dishes – Belle Antiquarian

Thanksgiving Table Inspiration

We’re just over two weeks away from Thanksgiving, and I would like to share some Thanksgiving table ideas with you.

Setting a Thanksgiving table doesn’t have to be expensive. As always, you can click any of the photos in this post to find the exact items pictured in my LTK shop. However, if you’re on a budget, you can use these photos to get inspiration for a color scheme. Try finding pieces to use in basic colors that can be used in multiple ways throughout the year.

First, this tablescape with rich colors and decadent textures creates a warm ambiance for your Thanksgiving feast.

Thanksgiving Table Ideas — Click the photo above to find these exact pieces.

Next, basic elements are pulled together to create a warm, casual feeling.

Finally, a timeless blue and white color scheme makes for an elegant, fun holiday tablescape.

Above all, I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with love and peace with the people you hold dear.

Until next time, Abby

November 8, 2022

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Silver Bowls and Ironstone inspiration

A few months ago I saw a picture on Instagram that inspired me to collect some silver bowls to display with my ironstone pitchers. At the time that I saw the inspiration picture I only had one silver bowl (and actually it was a trophy bowl – pictured below). I also only had 2 ironstone pitchers. But this picture embodied what I want my style to be – timeless, classic, and somewhat neutral.

Since the time that I saw that picture, I have been able to add 2 more ironstone pitchers to my collection. (They are a little harder and a little more expensive to find.) And I have added 6 more silver bowls. I plan on combining these in my dining room hutch as soon as Valentine’s Day is over.

This is the first silver bowl (a trophy) that I purchased.

Unfortunately I cannot find my original inspiration picture on Instagram. I thought I had it bookmarked/saved, and I do not. So below I am showing two pictures that I found on Pinterest. (Did you know that you can save pictures on Instagram to look at later? Just click the bookmark flag underneath the picture! You can find all of your saved pictures by going to your profile page and clicking on “saved”.)

This inspiration photo that I found on Pinterest is from Sweet Pea Home.

This inspiration picture is from For the Love of a House:

This week I found the smallest silver bowl yet. Isn’t it a cutie? All of the bowls I’ve found at thrift stores and one at an antique store. The ones I’ve thrifted I have paid between 75 cents and $6. I paid $18 for the one from the antique store.

On another topic – which way do you prefer to display your silver pieces in? Polished or unpolished? I actually plan to display mine unpolished.

What do you think of ironstone and silver displayed together? I’d love to see your pictures! Tag me on Instagram! I also have more inspiration pictures on my Pinterest board called “Display” if you care to see more!

February 10, 2021

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Why the oldest tea cups don’t have handles

Today is Wednesday, but yesterday over on my Instagram it was Teaching Tuesday!

Did you know that the oldest tea cups don’t have handles? These have been in my family since the late 1700s/early 1800s. Here’s why they don’t have handles:

These are known as tea bowls or sipper cups. The English began drinking tea like the Chinese, but wanted theirs served piping hot. The tea bowls were too hot to hold, so they came up with a solution – saucers! They’d actually pour their tea into the saucers to cool it before drinking. Handles weren’t commonly added to tea cups until 1810. After which, using your saucer to cool your tea became vulgar. During the time of the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution, this is how the colonists’ tea cups would’ve looked!

The proper way to hold a sipper tea cup is to place your first two fingers on the bottom of the cup and your thumb on the rim.

As you can see from the picture above, saucers were originally shaped more like a bowl. The rim is much higher than the saucers you see today. This was so it would hold the tea poured into it. Today we can use a saucer to hold a used tea spoon, tea bag, or to prevent drips from staining the table.

I hope you found this informative! You never know what will pop up over on my Instagram. Join me!

February 3, 2021

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Red Transferware Valentine’s Decor

Valentine’s Day is one month from today, and I’m decorating in some really sweet ways. Today I want to show you how I made some changes to our dining room.

I temporarily relocated my vintage jadeite collection so that I could display my collection of red transferware. These were picked up at a variety of places. My favorites are the antique Old Britain Castles (Johnson Brothers) pieces and the Horse/Full Cry bowls (Homer Laughlin).

I also added a plate wall display over the china cabinet. These are from an incomplete set of old Gernman china that a family member gave me years ago. I decided to go with white dishes for the plate wall, because they will be a clean, neutral backdrop for anything else I decided to use throughout the year.

A friend asked me for tips on hanging a plate wall. Basically I hang the center plate where I want it. Then I hang the pieces above and below, followed by the 2 on either side. Finally, I hang the littlest ones.

As always, my trusty sidekicks are curious and a little bit in the way. LOL. These are fresh, red carnations that I am using in this Old Britain Castles pitcher. They only cost $4 at the grocery store. Carnations don’t get nearly enough credit – they last an incredibly long time, and their ruffles are so pretty.

Have a great day, everyone!