My Quest for Table Wares

 I have always loved setting unique tablescapes during the holidays and for entertaining.   During Christmas, I host ten family members over the course of four days and I try to change up the dining room table decor with each dinner.  (I'm much more of a decorator over a chef, so I only commit to cooking one of the meals during this time and I parse the rest of them out to different family members).  That way,  I can focus on the tablescape!

I choose to mix and match plate patterns and, full disclosure, most of my plates have been purchased from Home Goods.  This allows me to buy larger quantities without breaking the bank.  Also, Home Goods has gotten so good at carrying higher end designers so if I've got my eyes peeled, I can score some pretty good finds. When you know what to search for, you can discover Kate Spade NY, Jonathan Adler, Johnson Brothers and more.  All of the plates in my tablescape above were curated on a budget and all $14.99 or less.  

Below is my Thanksgiving table from last year (I later pulled the contents from that table to use during an NBC story about tablescapes).  Read my post "5 Easy Tips for a Stylish Holiday Table" that resulted from that appearance.

Vivid Hue Home's Thanksgiving Table as appeared on NBC Connecticut

Table setting isn't a new fascination of mine, but it's one that is continuing to grow.  Particularly with all of the beautiful tablescapes and wares that can be found on Instagram and other social media, I am finding that I am even more obsessed with designing my next table.  

Photo courtesy of LB Originals 

And, while I've always used place settings found on a budget, (and will continue to do so), I am now curious to start learning more about vintage china collections.

Photo Courtesy of LB Originals 

Some of the pieces are complete eye candy and works of art.  I'd like to start learning more about what to search for when antiquing.  I want to know when I've found a "score" in a thrift shop.  Lately, I've been discovering some incredible table ware by searching "Minton China" and"Staffordshire."

I'm obsessed with this Minton rose gold garland luncheon plate & fruit dish.  I'm finding that these patterns are often sold as "one offs" or in smaller sets and range in price from about $30-$80 a plate (or up in many cases).  Yes, pricier than Home Goods.  But also more valuable and I can envision an entire table decked out in varying patterns of fine vintage china.   Add a beautiful printed fabric tablecloth and this table will be over the top fabulous.  

Photo Courtesy of Tableware Treasurebox

Photo Courtesy of LB Originals

I am constantly on the hunt for individual "statement" pieces that don't necessarily match but together make the perfect blend.   I try to stock many of these types of things in our brick and mortar shop in Connecticut.  If you follow Vivid Hue Home on instagram, you can keep track of what we're carrying in the store.  And, I've started to ship anything you see on instagram....just send me a direct message and I will provide you with pricing and invoicing.  It's such an easy process until I'm able to launch an actual online ecommerce website.  

Artichoke Tulipierre's at Vivid Hue Home make terrific bud vases and great centerpieces

The Vivid Hue Home artichoke tulipierre in white

Vivid Hue Home's tablescape at The Hillstead Museum

For now, I'll continue my search for unique table ware settings.  Stay tuned for photos of my fall and holiday tables so you can see if I managed to make any fabulous finds.  

Happy Setting.  

Also, if you'd like to visit some of Vivid Hue's past personal table settings, check out these posts: 

Valentine's Themed Table    |  Napa November  | Dining Room

Cheers, 

Heather 

Set To Celebrate Sneak Peek

I am pleased to announce that this year, Vivid Hue Home will be participating in The Connecticut Valley Garden Club's fundraising event, Set to Celebrate.

This event was started in 2011 in an effort to raise funds for a fully handicap accessible rose garden in Elizabeth Park, Hartford,  Connecticut.

Over 30 Connecticut designers are selected to decorate a uniquely themed tablescape .  The event is hosted at the Town & Country Club in Hartford, Connecticut and is open to the public.

The preview party is November 10, 2016 from 6-8:30pm and the public viewing is open the rest of the weekend, November 11 & 12th from 10am-5pm.
You can buy tickets to the event here.

I am still planning my tablescape, but think preppy chinoiserie at it's finest.  Fuchsia, plaid, greens...non traditional fall!

Here is a sneak peak of the table linens I'm considering:

I will keep you posted with teasers as I get further along with my planning.  I hope to see all of you locals at the event!!!

Best,
Heather

(All photos from the Set 2 Celebrate tables are courtesy of Set2Celebrate) .

My Own Photos from Shoot

 It's been so fun to hear feedback from my Vivid Hue "Homies" about the article in Hartford Magazine about Vivid Hue.  (If you missed me announcing this from the rooftops, visit here for details). 

I promised I'd share more photos from the day of the photo shoot.  These are photos I snapped before the photographer and writer arrived. 

The shoot was scheduled for a Monday in December.  I had most of the house decked out in Christmas holiday décor.   I knew the focus of the shoot would be around the Valentine's Day "Tea Party" table so I spent most of my energy styling the dining room table.  (In fact, I started slowly setting the table in November around before Thanksgiving!)  The mag mentioned that they wanted kitchen shots as well...

Kitchen Island

I usually like to use "non-traditional" colors for a holiday (e.g., instead of red and green at Christmas, I may use gold and eggplant; and instead of pink and red at Valentine's I use neutral flowers and magenta). 

Kitchen Table

Dining Room Bar Cart

I was dying for a bar cart before the shoot and convinced EG to allow me to get the Libations Cart from Crate and Barrel.  Initially, I considered loading the cart up with booze, but I could never stop downing the bottles long enough to display them.  But truthfully, I'm more of a wine and beer drinker so we didn't have much liquor to display.  That's when I got the idea to style the cart as a "side table."
I found the Target lamp on a dime ($14.99 on clearance) and scored the Miles Redd book at Antro on major sale ($25).  The rest fell into place!

 

 These little cupcakes didn't make the final cut in the magazine.  We had a great time making (and eating) the "props" from the shoot!  Also, only one tea cup was displayed so it wasn't apparent that each place setting had a different colored cup.  (PS- not complaining about the final photos in the magazine!  I'm thrilled with the vast number of spaces they displayed in my house). 

 

This angle of the flowers down the middle of the table looks busy! 

These assorted macaroons made it into the final cut in the header page!  These little guys sat on this plate for about a month (in prep for the shoot).  They went straight to the trash after!

And the shoot motivated me to restyle the inside of my dining room hutch! 

Dining Table

Kitchen

These candy jars moved multiple times before settling in the corner of the kitchen.  (I tried them in the dining hutch and on the kitchen island first).  Yes, it bugs the heck out of me that I erased the words "Vivid Hue" from the marshmallow jar and never rewrote it back...that's why only "Home" is on the label!  I started downing Chardonnay at 11am the morning of the shoot to ease the nerves so this detail went completely unnoticed until it showed up in print! 

This was an entire day process.   The team arrived around 10:30am and the photographer finished around 2:30pm.  Then I had my interview with Krystian until about 4pm.  What a fun filled and exciting day! 

PS--It seems when it rains, it pours...I will have some more good news to share with you in a few months! 

Glitz with Gold: Top Gold Flatware Picks

As I've been planning my holiday tablescape for this year, I've become obsessed with gold flatware. 

There's just something about the gold, it adds a little glitz and glamour to the table. 

 

Courtesy of theLENNOXX

Earlier this week I shared the Gray Malin Photography Collections and mentioned that I'd LOVE to have a print from La Dolce Vita collection (specifically 'Positano'). 

Today, I share with you my favorite gold plated flatware collections.  And yes, these are also on my list for Santa. 

1. Dwell Studio 5 Piece Oro Cutler $100 set 

 

2. Gorham Argento Gold Luster 5 Piece Set  Zappos: Originally $200 Set/ Now on sale $99.95 

 

3.  Soiree Flatware Place Setting Williams-Sonoma $90 Set  

 

4.  Doma Flatware  Anthropologie $98 Set

 

5. Cutipol Rondo Gold Cutlery 5 Pcs Shophorne.com $85 Set

6. Rose Gold Flatware West Elm $112 for 4 place settings- Great Deal! 

 

Glitz with Gold by hgrahling of Vivid Hue Home

 

 

The Rose Gold Flatware by West Elm is a steal with four place settings for $112.  If budget weren't a factor, I'd choose the Gorham Argento Gold Luster set on Zappos.  I love that the knife is also gold plated and the quality appears top notch.  Of course, some would say, if you're only using the gold flatware a few times a year to glitz and glam up a holiday table, then there's no need to invest in a tremendously expensive set of gold.  You can achieve the same goal with a less expensive setting. 

 

If you're one that plans to stay gold year after year, then invest in better quality as it does take a bit more work to maintain the gold flatware from tarnishing. 

 

Courtesy theLENNOXX

 

Ballard Designs' Southern Living Fairhope comes brand new with a vintage patina appearance.  They could easily pass as a family heirloom.  It's possible to have each piece monogrammed.  They don't offer as bright of a gold as some of the other choices but it may save you the trouble of having to maintain the items from tarnish. 

 

 

Either way, I don't think you can go wrong with gold at the table!  It ups the glamour factor to the nth degree...now...if only Santa is reading this!  (hint hint). 

 

Courtesy theLENNOXX

 

 

Do you already own gold flatware?  How do you find the maintenance?  Which do you like out of the choices above?

 

Santa, if you're reading, I'd like selection #2!

 

Cheers,

 

Heather |  Vivid Hue Home

Napa November Photo Reveal!

Happy January!  Remember Napa?  I started talking about 'The Countdown' in October, 2012.

I shared some of the craftiness that went into the planning for this party in early November.

For those of you that may not recall, I hyped my Napa November trip pretty heavily and promised to share photos as soon as I had them.  And then, I didn't!   Ha, really, I'm quite embarrassed about sharing photos in January from an event that happened in November. But I'm going to blame it on the holidays! 

If you're late to the party and have never heard me talk about 'Napa November' , in a nutshell, my husband (EG) and I both turned 40 last fall and decided to host a weekend in Napa to include a handful of our closest friends from grade school to present. 

Twenty five guests in total; some arrived as early as Wednesday but all were there by Friday for our big party.  I selected the Farmstead in St. Helena as the venue because of the authentic barn-style decor (the restaurant itself is housed in a former nursery barn).  Once I started planning the party with their event coordinator, we moved our party to their private dining area space.  It has the same authentic feel.  I really wanted to give guests a Napa feel with a chic barn house flair. 

I wanted the table scape to be filled with wild flowers and seasonal vegetables that were not the traditional autumnal colors (red, orange, brown).  I envisioned eggplants, aubergine, celedon (purples and crisp greens).  I wanted mixed vases and vintage containers.  Come on, ya'll, this is Vivid Hue...Nothing matchy matchy here!  (smile)

I found a photo of each guest pictured with EG or me at a point in our friendship and used those to create this photo clothes line.  It was a great way to commemorate our many friendships. 

Here is a close up of EG and me in NYC.  Each year we try to celebrate our wedding anniversary weekend by returning to NYC (without kids) and visiting all of the places we used to go when we were dating.  I * think* this was taken on our 7 year anniversary weekend.  (photo removed)

This weekend really was about celebrating our vast and meaningful friendships with so many special people (I know, I know, as much as I hyped MY birthday leading up to this...) This was a weekend filled with so many wonderful memories and hysterical laughter. 

These are the girls I go on my annual mom's Vegas trip with...

Even though there were 25 of us, I wanted the dining room setting to seem intimate.  I had the table set up like one long barn table.  We all set at a long table and it was pretty easy to converse with each other!   I had originally thought about sticking to white table linens but then decided to be true to myself and add a spice of color and pattern.  Yes, it was supposed to resemble a barn like setting, but I asked everyone to wear cocktail attire.  So I was already mixing things up.  Adding a fun table cloth just provided some additional flair. 

My theory is that you don't have to follow the rules all of the time.  This was my party so I did exactly what I wanted.  And it was exactly as I envisioned. 

There were some shabby chic and vintage elements in the room that added personality such as a vintage wheelbarrow with old barn doors.  An old birdcage and accents of orange. 

I made  a banner that said "Happy 40th Grahlings" from burlap and stencils and had the venue string it with twine and clothes pins. 

 

 

Here's a group shot of our happy group.  We really had a wonderful time.  My motto has always been "let's make a memory," and we certainly did.  It was a weekend that I'll remember forever. 

It's an amazing thing when there are years between when you see an old friend but when you get together, it's as if no time has been lost.  You're able to pick back up where you left off.  That's how you know you're really great friends.  As we get older and our own families demand more of our time, it becomes more difficult to give devote daily time to friends from childhood and college.  But when you can get together with friends and continue a conversation as if you have seen each other just yesterday, that is a sign of a friendship that can endure the test of time.  I cherish every single one of my friends.  I'm truly blessed. 

Happy 2013.

All photos courtesy of Matt Edge Photography 



xoxo Heather

Vivid Hue Home