Love Inspired Vintage Tea Tablespace
For this Valentine’s Tablescape I wanted to create an afternoon tea tablescape that could easily be transitioned to be used beyond February and through Spring time while including a mix of vintage style pieces along with sentimental pieces that have stories behind them, showcasing ever lasting love.
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The Story Behind The Vintage Items
Most of the items used for this tablescape were gifted to us this winter from my husband’s grandfather. He & his wife were happily married for over 60 years. Now that he’s moving out of the home that they shared, he decided to pass on some of his wife’s favorite entertaining items for us to continue using and cherishing. We were so fortunate to acquire their Royal Daulton wedding china, which features a blueish gray rim, and a delicate rose in the center. His wife loved this china to the point that it was never used, but she would take everything out to polish it monthly, and then put it all back and just admire it displayed in her china cabinet. Another item that was rehomed from her china cabinet is the gorgeous crystal vase that I overflowed with tulips. I flexed the petals to exaggerate their size, making a few tulips go much further in such a large vase. The crowning jewel of this tea party would have to be the tea set that was given to my husband’s grandfather as a thank you for his 25 years of service with the electric company that he worked for. While this table may not depict as much as a traditional commercial style love that’s typically seen on Valentine’s day, the true love in the pieces goes far beyond that.
Adding a Touch of Color
While I had a great base with the china, as it perfectly complimented by dining room table set and console table. I wanted to add in some more pink hues by incorporating a new set of beautiful pink tye dye napkins. As I wanted the rose on the plate to still be visible, I folded these into a rosette, and placed them on the top edge of the plate. I added a touch more pink by selecting the most pleasantly smelling glass votive candles to complete the tablescape. The light pinks in these items bounced off my iridescent champagne flutes (similar linked) and water glasses (similar linked) creating a perfectly pastel table.
Tea Sandwiches
I also found the most affordable vintage inspired tin trays to use for the tea service, and for the bites of food. These nickel plated trays look gorgeous and are the perfect piece for when you need to bring a dish or dessert to someone’s house and don’t want to worry about having to get a nice platter back, as they’re very high end disposables. What’s an afternoon tea without tea sandwiches? I used heart shaped cookie cutters to create mini PB&Js, as well as mini toasted bacon, egg & cheese sandwiches. For the desserts, I outsourced them to Little Debbie, and she delivered with perfectly pink vanilla cakes.
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