Hey guys! It’s been a little while, huh? I hope you all had a wonderful long fourth of July weekend. We are back home and I’m getting back to business on the blog! Today, I’m going to share my tips for how to set a simple Summer Table. Yes, creating a lovely table – the easy way! I adore a beautifully embellished table and an ornate place setting, but let’s be real. There just isn’t time for all the frills and fuss! I mean, creating a super fancy tablescape for each holiday or change of the season would be waaaay too much work. It’s a wonderful thought, but just not realistic, especially for the stage of life I’m currently in. #littleonesarewildones
So, if you are like me and want a seasonally festive table from time to time, then remember these 5 tips! Lots of pretty for little fuss 😉
1 | Use What You Have
Grab your favorite pieces from the cupboard and see what you own. You might be surprised at how well your everyday white plates work with just about everything! Have 2 different placemats you love? See if they can work together!
This goes for everything on the table – patterns, colors, textures, as well as the material of your dishes. I have white ceramic dinner plates and white & gold dessert plates with a brightly colored melamine plate layered in between. And at the very bottom, I decided to use two different placemats for added texture and interest. I picked up the round white and yellow placements on clearance at HomeGoods for $4 and already had the gold woven one. [You might remember them from my Christmas Table last year.] Grab it all! Seriously, anything goes!
3 | Incorporate Bright Colors
Pink, Orange, yellow, green (lots of green), a hint of purple make up my table. There is plenty of white and a dash of gold in the dishes to help keep it light and bright. Multi-colored napkins were used along with alternated pink and orange ikat salad plates. The bright green keeps the table looking “fresh” and the mix of deep pink and light green flowers creates some continuity with the color palette.
4 | Add Natural Elements
For a simple summery look, I like to pull in pieces that remind me of being outdoors. The leafy green stems, which were each clipped off of this faux plant with a pair of scissors, placed on top of my silverware and then tied with a piece of jute twine give off that outdoorsy vibe.
Since it is a casual summer kitchen table setting, I wanted to bring the outdoors in. And to top it all off, an arrangement of fresh flowers oughta do the trick as well!
Fresh flowers will add instant summer zest to any table – frills or not. I love to decorate with fresh flowers all throughout my home. They brighten my mood, create an inviting atmosphere, smell divine and can add that “pop” a space is otherwise lacking. Try it – grab an inexpensive bouquet from the grocery store and a vase from home and place them on your kitchen table to enjoy at meals or when you’re in the kitchen. You just might love it. I sure do.
What do you think? Doable?!
This table isn’t fully staged, as in, I didn’t even put out glasses! There is not a freshly baked pie on the table and there aren’t any cute tabletop knick knacks added in for life-like mealtime visuals, but I still think it’s pretty. It’s also an affordable table since most of the pieces I’ve had for quite some time or have picked up on clearance and put away until the time came to set a pretty table! It truly is a simple setting that you can EASILY re-create at home.
And if you like any of the elements you saw on my table, you can scroll through the slideshow below for the source information!
[Affiliate links were used at no additional cost to you!]
Don’t forget to pin for later!
I mentioned in the last post that I still have a few posts to share from projects in the last house, so I’m going to be sharing those as well as starting to incorporate my ideas for new projects in this house — inspiration photos, design boards, checklists and more! I’m also working on a fun “tour” of the new house for you guys. It should be ready soon! My posting schedule for the rest of the summer will include a post on either Tuesday or Thursday and occasionally both days. The goal is to enjoy the summer sunshine with the boys and continue to get unpacked and settled into our new home.
I’ll see you back here next week!
Did you catch the rest of our [last] summer styled home from May?
michelle james
July 12, 2016 at 6:03 AMI can never make a table setting look good. I think I need more pretty stuff to pull it off. Thanks for this. I love the little “video” or moving pictures. Very cool!
Rachael @ This is our Bliss
July 12, 2016 at 5:33 PMThank you!
ashley@biggerthanthethreeofus
July 7, 2016 at 11:41 AMGosh, I need all the tips I can get with this!
Rachael @ This is our Bliss
July 12, 2016 at 5:35 PMOh, just throw a few dishes on top of each other and plop some flowers in a vase! You got it!