a new tablescape in red, white & blue

I’ve had Labor Day celebrations on mind for the past few days. Traditionally our whole street has a block party on Labor Day, and we barbecue, swim and catch up with all the neighbors, but this year, our block will be quiet, with everyone celebrating in our own homes. 

Labor Day is the official end of summer. So, recognizing this day is often bittersweet, but with a little red, white and blue décor, we can’t help but feel happy and patriotic.

For this table I started with a custom red toile table runner as the inspiration piece. This fabric was given to me a while ago by my friend Susan, and has now found it's home here on my table, transformed from an easy DIY project to a lovely part of my table linen collection. 

   

At each place setting I used a large white ceramic charger, a red transferware dinner plate, a blue transferware salad bowl and a striped napkin. Pewter napkin rings and flatware highlight the more colorful backdrop. 

For a lovely pop of blue, I placed a vintage calico print pitcher at the center of the table and filled it with spikey red flowers. These salvias kind of remind me of fireworks for some reason, and add to the patriotic vibe. 

I don’t have any red or white flowers blooming in my garden right now, so I stopped in at my local nursery, Armstrong’s, for some inspiration.  

I love buying live plants to use for my table décor because I can often find something more unique than the traditional cut flowers I find at the grocery store. As a bonus, I'm then able to plant these nursery plants in my garden for future blooms! 

This is really a simple table to set, and I love how all the blue and red accents play off the crisp white backdrop of the table. 

So, getting back to this table runner... I’ve had this pretty red and white toile for some time, and I really wanted to somehow accent it with navy-blue to use at my table for all the fun summer holidays.  

Double fold bias tape popped into my head... yes! This was the stuff that made “home ec” sewing projects so easy! I found a big roll of navy-blue double-fold bias tape on Amazon, and my DIY project was underway... 

The red and white fabric was two yards long, so all I had to do was cut it to the appropriate width for my table, which ended up being 22 inches wide. 

I then pinned the bias tape to the fabric and sewed it on with my trusty Singer sewing machine that I’ve had since I was 10 years old.

The beauty of the double fold bias tape is that it already comes folded and ironed, so all you have to do is sew it on. 

If you don't sew, a local seamstress could do this for you for a reasonable price, since it's an easy project. I used ½ inch bias tape, btw. It does come in different widths.

I haven't sewn anything in a reallllly long time, but this weekend I felt very motivated, and I actually made four different table runners that I’ll share with you soon. 

This table also shows of this new set of pewter napkin rings that I’m really excited about. More on these tomorrow... 

All-in-all this was a fun project, and I’m really happy with how the whole table turned out.  

Later this week, I’m going to switch a few things around and create another red, white and blue look using farmhouse stripes and different accessories.  

I hope you’ll come back and visit me here soon for that update. 

ciao! fabiana 

For lots of fun extras, follow me on instagram! 

If you'd like new posts delivered to you directly, subscribe here.