Gilded French Embassy Red Tablescape~Tablescape Thursday

This week's tablescape is very special to me. This is the first china pattern I selected and is also my favorite. The pattern is, "French Embassy Red" by Mikasa. I selected this pattern in 1986, the year I got married. This was my formal china pattern and I selected another pattern that year for my every day china pattern. Many brides at that time, were selecting white patterns with silver or gold rims to them, although the metal was very thin and not as thick as the one on my pattern. I wanted a red and gold pattern for the holidays since I always decorate at least one tree with red and gold. (In the past, I had a Christmas tree in every room in the house.) It was also my first Christmas gift from my husband, the year we got married. I remember he purchased one of my china patterns, had it wrapped in a green foil wrapping paper with a shiny red ornament on the front and a red satin ribbon. The box was as beautiful as the china. To this day, I still love this china pattern. At the time, it was one of the more expensive patterns due to all of the gold edging.

The inspiration for this table was a gold tablecloth by Nieman Marcus called, "Venetian" (Update-As of 8/2009, NM has a different product named the Venetian than was referenced here.). I absolutely love this tablecloth and would purchase it except for one minor detail, it's very expensive. If I worked full time, I would buy it however I work part time to care for Dear Son so it would not technically be a "necessity".

I will pause a moment to let your heartbeat get back to normal after viewing that tablecloth. That's precisely what I need to do every time I view that. And then I'll give you another moment to imagine how perfect it would be with my tablescape. Sigh.


My depression over this tablecloth lasted several weeks until I spotted this overlay that you see in the pictures. It is gold with embroidery and scalloped edging, similar to the "Venetian". The foundation of the table is a white tablecloth with this gold embroidered tablecloth.

The centerpiece is a crystal vase of cream colored roses and cream colored taper candles.

I made the napkins. For each napkin, I pinched the top and secured each one with a Swarovski crystal pin for some added elegance.

I added a few more votive candles in cream and then two in red. I purchased the red votive candles with the hearts at Dominick's for $1 each the day after Valentine's Day. I love the way they repeat the color palette.

This picture showcases the embroidery on the tablecloth. I think the sheerness of the tablecloth is very sexy.

A close up of the napkin.
A close up of all of the napkins and the Swarovski pins.

A beautiful side view of the tablescape.

The crystal goblets are Lenox, "Monroe" pattern. I still love them today. I love the detail on them, the swirl of of the stem and the gold edging around the rim. I find elegance in their simplicity. I also chose these goblets at the same time I selected my wedding china.

A better view of the crystal goblet.

Here is a view of the pattern without the napkin. I love the shimmer of fine bone china. Note the detailed gold edging and pattern of the edging.

A view of the back.

Just a few years prior, in 1981, Lenox was commissioned to make a new service that would accomodate the ever-increasing size of the state dinners. (You can see the brochure below.) Nancy Reagan worked with Lenox to design a china pattern for the White House. It was reported that she chose red because of her fondness for the color and because red provided a bright accent to the white paneled walls and gilded accessories of the State Dining Room. The book states that she chose the final shade of "scarlet red" after viewing red samples in the State Dining Room by candlelight. Each piece was personally approved by Nancy Reagan after reviewing the sketches; she made the decision as to how the gold and red should be applied to each of the nineteen pieces of china that made up the service. I ordered a copy of the brochure on the White House china in the 80's and have kept it ever since. It's fascinating to see the patterns of the White House china. (Also, further proof, of my china addiction.)

I am showcasing it here since I thought you might be interested to see how similar the White House china was to my pattern. I am certain my French Embassy Red pattern may have been modeled after the White House China. Nancy had the Lenox pattern commissioned in 1981 and my china pattern debuted in 1984. I thought my china pattern looked exquisite in front of my gilded, Louis the XV mirror.

A view of my dinner plate. You can see the similarities between the patterns although mine does not have the, "Presidential Seal". I think Nancy would enjoy our Tablescape Thursday parties since she is a woman like us~she did not want to be caught without enough "matching" china!

My new teapot looks just perfect here. I think the cream coffee pot looks just right. A red and gold coffee pot might have been too much.

A full view of the table with the candles. It looks amazing by candlelight however I left the lights on for the photographs since it was too dark without the light for photos.

One final close up of the table.

I hope you have enjoyed my, "Gilded French Embassy Red" tablescape. For other spectacular tablescapes, please visit Susan's blog, "Between Naps on the Porch".

Note: I am a Professional Organizer and Home Stager. My business is called, "Dream Organizers" and my motto is, "Keep it simple. Get organized. Make it beautiful."

~Happy Easter~

These last few weeks have been busy. Dear Son was off school for a week last week for Spring break and then off for three days this week for school days. He had a terrible seizure on Friday night that really worried me. It kept escalating (getting worse) despite the fact that I was using his Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS). I had to use it a few times and the VNS was eventually able to stop it. I am thankful for that device. Essentially, when he has a seizure, you take the magnet and hold it over the implanted device for three seconds. That activates the device and sends a charge (shock) to the vagus nerve and that disperses the seizure. Had that not worked, I would have used Diastat, a rectal valium, which is used for emergencies. If that fails, I call 911.

While I know the procedure, it seems more stressful now that he is older and so much larger. I am not sure why. When the seizure was over, I was sweating profusely. On Saturday, I got him up and put him in his rocking chair and later his glider but he was unable to stay awake in either chair. He could not sustain a sitting position at all which makes it very difficult to move and care for him now that he is the size of a grown man (and still growing!). I eventually moved him to his bed. He was unable to stay awake at all on Saturday and ended up sleeping the entire day. He finally woke up a bit when Dad came to pick him up for an overnight stay.

Overall, we continue to have days every now and then where his seizures are frequent. He might have one day where he has ten seizures in a day and then the next few days things are better. He remains very happy in school though.

Easter is a bit bittersweet for me. While the stores are filled with people getting their kids Easter baskets ready and buying food for Easter dinners, Dear Son can't eat. Even a taste of things is quite challenging at this stage (meaning he can't swallow half of a dime size portion of a smooth food) since his swallowing has deteriorated so much. It doesn't feel very nice when he can't sit at the table-it feels cruel to have him watch everyone eat when he still wants to and yet, he knows he can't eat anymore. He will more often than not, turn away when presented with a tatste. Sometimes though, you know he still wishes he could eat. He gets excited and makes a noise with his tongue. He'll spend the day at Dad's today however their family is getting together at a niece's house and there are too many stairs for Dad to be able to take Dear Son there. I wish things were different for Dear Son. I am thankful for all of my days with him.

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On a different note, I thought you might enjoy a few pictures of Easter around our house.

The bunnies on the table with hand painted eggs in a depression glass dish. I thought the dish looked like an Easter basket of sorts. This was the centerpiece until Dear Son knocked over one of the bunnies and knocked his head off. Dad was babysitting and forgot to move the bunnies off of the table. They glued the head on and hoped Dream Mom wouldn't notice. She did, but all was o.k. I changed the centerpiece and made it more "kid and Dad" friendly.

An end table in the living room.

A close up.

Another side table.

The coffee table.

A closer view.

Another view.

The table top of the hand painted chest of drawers.

Another view of the table top.

The breakfast bar looking into the kitchen.

The new table top less the broken bunny.

The new table top.

Have a wonderful and blessed Easter.

Kentucky Derby Brunch!

Welcome to Tablescape Thursday hosted by Susan from the blog, "Between Naps on the Porch". If you haven't already, be sure to check out all of the beautiful tablescapes. You will not be disappointed!

Since Easter is Sunday, I knew there would be a lot of Easter tablescapes, so I decided to do something a little different. I fell in love with these plates and liked them so much, I decided to purchase them for my everyday dishes. When I put this tablescape together, I thought it had a somewhat regal air to it, so I named it my, "Kentucky Derby Brunch". (I realize I am a bit early for this kind of thing.) While there isn't any one item that may be associated with the Kentucky Derby per se, I thought this would be the type of tablescape that I'd create if I were hosting a brunch for the Kentucky Derby. It is elegant, yet casual, simple, yet regal. Let's take a look around.

A simple color scheme of black and cream is the foundation for this tablescape.

The rustic nature of the chairs add to this tablescape.

The centerpiece is a crystal vase of white roses, a cream textured coffee pot and a crystal clock with a black rim, repeating the black in the tablescape.

I started with black placemats on the glass topped table. A tablecloth would have been too formal and covered up the rustic nature of the chairs. For the napkin, I used the ties that came with the placemats. I simply cut them to size, washed and ironed them. For the napkin ring, I used a pin. I tried to get some close-ups however the glare was too great, even when I turned off the lights.

I used Royal Stafford earthenware china for my place setting. Here is a closer look of the plate. I love the toile look to it. I like the farmhouse in the background, the hayride, the doggie and the fruit around the edges. In the photo above, you'll notice the pattern repeats on the mug.

Here is a photo of the back of the plate.

The inspiration for the table setting was the black sheep. It was a Home Goods find and I fell in love with him. Since no family is without a black sheep, I picked him up. Then I decided to get two and use them to accent the tablesetting. The sheep was difficult to photograph for a close up due to the glare, so you'll have to look closely to see him. I thought the face was charming.
The centerpiece of the tablescape features a beautiful textured coffee pot from Home Goods. I loved the color, the texture and the shape of this piece. It has an elegance to it, despite the fact that is it porcelain. Typically, you'll get a greater level of texture, clarity and crispness to fine bone china, which is why I love that. For many years, I used fine bone china for every day as well. It was only in the past two years, that I switched to a place setting that is dishwasher and microwavable. The main reason was I preferred the crispness of the patterns.

Here is another view of the place setting and centerpiece. I should also note that this tablescape came together so easily. I kept trying to add things to it but soon realized that simple was better. It didn't need anything more.

A view of the entire table.

One last look at the tablescape.

Thank you for coming to my tablescape. I really enjoy all of the lovely comments.

One final note...I have really enjoyed participating in this lovely group. I noticed that many of the tablescape participants are from the South and I really enjoy the femininity and graciousness of your homes. I think that although I am from the midwest, I must really be a southern girl at heart. I have never lived there, but I do enjoy the classic and elegant lines of the southern homes.

Note: I am a Professional Organizer and Home Stager; I run a business called, "Dream Organizers". My motto is, "Keep it simple. Get organized. Make it beautiful."