I wanted to have a little dish fun at the table for summer’s last hurrah before the calendar page turns to September.
Endless Summer Hydrangeas have transitioned from vibrant, spring blues, now faded to softer greens and deep plums.
Reproduction majolica plates on sale at Pottery Barn, flew home with me and have been waiting to roost at the table before summer slipped away.
The four assorted salad plates have embossed bird designs with leaves, flowers, and berry details, in the colorful style of vintage majolica dishware.
They’re joining mismatched vintage flatware, picked for a $1 a piece at an antique mall.
Vibrant blues join summer-faded shades of hydrangeas, to fill an urn for a centerpiece for the table. . .
With the addition of sprigs of ‘Kaleidoscope’ Abelia, blooming with white bell-shaped flowers, attracting butterflies and bees.
If I’m searching for a tablecloth, I can usually count on finding one at HomeGoods for less than $20.
I found a Ralph Lauren Hadley aqua fabric tablecloth at HomeGoods for foundation for the majolica and hydrangeas.
Summer has seemed endless this year and flowers are fading from the August heat, ready to make way for mums, ornamental kale and pumpkins.
Temperatures are in the 90s this week and we have plenty of summer days ahead for us in September here in the South. I’m looking forward the cooler temperatures of fall and pumpkin season!
“Fall is a Southerner’s Reward for Surviving Summer.” ~ James Farmer
You can find a Southerner’s Reward and fall inspiration, here.
Are you ready for fall or sorry to say farewell to summer?
Love the plates Mary!!! I absolutely love all things birds!!! And yes, I am ready for Fall too. It has been so hot here in Kentucky. Ready for a break. xoxo
The plates are so beautiful. Yes I am ready for cooler weather. It has been a very hot August here in Nyc.
Oh Mary, the PB plates are each works of art and you’ve showcased them so prettily on your new tablecloth. The urn filled with your Endless Summer Hydrangeas is the perfect centerpiece, and lucky for the bees and butterflies, who get to enjoy it, too. I always swoon over your mismatched vintage silverware as it lends such a charm to each place setting. I am always, always, always ready for summer to end since moving to Texas, almost thirty years ago.
Another beautiful table!!! Your hydrangeas are gorgeous. I love the tablecloth, wish I had a HomeGoods closer to me. I am more than ready for fall after our hot dry summer.
A most beautiful table and setting! Lovely pics. Have a great week, Lynn
Hi Mary, I fell in love with these beautiful plates when they first appeared at PB and waited patiently for them to hit the discounted shelf. They are now in my cupboard but I haven’t set a successful table with them yet and I was contemplating passing them on as they were definitely not “sparking joy” (have you read the book yet?). But your table is just what I am needing today, beauty and peace, and I think I’ll try again! As far as summer goes, this is the first time in quite awhile that I am ready for fall, not only because of the horrible humidity but because I’m ready to be finished with this less than perfect summer and fall is such a new beginning for me, like New Year’s Day almost, maybe left over from the beginning of school days when I was a kid. I loved school! And since my Endless Summer hydrangeas never bloomed at all this summer it seems appropriate to move on and I think I’ll be shopping for mums next weekend to add some color. Thanks for the inspiration and that gorgeous centerpiece! (Yikes, I didn’t mean to write a book here!) Linda
Incredible!
Love the quote Mary! My hydrangeas are long gone and if I could get my hands on any pumpkins or mums, I would pull out my poor tired plants and refill my pots- but for now they just look sad and bad :) Your table is gorgeous, and the soft hydrangeas are just a dream- I hope you enjoy the Labor Day weekend with boat rides and maybe a picnic…we are doing a hurricane dance hoping the storms will stay away!
Jenna
Love the plates, Mary! You did another outstanding tablescape.
Love your last hurrah of summer tablescape! Striking urn full of soft shades of hydrangeas and albelia is a beautiful centerpiece. My grandmother had a albelia bush and they were always lots of bees around.
Your photos are so lovely with the wonderful plates and tablecloth. Those plates are tempting me. Wonder if there are any left?
Love the quote from James Farmer.
Never ready for Fall here in Colorado as the cold temps last way to long here and we have had snow on September 3rd. Yikes! I love the plates and your view.
The PB plates are works of art! I really enjoyed seeing them in your tablescape.
Your tablescapes are always so beautiful and the photos are exquisite! Absolutely love all the vintage silverware, such lovely patterns. I don’t know how you survive temperatures in the 90’s, I barely tolerate the 80’s! Fall is never to soon for me. The hydrangeas are so pretty with all the shades of color and look perfect in the urn. Thank-you for this wonderful post.
Gosh, that’s beautiful! The floral arrangement is gorgeous, the (wish I had a PB near me) new dishes look fantastic on the plate stack, and I love the vintage mixed flatware. The tablecloth – what a deal! It’s hot at my home too, but we are traveling, and I’m enjoying some really nice weather in AZ and NM right now. I almost regret having to return to the heat and humidity. I was hoping it’d be gone by the time we got home. Have a great week.
Mary, what a perfect table! I am wondering how I missed the PB majolica…I absolutely love those! I love the summer, but autumn is my favorite season and I long for cooler temps! Pam @ Everyday Living
Lovely fall table. Where can I purchase the blue stemware?
The blue stems came from Dollar Tree several years ago, but I still see them there from time to time :)
Mary, this table is so delightful in all the soft blues and greens that it is certain to bring some cool relief to your lakeside dining. Every detail speaks of soft, cool times. Love the mix of vintage flatware, the beautiful new salad plates, and all the gorgeous flowers both on the table and in the gardens near by. Your photography talent amazes me!
I just returned from a long weekend in NOLA where the days were not as bad as I’d expected. Every afternoon thunderstorms rolled in and cooled things. Home again, and we are enjoying the same cooling rains. I’ll take this for end of summer. ‘-
While I hate to see the flowers go, I am more than ready for the hot weather to be over! However, this is a lovely, cool table and I enjoyed seeing it. Your tablecloth sets off the plates and flowers perfectly, and I love the flatware. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Beautiful table, Mary! I’ve already cut my hydrangeas back. If we do it much later we lose our blooms for next year. I wonder if that is what happened to Linda’s as she lives across the LI sound for me in CT.
No, I am not ready for summer to end, it is very short here and winter seems to last forever.
I will savor every summer like day and when Oct. arrives think about Fall.
Thanks for sharing your lovely table. Since I rarely blog, I haven’t bought a dish! I look, but resist! Now to start getting rid of all I accumulated over the blogging years! Do I hear yard sale? :)
How did I miss those plates at Pottery Barn? They are wonderful, as is the entire setting. I am so ready for summer to be over that I have already started decorating for fall. I have never done that before, but this summer has seemed years long.
Your wonderful eye for color & design sense just continue to amaze me, Mary! This table is soooo soft & welcoming & simply soothing in its palette as well as pattern. I’m in LOVE!!!
Beautiful table! Our trees are already turning and we are having much cooler nights.
That’s the most beautiful table I think I’ve ever seen. I could just sit there for days and be completely happy. You wouldn’t even have to feed me. Just let me enjoy the beauty of the table and the lake.
Since I love blue and birds, this table is gorgeous! I always enjoy your tablescapes beside the lake. Very pretty and cooling in appearance!
Summer’s Last Hurrah is a gorgeous table…Love using the mismatched flatware…There is a place here that carries bits and pieces of odd flatware but they bundle them by pattern and the price is no where near as fun as $1 a piece…I wish!
It REALLY IS winding down isn’t it….your hydrangea are incredible…mine have turned green and brown…ugh…time for some gold spray paint! :) franki
Stunning!
What a lovely post. Peaceful and beautiful. Sigh.
I hope to blog again (but I need a clean house). I enjoyed your wonderful pictures. The flatware is so unique and pretty -I have some that I mix and match, too, but I never can get a good picture of it though…
This post may go on my Favorites list…. I love birds and those Pottery Barn plates are wonderful. (Wonder if they still have some???) Beautiful table .. love all the blue.
Wow, I love that beautiful tablecloth Mary! Your new plates are pretty too:@) All I ask for right now are temps in the 80’s with low humidity… Is that too much???
I love it all. I love how your put unmatched silverware and dishes all together to make one perfect table setting.
Beautiful!!! We are ready for fall too!! It’s been a HOT, HUMID,WET summer and I’m soooo ready for cooler temperatures…it’s almost like winter..where you can’t go outside because of the heat..you can but staying outside to even work in the garden is horrible..if it isn’t the heat, it’s the mosquitos…your table is cool and calming…..and I love the bird plates..I’m all about birds….tablecloth is just perfect!!! ❤️😅😅😅
You’ve made beautiful table settings many times before, but this is truly the prettiest.
~Mary~
How very pretty , I love the plates makes me sing Mr Bluebird !! :)
Paula
IN
p.s Your pictures pages in the magazine are so awesome !
Mary, you’ve done it again! I think this is my absolute favorite tablescape!! I will pin it for sure! Over the top BEAUTIFUL! The tablecloth is a perfect match for the pretty bird dishes and of course we all love the antique mis-matched flatware. I can’t believe we are staring hard at September, Not ready to give up summer, but would like to say good bye to the humidity. Fall is my favorite time of year, but it can hold off a little bit longer. :)
What a beautiful post, Mary! I too am ready for fall, however in Florida those summer days with hot temps and humidity will linger well into Oct. and sometimes into Nov. & Dec! Regardless, of the heat, I will be decorating for fall inside & out, because this is my favorite season! Happy Harvest!
This is ending summer on a high note! The table is gorgeous ♥
summerdaisycottage
Those PB plates are just beautiful! As are your magnificent hydrangeas!!! Almost no blooms on mine, except for my limelights which are beautiful and quite prolific!!! My flowers look very tired so I am anxious to replace them all with mums and other beauties!!! I adore Fall but hate winter.
Just stunning!
Fantastic and beautiful! Love the flowers, dishes and tablecloth. I hope it cools down for you soon!
I want to come visit you!! This table setting is absolutely gorgeous!! Fall is on its way here in the Midwest…I can hear it, feel it and smell it…
Blessings to your beautiful home and you..
Gert
Hi Mary, what a beautiful tablescape! The hydrangeas…gorgeous! Would you consider sharing at our weekly Dishing It & Digging It Link party. We are live every Sunday @ 4pm.
http://www.thestonybrookhouse.com/2016/09/dishing-it-digging-it-link-party-113.html
Gorgeous Mary, so eye catching. Love the flowers for the centerpiece, tablecloth, mismatched flatware.
What a difference a few states makes! It has been a weird summer here, weather-wise, with June and July both stiflingly hot/humid and August so far much cooler and dry. Grass has been brown since early July (no rain, despite the humidity)… so I’m one of those not quite ready for Fall, and my tablescape this week was an attempt to capture the sunshine! I do love your table – I may just make a trip to Home Goods today to see what I can find! :) The photos of your centerpiece are absolutely show-stoppers! And yes, Dollar Tree does still have that stemware in blue as well as green… but I’ve found that some Dollar Trees are better than others at stocking it! Thank you for such a beautiful post!
Mary your tables are so beautiful! And always so inspiring – I don’t think I’d ever used a patterned tablecloth until I saw your tables! And now I come to you for ideas all the time! Thank you!! 💛