Chalkboard napkin rings!

How cool is this! Chalkboard napkin rings .....placesetting name tag and napkin ring in one! I found these online at MoMa Store (click on the name) They are pricey at $65.00 for a set of four! But why not make some yourself. Paint the chalkboard paint on some wooden napkin rings that you already own and Voila! You are good to go.

Summertime Dining outdoors

These are some photos I got from Sur La Table and Pottery Barn. I love the dining table at the bottom with all the glass candle holders hanging overhead. I think I will do this next month and have it be like fireflies are dancing above our heads while eating outside.

Modern Country Dining Rooms

OOOH I LOVE THIS DINING ROOM SO MUCH. I TORE OUT THIS PICTURE FROM A MAGAZINE YEARS AGO! IT IS TIMELESS...CHIC, MODERN AND YET COUNTRY ALL AT THE SAME TIME. OF COURSE THE GORGEOUS PURPLE HYDRANGEA JUST POP OFF THE TABLE AGAINST THE BLACK CHAIRS AND BLACK CHANDELIER.
DINING ROOMS! I love them. They are the place where the family gathers for those special meals when the "nice" dishes come out of the closet. It is also the place where we bring our guests to make them feel special. I love putting fresh flowers on the table,I like to use chargers with a nice dinner plate and sometimes a salad plate or soup bowl. A freshly laundered pressed napkin (if I have the time to iron them) with a some sort of special touch...a ribbon, a flower or just a fun napkin ring.

In this room the big bold green buffalo check on the chairs makes me think of dining in the garden especially when you look up and see that amazing chandelier. How fun to put a bench against the wall to use it like a sideboard with plants and baskets on it. How about the artwork? I kind of like it. It is bold and yet fun at the same time.

How about this green door and chairs with a simple farm table. The chandelier is what really makes this room pop..dont' you think? Don't we ALL appreciate attention to detail when we dine out at a nice restaurant? Well who are the most important people in our life?.....our own family. So why not make time to make them feel special during the week....for no reason at all. I hope some of these photos that I have collected through the years from magazines will inspire you to do something out of the ordinary for your family this week.

I think this room (to the right)looks so French...the soft green colors of the peeled paint table and cupboard. They used my favorite kind of slip cover a little skirt (it looks so feminine and flirty).

I love the white sideboard table with the urns and large glass bowls holding silver balls. Look how they changed up the ratan chairs by adding a white cloth over each chair back. And Hello...look at the chandelier made to look like a nest using grapevines and then adding pearls! How funky is that!

Please let us know if any of these photos inspires anyone of you to do something out of the ordinary in your dining room by leaving us a comment or two.

Add Color To Your Table Setting

My daughter Madeline and I start off with a simple placesetting: I used a cute beachy plastic dessert/salad plate (from Big Lots 4 for $4.99) stacked on top of a square white plate placed on an angle and then stacked on top of a large yellow plate used as a charger plate. It's o.k..... but it is just not popping for me so on to the next photo so you can see what we continue to add to make this really look great.
We have added a punch of color by using a plastic hot pink goblet with a little paper umbrella in it and we have taken the plain white napkin and put a silk flower around it for a napkin ring. I cut the flower off the long stem but left about 5 or 6 inches so I could bend it into a circle to wrap around the napkin.

More color!! I found some amazing blue tissue paper laying around the house and we decided to make a table runner from it!! We also set the other placesetting across from it and used an orange colored plastic goblet for fun. Just by adding a few simple colorful accessories, the table top now pops and it looks like a celebration is just about to happen. Have fun, be creative, try new things to make your dinner table come alive.

Use what you have to set the table

My daughter, Madeline and I got out lots of my dishes, napkins, tablecloths and fabrics and played around with them to come up with many different options of how to set the table. Madeline is a photographer and took many photos of the settings so you can see what what we did.Here is black and white plates on a white table cloth with a black fabric runner going down the center of the table. A red napkin folded in what is called the "The bird of paradise fold" with a fresh white daisy in the middle of it. We also used an old clock for the centerpiece. Use interesting things that you would not normally use.

Same placesetting only

we folded the

napkin into a "fan" and
once again used the white daisy.

Using the black and white plates but putting them on dark placemat and using a white napkin with a napkin ring, it looks more formal now.









Finally we put a large yellow dinner plate underneath the black and white plate and used a printed napkin and folded it into the "rose" look and put a small radish in the middle.

We will be posting more of our ideas on our other blog at www.thestylesisters.blogspot.com

Napkin Folding

Sometimes just a simple fold is all you need. Look at these gorgeous green plates on a light blue tablecloth with simple white napkins!



Or how about a brown napkin folded and tied with a white ribbon and a small stemmed flower tucked into the ribbon. So simple and yet it adds a nice touch to the table.




See more ideas on our website http://www.thestylesisters.net/ under entertaining ideas. These photos are from http://www.theknot.com/

Simple Centerpiece

Don't you just love simple things! This is a milk bottle carrier with old milk bottles filled with flowers from a garden. It has character, color and design. Sometimes we may fret about what to put on our tables for a centerpiece when all we have to do is look around the house for something unique to put some flowers in. You might have an old water pitcher, or a glass vase lost in the back of a cupboard somewhere...bring it out and breathe new life into it by putting it on display filled with flowers. So Simple and yet so beautiful and pleasing to the senses!

Lime Green Plates

I just love these cute lime green salad plates! I bought them last year at the after Christmas sale at Pier One Imports. They not only work for Christmas and the fall season but also spring time because they look so fresh!


Paired with simple white dishes and striped lime green and turquoise place mats this table is so fresh looking.

Personalized Plates at Swoozies

You really should take a look at these personalized plates at www.swoozies.com they are just so cute! Choose from a variety of colors and themes and then the best part is you can also choose from a vast array of icons or initials to go in the center plus you can also choose fonts and your own wording to really make it something special! Not only does Swoozies carry these cute plates but all kinds of tableware, partyware, kids stuff, invitations etc... We have highlighted some of these fun things on our website at www.thestylesisters.net check it out!!

The table is set!

Isnt' that a nice phrase..."the table is set" It means the food is about to brought to the table to be enjoyed by all. I remember growing up...my mom would usually set a nice table with colorful placemats and napkins. Mom always used some pretty dishes. and would find some colorful flowers to use for the centerpiece. It didn't have to be extravagant ...just some flowers from the backyard or a green plant from inside the house....it was just something to finish off the table. Looking at the table all set meant that dinner or breakfast was about to start! Eating together as a family was a part of our daily life. As we grew, mom would have either me or my brother set the table. Later on in life after my little sister was born, she also had the chance to set the table daily as well. Sitting around the table at the end of the day was nice way to hear about everyone's day. In my own home I have carried on that tradition.....it may not happen every night but I do try to make it happen most nights. What about you and your family?