Spring Decor

I had intended to design a new Spring look for the Dining room this year, but the supply chain issues ruined that plan. I hope to have everything by next Spring!

The second obstacle I faced was being really sick for nearly 3 weeks. I didn’t have the stamina to take down the Fasching decor and install the Spring decor. My dear friend came to my rescue to be my hands and feet while I instructed her on what to do. It was actually a lot more fun than doing it on my own.

We started by clearing the table and giving it a good clean. I had actually chipped the underside of the one glass top and so we flipped it around to hide it under the center placemat. No sense buying new glass when the decor will hide it for years to come!

Next, we laid the beveled mirrored tiles down the center of the table to both act as a runner and to reflect the crystal and florals. It brings a brightness and cohesiveness to the many elements to come down the center of the table.

The first thing was to place the larger decor elements to establish the spacing. I keep the center arrangement in storage, so I don’t need to remake it every year. However, it is a really easy arrangement to achieve. (The floral elements are taken from the pattern on the plates.) Start by spreading a dangling greenery around the tall trumpet vase to give a softer romantic look and to elongate the arrangement. Place 4-5 hydrangeas for the base. Plop in peonies at the top and a couple at the base for balance. About halfway up, add the dangling berry vines. Insert various greenery leaves (from the hydrangea and peonies) here and there to fill it out. I added just a couple shamrock flowers as a nod to St. Patrick’s Day. Add the dangling dainty blue flower stems at similar height to the berries. Finish by placing a few butterflies around the arrangement.

Next, place the crystal candlesticks on the mirror runner. I purchased these Riedel Duetto candlesticks while I lived in Vienna. Although long discontinued, you can sometimes find them on eBay or Replacements.com. They are so versatile – they can be used to create various arrangements depending on the need. They can be clustered like a candelabra or spread at length in one large or smaller grouping, as used here.

Wanting to get as much done as possible while my friend was available to help, I decided to work on the place settings and she put out the cabbage leaf placemats and stainless steel chargers next. As you can see in the background, we hadn’t yet removed all of the previous decor, but we had changed out the large candlesticks from gold to silver.

The arrangements for the two sideboards are similar to the table centerpiece. They are mercury glass footed lidded urns. (I previously used the large version for the centerpiece on the table, but it was broken a few years back.) I opt to keep these arrangements in storage to save time each year. Again, these are easy to assemble. Start by removing the lids and placing 3-4 hydrangea low around the edge of the urn. Add in a few white peonies atop the hydrangea, then use tall yellow forsythia branches at the center for height and volume. Place a few greenery leaves. Finish by adding a couple blue dangling florals and perhaps a butterfly.

(Once everything else was cleaned up and properly put away, I added the faux moss orb as a finishing touch to the sideboards.)

The place settings were finished with the Spring floral theme decorated dinner plate. We set them with the butterfly at 3 o’clock. Then we placed the green cabbage leaf salad plate and a flower folded white napkin. Although more a rose, it echoes the feel of the white peony buds and brings a clean fresh look to the table. The eye moves around the room from the white candles, to the peonies, and the napkins. Stainless Steel wineglasses and green glass water goblets coordinate with the chargers and established colors. Individual salt and pepper shakers finish out the look. For Easter, the cabbage salad plates will replaced with the Bunny plate matching the dinner plate.

To finish the center tablescape, I place the berry vines around the candlesticks. I curled the ends of the stems to make them more decorative. I placed the white peonies atop the curls, and also hydrangea to change it up from last year. I filled in around the flowers with various greenery leaves and then placed the blue floral vines throughout for a pop of color and more fullness. At each end of the mirror runner, I use silver mirrored glass candles and more florals for a low height finish. For a little more interest and to vary it from last year, I added faux moss orbs of various finish to the centerscape, as well as the mercury glass bowl on the side table.

Elements from the Dining room decor are repeated in the Kitchen, Great room, and Living room.

After the dark blue and black of the Winter decor themes, it feels so fresh to have the spring flowers with green and white throughout the home. That’s what I love about seasonal decorating!

Try a new look for Spring and have a friend or two over to experiment together!