Mother’s Magnolias Spring Tablescape
My mother was very sentimental about magnolias so I knew that eventually I would create a tablescape around them. And she loved roses too so I added them as well. I posted this tablescape a few years ago but I decided to post it again in memory of my mother.
I’ve had this pink tablecloth for several years, I bought it on Ebay I think. I bought the white tureen centerpiece at HomeGoods several years ago. I am always on the lookout for interesting objects that I can use as centerpieces but I have run out of room to store them unfortunately. The pink roses came from Amazon and the magnolia garland from Ebay as well. Someone had used the garland for a wedding and it was just what I was looking for.
I found lots of magnolia salad plates over the years but none that I really liked until I saw these. I watched them at Pier 1 when our store was open for a while until they finally went on sale, these are ironstone. I wish Pier 1’s online store had the kind of merchandise that the physical store had before they all closed.
This photo doesn’t show the correct color of this pink dinner plate. The photo with the small magnolia plate does show the correct color. I saw these plates on another blog and immediately checked HomeGoods (the source) for them with no luck. I had been looking for a basic pink dinner plate for a long time. I have most of the basic colors in dinner plates but I was missing pink. I finally found them at another HomeGoods a month later a few years ago. They were made in Portugal by Matceramica.
This charger was made by Mikasa and it is Color Spectrum in the color sage. I love these chargers, I have them in several colors. They are heavy and a basic design that can be used on any table setting. I bought them a few at a time on Ebay.
This photo shows the colors of the tablecloth and the dinner plate accurately . The small melamine magnolia plate was made by Cameron Designs in Atlanta, Georgia. We bought them in a gift shop on a trip to Savannah, Georgia a few years ago.
This sterling flatware was my mother’s, it was the pattern she registered for when she was married in 1938. I decided to use it on this table because I wanted something a bit more dressy. The flatware was made by Towle and the pattern was called Chased Diana. It was made between 1928 and 1996 but it is still available on the secondary market.
I bought these small pink rose place card holders a few years ago on Ebay. I love searching for vintage place card holders on Ebay, I have found some great ones over the years. These were called Georgian and according to the label, they are fine bone china. The mark on the bottom stands for Marks & Rosenfeld, a US giftware distributor in the 1950's and 1960's that commissioned their own range of ceramics and gift ware.
The pink magnolia napkins are by Kate Spade, I found them a few years ago on Ebay. The magnolia napkin rings are Countess fine bone china and they were made in England. I found them on Ebay too. When I am looking for special themed place card holders and napkin rings I check Amazon first and then Ebay. Then I do a google search for whatever I am looking for because I often find things that way that I wouldn’t find any other way.
The colors in this photo are more accurate than in some of the other photos.
These short sage green glass goblets were made by Noritake and the pattern is called Sweet Swirl in light green. They were made between 1985 and 2005, I bought them on Ebay a few at a time as I saw them. I looked for tall pink goblets for a couple of years and suddenly World Market had them a few years ago. They sold out quickly so others must have been looking for them too.
One of the reasons my mother was so sentimental about magnolias is this house on Magnolia Avenue in San Bernardino. My grandfather had it built in 1915 and my mother was born in the house the next year. It is still there and it was recently completely remodeled and then sold.
The other reason my mother loved magnolias is this house on Magnolia Avenue in Orange. We lived in this house when my twin brother and I were born in the early 50’s, joining my three older brothers.
This is Mom holding us on the front porch. After my mother moved into a retirement community she had a small magnolia tree planted outside her windows so she could see it every day. (Someone reading the blog tells me that Mom’s dress has a magnolia pattern!)
My mother would have loved seeing this table.
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