my black and white halloween table

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year, so why not go all out and throw an elegant dinner party for a few of my friends? Setting the table is so fun for me. It’s like playing dress-up! 

The first thing I wanted were a few foundation pieces for the table. I knew I wanted a black and white color scheme with no scary elements and no orange. 

Black and white stripes are so elegant, and I found a really nice long cotton Striped Runner, perfect! 

I also got a set of Spooky Bird Spindles, Feather Place Card Holders, and Black Patterned Wine Glasses to get me started with my table. 

I was inspired by nature for my table, so spooky birds, white pumpkins and a little greenery set the tone for this tablescape. 

My black and white transferware plates, raffia place mats, and black chalk-painted chargers look great together for each place setting. I used vintage silver and white damask napkins to add another elegant touch. 

The silver-toned feather place card holders have whimsical bat-shaped place cards. And the black wine glasses pull the whole look together! 

To change things up a little, I set the heads of the table with a fun little white pumpkin and the others get a pretty ivory and gold pumpkin-shaped dish, as an accent.

For the center of the table, I gathered some subtly colored white pumpkins on a glass cake stand, and added glass votives, greenery from my garden and a spooky owl and crow. 

  

I set up a little drink station on my sideboard with the Spooky Birds as the anchors of the space and to add a little drama. A black feather wreath I usually hang on the front door gets a new home here over the vintage mirror. 

   

 

I love this “Bone Appetit” rectagular platter! 

It fits in nicely with the décor.  

 Close-up of the centerpiece, above.

When you start with a few foundation pieces,

this look is soooo easy to put together.

And it came together like this... 

Black and White transferware plates 
raffia place mats 
black charger plates
Black and White Striped Runner
ivory and gold pumpkin-shaped dish
Spooky Bird Spindles
Feather Place Card Holders
bat-shaped place cards
 Black Patterned Wine Glasses
“Bone Appetit” rectagular platter
black feather wreath
white pumpkins 
 glass cake stand, 
 glass votives
Spooky Birds 
 spooky owl and crow. 

ciao! fabiana

💕

While I’m here today, I wanted to share some of my "Tablescaping Essentials" with you. I have a whole page on the Amazon website with my favorite picks for setting a beautiful table.

Quite often time is of the essence, and I have last minute projects or events to work on, so I turn to Amazon for one or two day delivery. You’d be surprised at how many amazing items they have to offer! And I'm constantly updating this page with my new favorites. 

You can check it out here, at “Tablescaping Essentials”.

creative thanksgiving place cards

Place cards is one detail of your table

where you can get REALLY creative!

Here are some of my favorite

ideas for Thanksgiving….

ciao! fabiana

christmas decor and some free goodies

Christmas is all about memories and festive occasions, so this Christmas my table will be set with versatile easy-to use tableware including a few beautiful items from Serena & Lily. 

I love to simplify certain aspects of Christmas preparation, so finding an easy way to set an elegant table is at the top of my list for easing the hustle and bustle of the holidays. 

In addition to the classic details of the white plates, gingham napkins and placemats, it’s important to add a whimsical touch or two, so this year a cute little Santa makes an appearance at each place setting.  

Old-fashioned Santas holding a sweet little tinsel bottlebrush tree are the perfect addition and will put a smile on everyone’s face. I found these Santa ornaments early in the season and new they’d look perfect on my Christmas tablescape!

(Shopping details below)

This larger Santa is pretty cute too!

This year I’m into just surrounding myself with a mini forest of evergreen trees. Some are real, and some are faux, but they all co-mingle happily together!

Cottages and Bungalows magazine is offering   adorable free holiday printables on their website. All you have to do is sign up for their 12 Days of Cottage Christmas emails and you’ll receive complimentary recipe cards, gift tags, place cards and design ideas!

I've already printed mine!

Later in the week I’m sharing one of my favorite local décor shops, Blue Springs Home. This little bedding vignette is one of my favorites! 

Here’s how the table came together:

Gingham Napkins:  Serena & Lily

Round Raffia Placemats:  Serena & Lily

Amana Candlesticks:  Serena & Lily

Santa Ornaments:  World Market

Larger Santa:  World Market

White Plates: World Market

Fleur des Lys Glassware: La Rochere

Faux Christmas Trees: Home Goods

Real Christmas Trees: Trader Joe’s

ciao! fabiana

Disclaimer:  I received some of these Serena & Lily tabletop items for free and all opinions are truly my own.

a Balboa cottage dinner party

Yesterday afternoon was so much fun! My friends Angi and Pete were hosting a birthday dinner party at their absolutely adorable Blue Door Cottage on Little Balboa Island, and I helped them by styling and setting a table for sixteen for them.

We were going for a sophisticated coastal theme, so I started by arranging four mason jars full of vibrant blue hydrangeas. The aqua blue jars were just perfect for this look since it reminds me of beach glass.

This adorable cottage is so reminiscent of Cape Cod, and the hydrangeas are too. I just picture them blooming all over Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket!   

The best configuration for this front yard patio was to have a large square table with four chairs on each side. That left lots of empty space at the center of the table for me to decorate.  

Pretty much everything for the table was blue and white, which coordinates entirely with the inside of the cottage, and I used lemons around the center lantern for just a pop of color.

Here’s the mood board I put together with the items we selected from the party rental company. 

I was so happy to know they offered so many interesting options, especially the blue goblets, blue and white china and gingham napkins, which are my go to items for a no-fail tablescape.

It's always more interesting to mix and match china, like  here where we used scalloped white dinner plates to set off the blue and white salad plates.

For a little fun, we added chunky white starfish at each place setting, and the best part of all, everyone also got their own personal “message in a bottle”.

This version is a lot more fun than the one Sting sang about. Angie and Pete took it to another level by making a whole party game out of this favor. Inside each little bottle, Angie hand-wrote interactive questions which urged everyone to participate. 

These messages in a bottle come all decorated with a tag and little anchor tied on with twine. They’d make great place cards too to for each place setting. Simply write your guests’ names on the little tag that’s already attached!

A white lantern was the perfect choice for the center of the table, as if offers a little height but doesn’t block dinner conversation.

I surrounded it with greenery, scattered lemons and more white starfish, inspired by my interpretation of a summery coastal California look.

Yesterday turned out to be the perfect summer evening for this alfresco birthday dinner. Check back soon for more on the Blue Door Cottage and get a little peek of the inside!

ciao! fabiana

 P.S. After I left Pete ran out to get some more votives for the table...
candlelight is so important to set the perfect mood!