If there is one thing I love in terms of decor, it's a splash of chinoiserie. Around my house I have all sorts of little chinoiserie touches like my foo dogs on the dining room window sill, my giant ginger jar in the bedroom and my beautiful tea jars in the bathroom. The colors, patterns and styles associated with chinoiserie decor add such fabulous and unique dimension to the overall aesthetic of my home. The hardest part of incorporating this particular style of decor into my home has been to refrain from oversaturating my house in chinoiserie, because I love it so much and could very easily get carried away.
Recently Williams-Sonoma debuted a new collection of dinnerware in honor of the Chinese New Year called the New Moon Collection. Of course the moment I laid eyes on the collection I fell in love with every piece! In an effort to avoid getting carried away and oversaturating my table (just like my rule for home decor), I kept my purchase to a single set of the New Moon accent plates. Why the accent plates over the other pieces? These New Moon accent plates are colorful, fun and could certainly transform my table into a beautiful and unique setting.
For this tablescape- I referenced the colors used on the New Moon plates to figure out the best accent colors to incorporate into this table design. For the setting, I chose to go start with these navy blue quilted placemats (similar here). I framed my everyday dishes with my new rattan chargers from World Market. This provided a very neutral foundation to ensure that my accent plates would pop. The gold rim on the accent plates made it an easy decision to use brass napkin rings (which also gave my classic white napkins a little luster). In addition, the gold tray was a natural fit for the base of the centerpiece.
For the flowers- I was all about the yellow freesias. Freesias are in abundance at the store right now and I love their intensely colored stems and petals. To finish off the centerpiece, I situated my rock-cut crystal votives around the base of the flower vase. Votives are a great way to enhance the ambiance at your dining table (and a favorite table accessory of mine). For drinkware- I opted for my highball glasses for water, bordeaux glasses and champagne coupes (why not have a little bubbly at your next dinner party?).
This might be one of my favorite tablescapes for two reasons. The first reason being, I love chinoiserie. The second reason is that I was able to create an entirely new look for my table with the addition of only two new accessories (accent plates and fresh flowers). I think I am most amazed to see how the slightest change can give a tabletop aesthetic a completely new look. I hope this tablescape has inspired you to explore the possibilities for tableware that you might already own. It certainly has inspired me!
