A Nautical Tablescape for the Fourth of July
When you style a tablescape for holidays year after year, it can be a challenge to come up with something new and unique every year. When I looked back at past patriotic tables, it seems I have used the same red Pioneer Woman dinner plates almost every time! These are the only red dinner plates I have, so it is only natural that I bring them out for a table decked out in red, white and blue.
I am so happy to be joining a Summer Tablescape Blog Hop hosted by Rita of Panoply. I hope you will take the time to visit all of the blogs listed at the bottom of this post! If you are coming from Bluesky at Home, welcome! Didn’t Carol do a lovely job with her blue and white table?
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It is so easy to add patriotic decor to a centerpiece by adding some American flags to your arrangement.
I realized I have also used the same stemware year after year. I guess one can only have so many dishes and so many glasses, and I know I have WAY too many of both! There is no way I am going shopping for more red or blue stemware! Now, that doesn’t mean some won’t find their way into my cupboards! I am rethinking this for future red, white and blue tables! Check out the beautiful glasses I found at the end of this post!
You really can’t go wrong with white chrysanthemums and red carnations, can you? The pop of red was just what my centerpiece needed. You can see how fun red carnations can be when styled as a sphere in my Holiday Tablescape for Christmas.
I kept this plate stack simple. a rustic white wooden charger, those red pioneer woman dinner plates topped with a simple white salad plate. I paired these with white napkins with a nautical knot pattern in blue.
I still like to do a lot of styling with a nautical bent, particularly with sailboats since we used to have a 41′ Hunter sailboat that we kept in Sandusky, Ohio and sailed on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. There is nothing quite so magical as being out on a sailboat and turning off the engine and letting the wind fill the sails and speed you over the water so quietly.
This galvanized boat with the wooden frame was a find at Home Goods a few years ago. I have been waiting for an opportunity to use it as a centerpiece. I have used it when entertaining out of doors filled with ice to keep beverages cold.
I used the same flags hanging on my chandelier for an Independence Day tablescape back in 2018. You can see how I used them at Set Sail for Summer Tablescape.
These little sailboats were all attache to a cord. I found these on clearance on an end cap at a Target a few years ago. I used them on the cord the last time I used them on a table, but they are so much cuter now that I cut them all off. I added one little sailboat to each place setting and then used the additional ones as part of my centerpiece.
Even the picture of a rowboat on the beach coordinates with my nautical table for the Fourth of July. I know a lot of you may be celebrating with cookouts out of doors, but here in Florida this time of year we are often driven inside due to the heat and regular downpours.
If you would like some more nautical inspiration you can also visit my Nautical Nursery post.
Past Patriotic Tables from Celebrate & Decorate
Take a peek and see the table that Uncle Sam was pedaling along on my Red, White and Blue Tablescape.
If you are looking for a more vintage look, check out An Americana Tablescape for the 4th of July.
Looking for red, white and blue tabletop?
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Visit All of These Wonderful Blogs!
Home is Where the Boat Is – Dockside Nautical Table
Life and Linda – Mermaid Kisses and Starfish Wishes
Red Cottage Chronicles – How to Plan the Perfect Summer Dinner Party Tablescape
Hyacinths for the Soul – Summertime, and the Livins Easy!
My Thrift Store Addiction – Lemons and Jadeite Summer Garden Tea for Two
Bluesky at Home – Summer Blue and White Table for a Dinner Party
Celebrate and Decorate – Nautical Tablescape for the Fourth of July
Corner of Plaid and Paisley – Sweet Peach Summer Table
My Hubbard Home – Cottagecore Citrus Tablescape Ideas for Summer Entertaining
Belle Bleu Interiors – Welcoming Summer With an Outdoor Tablescape
The Painted Apron – Shells on the Beach
Living With Thanksgiving – Patriotic Table by the Pond
Debbee’s Buzz – Fun Flamingo Tropical Table
Everyday Living – A Welcome to Summer
Zucchini Sisters – Lobster Table Setting for Two on the Dock
The Little Yellow Corner Store – A Bold, Striking Summer Magnolia Tablescape Inspired by Nature
Panoply – Summer Seaside Scenes Tablescape
Stunning ! Thank you.
Chloe,
This is so fun and festive.
I love every detail!
The sail boats are adorable, they add so much to the fun and feeling of summer! I think part of the fun of tablescaping is using the same dishes over and over, but finding ways to make them look different every time…and even though I’m sure I’ve seen your red plates and glasses before, this table looks new and different to me! A perfect table setting as you sail through Summer!
Love the Patriotic table with sailboats. I saw some of those boat caddies a few year back. Great idea cutting the little boats off the cord. Individual boats on each plate is so cute. The flags, the flowers are lovely. The sailboat picture on the wall is perfect as a backdrop. I think we have all mingles and swapped our dishes for a different look. We would run out of room. Always a pleasure Chloe. Happy summer.
How CUTE! I love the nautical flags and sailboats. Nice patriotic theme, too. I’m linking from Linda’s blog.
~Ricki Jill
Chloe, I love your patriotic tablescape! Red, white, and blue always makes my heart sing! Your gorgeous centerpiece is a showstopper. I hope that you have a wonderful summer!
Chloe, my patriotic and nautical loving heart is smiling. Your details are fun and summer festive. Thanks for sharing all the inspiration. I recently set a nautical theme table to welcome summer this coming Sunday, but now I have some new ideas for another nautical table as summer progresses. As past sailors, we love a good nautical theme.
Happy Summer. It’s a pleasure to hop with you.
Chloe, I love a patriotic and nautical table! Red, white, and blue are favorite choices for summer tables and entertaining, they make my patriotic heart happy! The centerpiece is perfect and I love seeing some bare wood. The artwork over your buffet fits beautifully into your scheme! It is always a pleasure to hop with you.
Oh my goodness Chloe! What a wonderful 4th of July table! Your patriotic tables are always the best! What a great idea to clip those little sail boats off the string! They are perfect on your stack of plates. I love the use of the flag bunting down the middle of the table! My grandfather was the captain of a ship that travelled the great lakes from Ontario to Chicago to supply newsprint to the Chicago tribune, so I really am loving all the nautical touches!
Chole, I think it stretches’ our creativity when we need to work with the same things to create a different look. Your tables always look fresh and creative and this one is no exception!
Cutting the cord off of the little boats, using a nautical banner down the middle of the table and adding in the boat centerpiece are great ideas to welcome in the summer.
Happy summer days to you,
RR
Chloe, Your centerpiece is stunning. The flowers are dramatic patriotic colors and really make your tablescape eye-catching along with the runner and banners. I love your centerpiece container. So versatile and a great focal point. The sailboats on each plate with the nautical napkin pulled the colors and theme together. I love how you used the plates and glasses you have used before but made the tablescape unique and different from other patriotic tables.
I am running out of room so I can not buy any new dishes for a while either.
Chloe, *Gasp*… Great minds tablescape alike, with a boat centerpiece and red, white and blue too! I love your nautical details with your mini sailboats that are now ‘unmoored’ 🙂 . Your plate stack is perfect for celebrating the Fourth and I have those same Dollar Tree blue goblets that make a regular appearance for my patriotic tables. I popped over to see your Nautical Nursery, so many cute details from the anchor light to pails of shells for bookends! As always it’s a treat to join you at the table and hop with you. Happy Summer ♥
There is nothing else like celebrating summer with a fabulous display of red, white and blue!! Chloe, your table just sings of patriotic summer fun. Growing up on Lake Erie, while I never sailed, I do remember watching the sailboat races off of Avon Point and thinking it was just beautiful. I also remember watching all the fireworks being shot off over the lake and looking spectacular just like your table!! I like the way you recycled the nautical flags as your table topper with your wonderful centerpiece!! Love it❤️Have a wonderful summer!!☀️
Chloe, good taste needs to be repeated, and you’ve proven that with yet another unique styling of red, white and blue. That bird’s eye view of the nautical tablescape is stunning! The wood of the table itself lends a driftwood vibe to the combination of nautical elements and really looks great. This table and the nursery are favorites of mine. There is something so romantic about the sailing concept, and your authenticity of having lived it brings the theme to real life. We have been on chartered sunset sails, but I feel certain your experience with your own private sailboat would far exceed the romance of being with a group. The flag banner in center, the Target sailboats and napkins, and the sailboat server as planter make your table really shine. And having the red plates and blue, red glassware prove their presence as tablescaping staples with each new table you create with them. This would be a great Father’s Day table for your hubby as a reminder of your days of sailing. Thanks for sharing your creativity!
Chloe, those little boats at each place setting add that little something extra to your charming table! The patriotic nautical theme is just lovely–pinning! It is a pleasure to join you for another hop. Have a great summer! Blessings, Cecilia @My Thrift Store Addiction
Chloe, I share your feelings over how to style a “new” table using the same tableware, and how one can only store so much stuff! I often mix nautical, coastal and patriotic with a common RW&B color scheme throughout the summer. It’s genius how you incorporated the nautical flag banner into the tablerunner! And, those adorable boats — I remember loving them in your earlier table. I so wish I had seen them at Target! All the details, including the boat filled centerpiece, come together to create a marvelous setting.
Sigh… I’m swooning over those little boats at each serving! Adorable! And your centerpiece is extraordinaire! And reusing plates in a new way is always welcomed as everyone does not have room to store.
Beautiful table my friend!
Chloe, both the galvanized sailboat centerpiece and the cute little sailboats on each place setting are so darn cute. I would use them both every year. I love the flowers and the flags. No one knows you reuse items because you do such a great job of mixing them up. Happy summer.
Chloe, I can almost feel the waves as I drift and glide over the sparkling water on the lake. I love how you used a flag banner as a table runner in your tablescape. And your cute little sailboats for each place setting is adorable. I love the vibrance of color with the red and white flowers in your centerpiece. Your boat shaped centerpiece container is the perfect find and so versatile as a floral container and ice container. Your sailor’s knot napkins are perfect for the mixture of patterns with your flag banner runner. Really a stunning summer tablescape. Have a very pleasant summer, Chloe. It is such a pleasure to hop with you.
Thank you so much Marsha for your kind words about my nautical tablescape. Having been sailors on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, I will always have a soft spot for sailboats and nautical decor. I hope you have a lovely summer, too!
This is so perfectly patriotic Chloe. I just love the sweet little sailboats on the dishware.
Chloe, this is such a beautiful and fun table setting! I love the red white and blue, and your table works for so many different occasions…especially in summer. I love your nautical details with your mini sailboats on top of each plate setting. I’ve really enjoyed my visit to your blog. xo Lidy
Thanks so very much Lidy!
Chloe, I love how you paired the nautical and patriotic themes! Red, white and blue are classic nautical colors and combining the two themes is perfect for summer entertaining. The little boats are adorable! That was smart to cut them off the rope and use them at each place setting. I love how you used the flags as a table runner, too. The boat full of red carnations and white chrysanthemums makes the perfect centerpiece! It’s always fun to hop with you. Happy Summer!