Will this elegant tablescape inspire you to host a dinner party?

I have always been fascinated with orangeries. An orangerie is a large greenhouse or conservatory dedicated to keeping orange and other fruit trees protected in the winter. They were built near luxury residences back in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Inspiration:

It is one of these elegant and sophisticated structures that inspired me to style this elegant tablescape. How do you set an elegant dinner table? Capture an idea from the grand residences of history like this one and expand on it.

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Table basics:

Is there anything more elegant than a white linen tablecloth? This was a gift to me from a dear friend that is no longer with us. It was given to her by her mother in law, a beloved and classy little lady! I remember fondly the dinners hosted by both of these women. I hope that others remember and treasure the dinners they share around my dining table. Of course, no matter how I try, I can never get all of the wrinkles out of my cloths, especially the vintage ones.

Are you tired of me lamenting the closing of Pier 1? Well, here goes again…these placemats came from Pier 1 and resembled the orange tree leaves so much, I wanted to use them on this elegant tablescape. Four of these make a perfect runner. Unfortunately, I don’t have any more and can’t get any more, so I wasn’t able to use them for placemats also.

After all of the hard work that went into making my orange tree topiaries, it was exciting to see one on my tabletop. This is beginning to look like the table I had imagined. You can make these yourself with all of the directions at How to make a DIY Topiary.

Table decor:

How do you decorate a place setting? Find some unique statement placemats or charger plates. Since I couldn’t get more of those placemats I went with some other treasured placemats from Pier 1. I love the contrast of the elegant tablescape with the rustic natural materials in these placemats. Add fine china to rustic placemats and you have decorated a place setting with your own unique style.

Simple cardstock leaves were created with my Cricut and pinned to oranges to act as place cards for each guest. For tips on how to seat guests at a dinner party, you can read Dinner Party Seating Strategies.

Stemware for for this elegant dinner party was additionally elegant, a water glass, a wine glass and a champagne glass for a celebratory toast for this gathering of blogging friends.

If this has inspired you, you may want to read more about The Orangery at the Palace of Versailles.

So, how do you set a table beautifully? With a unique concept, attractive linens, fine china exquisite stemware and lovely silverware.

My Larabee Road Platinum Dot china was a simple pattern that worked well the fussiness of the table. I used the same dinner plates for my Red, White and Blue Chinoiserie tablescape but paired them with Kate Spade Rutherford Circle Red Salad plates.

I hope you received the invitation that I sent earlier this week. If you didn’t you can see all of the details here: Deliver Delightful Invitations. You were probably wondering what kind of event you were being invited to with that invitation. I do love to send a unique invitation!

Do you know how difficult it is to find elegant napkins that coordinate with oranges? I finally found this pretty fabric and made my own. I think they are so pretty and really added to my tabletop.