trying to portray. For me, flowers always work in combination with other special details. It doesn’t matter is you love simple succulents or aspire to use hydrangeas, it helps to create an exceptional 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 eighth series, using vintage linens in your design. Where I found these lovely bee linens and others.
