When you're looking for inspiration to set your table, look no further than the seasonal blooms popping up in your region. There's something so fresh and approachable about using garden flowers as the palette inspiration for your next fete. Setting the table should be fun and easy. Stuffy and fussy tables feel that way, and your guests should only ever feel at ease. My key advice: Don't overthink it. 

Last week my hydrangea burst into these magnificent cotton candy poufs so I snipped a bunch and knew they'd be the inspiration for my next table setting post. As you can see this is an elegant table setting, but it's not over done. I switched out the vessel holding the flowers from a vintage milk bottle (shown in the below image) to the French Press I designed for Anthropologie because it added better height variety to the table. Then I added vintage stemware and placed the water and wine glasses where I thought they visually looked best-- not where they're supposed to be. If your eye is moving around the layers of plates, patterns, and flashes of metallic, and the setting makes sense on a functional level then I've done my job. Rules be damned.

To create this look I decided to use the soft layers of blue, white, and pale yellow of the hydrangea as my entire palette. I chose pieces from our new seasonal cobalt splatter collection, which brought in a more saturated blue than the flowers for exciting visual contrast. The cobalt splatter dinner plates anchored each setting and referenced the cobalt splatter serving pieces scattered on the table.

I added a canapé plate from my design partnership with Anthropologie to bring in more of this deeper blue through a cobalt stripe over paler watercolor brushstrokes. Those canapé plates are flecked with gold spots which worked nicely with the splattered cobalt beneath. Working with that painterly splatter I finished each setting with a white ring dish with gold splatters. These tiny dishes are great for a small bite to start the meal, like a mini quiche, chocolate dipped strawberry, or even a way to serve salt and pepper, or a chopped garnish for guests to add onto their own food later in the meal. Using tiny plates like the ring dish are a fun way to set the mood for the meal, a little unexpected, fun and conversational.

The linens set at each place are simple Ikea tea towels. The texture and chambray blue stripes (that don't exactly match) kept things effortless. I used my favorite vintage flatware and vintage goblets mixed in with a set of our handblown wine glasses! Check out my curated vintage collection on Chairish for an ever changing assortment of vintage tableware and home decor from my personal collection.

The result is a dreamy, chic, yet utterly easy look that you can totally recreate! Just remember, don't overthink it. The best settings are the backgrounds for the best meals-- the ones where the beauty of good food and great company really shine! 

xoxo Lindsay

Shop This Look:

Dinner Plates in Cobalt Splatter

Dessert Plates in Cobalt Splatter

Side Platter in Cobalt Splatter

Ring Dish in White with Gold Splatter

Suite One Studio for Anthropologie Mimira Canapé Plate in Blue Motif

Angled Wine Glass in Regatta Blue (out of stock, but sign-up to be notified when they're back!)