Casual Spring Luncheon Tablescape Inspired by a Beautiful Placemat
Every spring, I host the end-of-season lunch for my Bible Study group, dear friends who gather one last time before summer schedules take over. It’s one of my favorite occasions of the year, because it gives me the perfect excuse to do what I love most: set a beautiful table and cook for the people I care about. This year, I set a casual spring luncheon tablescape inspired by a beautiful placemat and a springtime floral centerpiece.
For this year’s gathering, six (There are eight in the group, but two were out of town.) of us gathered on a dreadfully rainy spring day, but the vibe inside was sunny and bright, perfect for celebrating a meaningful year of study and support with a lovely group of friends.
Every tablescape, for any occasion, at any time of year, should always have a theme that ties all the elements together. For this luncheon, friendship was the bond that brought us together. Spring was the season, and flowers were the main theme.
I usually find an item or two that sparks my vision for a tablescape, and this year was no exception. In fact, I had two items that gave this spring tablescape its focal point and direction. I also had some updates to our dining room that I wanted to share.
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Inspired Vision for this Casual
What inspired this spring luncheon table setting? This year’s table came together around two things – one purchased and one made.
DIY Pink Flower Centerpiece
The first item I wanted to use was the faux flower centerpiece I made back in February for our living room coffee table – you can see how I created it here. Shades of pink flowers – tulips, roses, peonies, and ranunculus – in a white flea market soup tureen would be perfect for my vision of a spring garden-style table setting.
I moved the centerpiece to our dining room table and placed it on my tried-and-true brass tray. I borrowed a lucite riser from a living room lamp to add a little extra height. Lucite risers come in various sizes and thicknesses and are great for your home decor.
I added a few stems of white flowers to each side of the arrangement. It brought in more green, which I liked.
Gorgeous Spring Flower Placemats
The second “vision” item was a stunning paper placemat I discovered a couple of months ago in the booth of one of my favorite vendors at my favorite antique mall. This gorgeous floral arrangement of pink, yellow, light orange, and blue flowers in a pink-and-white container, bordered in pink lattice, stopped me at hello. I knew the moment I saw it that it was destined for a special occasion.
I loved the colors of the spring flowers – pink, yellow, light orange, blue, and green – and their flowing, whimsical arrangement. A pink graphic design and border framed the flower arrangement.
The package contains 20 placemats that are 13 X 13 inches.
When I got home, I noticed the label on the cellophane packaging contained the source of the placemats, Rosanne Beck Collections, with the website. So, of course, I looked it up.
It turns out Rosanne Beck is the lady behind these gorgeous placemats and she lives in Dallas! What a coincidence! You have to check out her website at RosanneBeckCollections. She has the most beautiful collection of table accessories, gifts, and paper goods.
One thing I noticed: She didn’t have paper napkins on her site. But I found them (you can guess where) online! And even better! I already had a few of her napkins designs. Here are some other great napkin designs you may like.
The placemats turned out to be a perfect match for the centerpiece’s color palette.
With those two pieces as my anchor, the rest of the table fell into place naturally. Fresh, colorful, and casual – exactly the right feel for a spring garden luncheon with friends.
Designing the Spring Garden Tablescape
Step 1 – Since I wanted to add as many spring garden elements as I could to the tablescape, the first thing I did was add super moss all around the base of the flower centerpiece. The pop of green evoked a grassy backyard party setting.
This step was so simple and yet added a natural cool vibe to the centerpiece. It didn’t need any other embellishment.
Step 2 – Now I added the second part of my vision to the table, the placemats.
Step 3 – Since a casual garden theme was the goal, instead of sterling silver, I used white-handled utensils from our picnic basket.
Step 4 – For a charger, I used large, clear glass plates. This allowed the beautiful image of the placemat to show through.
NOTE: Normally, I would have stacked the salad plates on top, but that would defeat the purpose of the clear charger. I stacked the pink salad plates on the table next to my place setting.
Step 5 – Now, I added my beautiful blue Lenox wine glasses. I found these at the same antique mall last year. This was the first time I had an opportunity to use them in a tablescape for guests.
Step 6 – Napkins – which one to choose? I had three paper guest towels to choose from.
Love this one – I used it to decoupage a lamp, but I thought it was too busy.
The other two had graphic designs I liked. I chose the one with the better color match to the blue glasses.
And the winner was . . .
Step 7 – Now for the fun addition. I always like to include something personal and handmade in my table settings. That could be DIY napkin rings or place cards. I thought repeating the pink graphic and border of the placemat for a placecard would be a fun idea.
For a lunch or dinner party, I like to handwrite my guests’ names.
You can see that the pink design is also on the back of the placecard. I created these placecards on Canva and put them in my ETSY SHOP. I included a version without the flower bouquet so that the cards can also be used as menu cards. Be sure to check them out.
Step 8 – I added bread-and-butter plates from our everyday china, butter in an old butter tray, and the vintage salt and pepper shakers my mom bought for me in college. I won’t tell you how long I’ve had them!
TIP: Place your stick of butter on the tray a few hours before serving your meal so it can soften.
That completed my simple, casual, and very garden-style spring tablescape.
When it was time to eat, we gathered around the table to say grace, then I handed everyone a pink salad plate. I served the main dish – an Asparagus and Pea Salad – from the kitchen.
My friend Sally brought a homemade cherry pie, which was delicious. Sorry that I didn’t get a picture of it, but she promises to send the recipe.
One Last Addition to our Dining Room
For a few years, I’ve wanted to add more color to our dining room. A picture in the January/February issue of Southern Home Magazine inspired me to move forward.
A few years ago, when we updated our living room, I reupholstered our Bergere chair in blue velvet. We also had an ottoman made in the same fabric for our new seating room (former breakfast room). I had so much fabric left over, and I thought it would be enough to recover the chairs in the dining room.
Before we left for France, I took the fabric and the two captain chairs to be upholstered. While in France, I received a text saying the side chairs were ready, but there wasn’t enough fabric for the captain chairs. That turned out to be a happy thing.
As soon as we returned from our trip, I went to the fabric store where I had bought the blue velvet, but none was available. Knowing that might happen, I was open to finding a compatible fabric. I did, and I love the contrast and pattern on the captain chairs.
Here are the side chairs:
And here is the captain’s chair. I’m loving this pattern.
I also found a fabulous fabric to make a pillow for the extra side chairs. I think this idea adds a pop of color and pattern to an otherwise blank space.
I didn’t realize that it would complement our rug so well.
I hope you enjoyed this journey through envisioning, planning, and styling a spring tablescape.
I hope that you liked this spring tablescape inspired by a flower placemat and centerpiece. It was fun to design and everyone loved it.
Please PIn it to your favorite Pinterest Boards and share with a friend. Check out my Pinterest Boards, Spring Tablescapes and Spring Party Ideas.
