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!

coastal table decor

It’s finally the weekend, and I hope you’re having a great day! I’m back today with another peek at the current issue of Cottages & Bungalows. There’s SO MUCH to share this month, since I have three projects in this issue. 

Today we’re visiting Blue Door Cottage, the quaint little Balboa Island home built in 1928, and lovingly updated by my friends Angi and Pete. The dining table is such a focal point in this home, as you see it right when you walk into the front door. It’s situated to the far left of the space, past the living room. 

We styled this table two ways. One as a “general” styling and one as an inviting coastal tablescape. As you can see in the picture above, it’s simply decorated to enhance the already fun blue and white beachy room. 

We simply add a blue and white embroidered table runner and my favorite caned and glass vase with white stock flowers for a casual look.  

Lemons are my favorite way to add a pop of color, and here in southern California, we can’t get enough of them. There are so many lemon trees that seem to be producing all year long, it's a shame not to put these little beauties to work!   

Here's look number two.

A striped table runner grounds the table and draws your eye to the center. Three different types of colored blue glass highlight this look. Turquoise mason jars hold our hydrangeas, and two sets of goblets are used for beverages.  

Believe it or not, the tall goblets are actually vintage Avon with little embossed portraits of Martha and George Washington on one side! I just love them for their color and fun pattern, but what a fun little surprise to include the Washingtons. 

I just love this whole look. The placemats with the seashell border are my personal favorites, and I use them on so many different tables. 

White scallop-shaped dishes serve as salad plates, and a cute little starfish finishes off the look. The fabric at the bottom of the photo is the cushion on the seating bench. Isn’t it perfect with the table? 

Here’s a straight-on shot that Jickie shared on her Instagram stories. The blue hydrangeas remind me of Cape Cod, and so does this cottage, so it’s a perfect match in my book. 

I just love a good birds eye view of a tablescape. It’s such an intimate look at the table from the diner’s perspective, and you can see my favorite detail of all...  

These little Message in a Bottle party favors. You can fill them with compliments for each of your guests and also use them as name cards for each place setting. Angi thought of a brilliant plan, and used them for a sort of icebreaker party game! 

In the kitchen, Jickie was in charge of the styling, but we all contributed a little... The checked tablecloth is vintage from my collection and is originally from Ikea.  

It’s perfect in here on the drop-down vintage table original to the house from 1928. And the little arrangement of chamomile flowers is just so endearing. 

So as I said in a previous post, this was a long day of shooting photos, mostly because of the cuteness of everything, but also because Kelly and I can get pretty scrappy with things. 

We set up this Scrabble board as part of the living room shot, so here’s an up-close and personal look at how we spend our time, and energy, lol. This snapshot didn't make it in the magazine, but if you look closely on page 32 you can see it on the coffee table.

ciao! fabiana

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