This year is flying by and we are almost done with Spring already. Where does the time go? Hard to believe that Summer is around the corner and we’ll be ready for the beach.

 So this tablescape is set to Welcome our Next Season and my favorite one of all, SUMMER! 

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Usually I start my tablescapes with a dish and go from there, but this time I started with the tablecloth. I know this sounds strange but I’ll explain why.

Back in the day when I was a child and my parents took the family for a beach day at Jones Beach there was a kiosk where you could rent a beach umbrella or a beach chair for the day before you started your long trek toward the ocean. My Dad always rented the umbrella because my Mother needed the shade.

Walking along the beach to find our perfect spot in the sand, I remember seeing a sea of orange and brown striped beach umbrellas; rented from the kiosk with just a few scattered brightly colored umbrellas.

I found a very old picture online of the Jones Beach umbrella kiosk and the original umbrellas to give you a better idea of what it looked like – when I found this picture, it brought back even more memories for me. I remember waiting on line with my Dad for the umbrella.

(photo credit: zazzle.com)

Once we found our spot on the sand, my parents would tie the brightest colored scarf to the spokes of the umbrella so that when my sisters and I came out of the water we could find our way back to the blanket and to my Mother’s great peppers and egg or potato and egg sandwiches; otherwise known as “beach food”.

Those sandwiches, Mom’s lemonade and an ice cream and you were set for the day.

The photo above, is one of those glorious days with my family. I am the toddler in this picture with my Mom and two older sisters. Great memories; miss them all every day.

Back to the tablescape…

When I saw this tablecloth in the store, my mind immediately went back to those days at Jones Beach because this pattern reminded me of the rented beach umbrella.

Upon closer inspection, the name of the tablecloth on the package read, “Beach Stripe” and I thought that the person who designed this tablecloth must have had a childhood at Jones Beach, just like me.

The tablecloth…

So that is how this tablescape started with the tablecloth and napkins and not a dish. Now to match some dishes. Since we are reminiscing about the beach, what could possibly be better than dishes that have seashells and starfish on them?

 I have a few different sets of dishes with seashells, but for this table, I chose the Hampton pattern by Thomson Pottery.

The dish is off white with embossed seashells and starfish all around the rim and the seashells have a slight hint of a sandy bronze finish. The off white and the bronze match the stripes in the tablecloth.

Whenever I want a more natural earthy feel to a tablescape, I always use my brown rattan chargers. They come in handy a lot and you will see them quite often in my tablescapes. This time I used them with orange placemats to bring out yet another color in the tablecloth.

If you look at the “kiosk” picture above, the original umbrellas had a lot of orange in them along with brown.

 Amber goblets accent the beige and brown in the stripe… 

and I decided on off- white pearl flatware.

The pearl finish reminded me of the inside of a seashell.

Now for the centerpiece…

Of course I had to have something with seashells and starfish; so I am using two white lanterns I had on the patio with white pillar candles. I added some seashells around the candle base and a few scattered seashells as my table confetti.

I tied raffia ribbon on the handles of the lanterns. The raffia reminded me of the beach grass found on the dunes at the beach. 

The next addition to the tablescape are peach, cream and clear glass gems to coordinate with the tablecloth. The gems reminded me of all the pebbles and stones in the sand you find at the shoreline, when you go hunting for seashells.

Here is a picture I took at Myrtle Beach on one of my vacations of the pebbles in the sand. The colors are different, but you get the idea. I tried to capture this feel with the gems on the table. 

I put some of the gems in a glass bowl so you can get a better look at all the colors I chose. 

At the last minute before I took the photos, I tied some jute ribbon to the base of the goblets just for an added natural touch. (The ribbon is also displayed in the dish above and on the goblets below).

All of the seashells that I used as table confetti have been collected by my son and I from the many beach vacations we have been on over the years.

 I proudly display the seashells all year long in my living room and it always makes me smile every time I pass the bowl.

Next to the bowl is a Willow Tree figurine given to me by my son for Mother’s Day of a girl holding a seashell to her ear and the name of this figurine is “Thinking of You”; which also brings a smile to my face because I am always thinking of my son.

Place Setting

Do you get the feeling of the pebbles in the sand with the gems on the table?

So the table is set and it’s time to dream about the relaxing days at the beach; taking long walks at the shoreline hunting for seashells, the warmer weather and the later sunsets. Yes, you could say that I am ready for Summer and I can’t wait to put my feet in the sand

Thank you for letting me reminisce about the beach and my childhood. It’s funny how one tablecloth can bring back so many good memories.

I still live near the beach and now I think I will have to get in the car and take a ride to watch the ocean and maybe I’ll see a striped beach umbrella or two.

The kiosks are still at Jones Beach to rent beach umbrellas.

Until my next post, stay well and make every day a celebration!

Diane

Tablescape Details

Tablecloth and Napkins from Bed, Bath and Beyond

Seashell Dishes- Hampton by Thomson Pottery from Amazon

Amber goblets from JC Penney

Rattan chargers from Sur La Table

Off white pearl flatware from Amazon

Orange placemats from Homegoods

White Lanterns from Crate and Barrel

Seashells from “vacations past”

Candles from Michael’s Arts and Crafts

Raffia and Jute Ribbon from Michael’s Arts and Crafts

Peach and Pearl table confetti glass gems from Michael’s Arts and Crafts

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