Dining by Design 2008

DIFFA’S Dining by Design is dubbed as the “the Cannes of tabletop”. It unites some of the
world's most talented, intriguing and celebrated designers, all expressing their passion and
creativity on the table. 2008 table host and designers are MacKenzie-Childs, Marc Blackwell,
Nautica, Ralph Lauren, CB2 and many more! From whimsical to elegant, I invite you to
join me this week. I will be sharing some of my pictures so that you can peruse the tables
and gain some fabulous entertaining ideas.

Dining by Design 2008: Nautica, Home by the Sea

The Nautica table reflects the refined, carefree lifestyle that you come to
expect from Nautica.



Clean, white stoneware has stylish blue stripes that bring to mind sleek yachting designs.



Nautical-inspired dinnerware will be a classic addition to your table.

Dining by Design 2008: MacKenzie-Childs

If your table could use a bit of whimsy, there is no better place to turn than to New York's
MacKenzie-Childs.



Since 1983, MacKenzie-Childs has been lightening decorating schemes with their pleasingly
eccentric designs.



From a farm in upstate New York, a core of talented artists and artisans produce trademark
color-drenched, multi-patterned and voluptuously decorated tableware.

Centerpiece of the week: Garden party blooms...

The weather may still be a bit chilly for entertaining alfresco, but you can bring the garden
party indoors with charming decorations inspired by one of spring's most familiar offerings:
bright-green grass and a airy array of brightly hued spring blooms.



A narrow garden path cuts across this table - - - purple anemones, yellow poppies and
ranunculus, white narcissus and hellebores, and blue hyacinths. Use whatever is in season
and "plant" with a light hand so conversations spark across the garden.

For more inspiration on potted flower centerpieces, make sure you check out this week's
earlier post: "Going to pot: potted flowering plants gives your tablesetting an unforgettable
look".

A dazzling tablesetting with dahlias, dah-ling!

If you are searching for the most versatile flower possible to grace a vase, you couldn't
do much better than dahlias. Celebrated for their myriad colors, size, and petals,
these flowers are also both fabulous for arrangements and I've been told easy to grow.
Plant tubers in spring and don't water them until they sprout. It sounds easy enough,
but I would need to verify that with my mother, the gardening expert.



I happen to love their big, colorful blooms and since bright, fiery colors will be all the
rage this summer, dahlias are the perfect fashion statement for your table.



Who can resist a pretty face like Sweet Lorraine' or the intriguing form of 'Anna Marie'?
For that matter, who wouldn't be inspired by any of the hundreds of magnificent dahlia
blossoms and want to use them as a theme for your next party.



But deciding which dahlia to use could be a problem since no genus except tulips offers
more variety of shape and color than dahlias. There are tall ones, short ones and sizes in
in between. There are many bloom shapes: cactus, pompom and ball-shaped. Flower size
ranges from dainty, daisy-like flowers and blossoms to big ``dinner-plate'' dahlias. They
come in red to white, orange, yellow, pink, purple and hundreds of shades in between.

Anyone who thought that dahlias were out-of-date and mumsy should think again -
because these big, bold blooms are back in fashion and perfect for your table whichever
type you choose.

Going to pot: potted flowering plants give your tablesetting an unforgettable look

Mums and hydrangeas, like miniature roses, azaleas, gerbera daisies, calla lillies and
spring-blooming bulbs, are landscape plants that have become popular as decorative
houseplants.



It's very easy to transplant many of these onto your table from the garden after
they've finished flowering so that their beauty can be enjoyed throughout the year.



On the table, potted plants serve as focal points. Clustered together, they become
oases of beauty. Incorporating potted plants onto your table isn't just a matter of
scattering around a few varieties. There's a science to choosing and arranging them.



Match the plant style with your table design.
Avoid frothy or flowery plants in a modern setting. So-called "architectural plants,"
which have large stocks and bold leaves, work best with a contemporary look. Pair
blossoms with a pretty container chosen to complement your table decor, then parade
a row down a long table for compliments galore.



Cluster pots together.
Plant stands and pedestals help vary elevation. This works well if you've grouped together
the same kind of pot for a sense of unity.



For a wedding reception.
Send your guests home with a small potted favor to tuck in their garden—a growing reminder
of the fun they had at your glorious wedding. Your little secret: Flowering plants are deceptively kind to the budget.



Don't these examples and this flower potted cake make you want to start a little garden? It's
easy. All you need is potting soil, containers, and plants, and a place to display them. Your
first opportunity to create a contained garden is right on your table.

WILD THING! Safari inspired table setting

It's going to be a jungle on the streets of Manhattan with all the sophisticated safari
styles heading our way. 'Safari Chic' is one of Spring 2008's leading trends. Last year,
during Fashion Week, when the designers showed their Spring 2008 collections, models
wrapped in leopard-print dresses and safari blazers made their way down the catwalks.



For those intrigued by the idea of a safari-centric celebration, show your wild side with
a safari inspired tablesetting.



In an out-of-this world African safari wedding, designed by Colin Cowie, he placed
mud-cloth covered chairs around a long table decorated with beaded Zulu chargers,
antique African dishes, and pyramids of brightly colored fruit.



The bride walked down a burlap runner to her groom. Hand-painted with a tribal motif,
the runner was customized with the bride and groom's names. Place cards made from
torn paper and burlap were accented with porcupine quills.



Style is going on a safari and now, the look is headed to the home with Ralph Lauren's
introduction of “Cape Lodge”. His new collection was inspired by an exotic estate with
echoes of safari. A warm earth-toned palette weaves together colonial, campaign and
Moderne furnishings in mahogany, rattan and tent canvas with vachetta leather, madras
and brass.



(above: Garrick placemat and dinner napkin. Buckle leather napkin ring, Rollins charger, Roake dinner plate,
salad plate and soup bowl. Dylan goblet and wine glass. Tablecloth fabricated in Borrego Madras in Tumbleweed).

And if you can only dream of such adventurous trips, just pick up some mud cloths,
bowls, and pedestals from street fairs, museum shops, and gift shops with a global
outlook and let your journey into the wild begin.

Eggs-ceptional Easter Gift: Royal Copenhagen Flora Easter Eggs

Call off the Easter egg hunt -- I've found an" egg-stra special gift" for your Easter basket.
Swap the boiled, poached and scrambled variety for a porcelain egg. Royal Copenhagen
has introduced the Floral Easter Egg.



This series of Royal Copenhagen Easter Eggs speaks the language of flowers. The small
eggs are made of the brightest white porcelain and are decorated with white pansies,
yellow crocus, blue anemones and pale mauve violets. The shades have been carefully
coordinated to complement and work with each other.



The flower design itself is inspired by Royal Copenhagen’s first Flora Danica service
from 1790. Royal Copenhagen’s creative team has spent countless hours admiring
the original illustrations and carefully selecting the most beautiful spring flowers
to be printed on the eggs for Easter.

Tip-toe through the tulips: Centerpiece of the week

You know spring is here to stay when the tulips come out! Throughout their colorful
history, these fashionable flowers from Holland have stayed in step with the tastes
of the times. Tulips are popping up all over these days--and not just in flower beds.



Pink tulips stand out in this Easter-inspired centerpiece. The sheer volume of this
centerpiece will wow your guests and infuse your Easter table with a heady floral
fragrance. They spill out of a large, round vase that echoes the table's shape. There
are lots of different colors and types of tulips today, making it easy to match your
interior. Tulips come in many shades of red, as well as other spring colors. Let
these eye-popping petals showcase your tablesetting this Easter.

source: photo, Epicurious.

This Easter, don't put all your eggs in one basket, display them in nest instead

Apart from receiving presents from Santa in a Christmas stocking, finding a basket full
of candies from the Easter bunny was one of my favorite treats when I was a child. Now
with the arrival of spring, baskets are popping up all over. Many people will be using
them to decorate and organize their home, giving them as gifts and using them for a
table centerpiece.


(above: pussy willow nest, Martha Stewart)

Today, the basket tradition, now linked with Easter, still symbolizes rebirth, be it seasonal

or spiritual. All too often, though, the baskets that circulate among friends that are used as
centerpieces are pretty predictable. Why not replace your Easter basket with a bird's nest.


(l to r: Martha Stewart, Mini Nest, set of 4, $24.99, Williams-Sonoma)

Celebrating beginnings and new life, miniature bird's nests make lovely favors and each
creates a perfect setting.


(above: Faux Bois Tableware, starting at $10.00, Room Service)

Springtime calls for fresh flavors and bright colors, guaranteed antidotes to the winter blahs.
Whether the occasion is Easter dinner for the family or simply a time to enjoy the first signs
of spring, what better way to bring on the season than to incorporate a nest on the table.

Romancing the stone: Incorporating pebbles in your tablesetting

(above: beach stone placemats, $ 19.95, Wrapables)

"Rock on" may be a uniquely American call to party, but when it comes to decorating your
table, rocks, stones and pebbles can have an altogether different effect on your mood. When
incorporated into your tablesetting, stones can create a soothing effect to balance the
hectic pace of modern life.


(l to r: Martha Steward wedding, InStyle wedding)

For a centerpiece, stones teamed with candles, fruit, and flowers create a new visual
excitement on the dining table. Here's a beautiful way to weight menus or napkins down
at an outdoor wedding -- and identify tables at the same time. For each plate, you'll need
a smooth, unpolished stone, add the table number with a rubber stamp and ink pad; if you
make a mistake, just wipe clean. Do the stamping a day or two before so the ink can dry.
Scatter more stones down the center of the table to follow through on the theme.


(above: beach stone coasters, set of 4, $9.95, Wrapables)

Pebbles are the latest hot trend in stone-theme decor and they're showing up in everything
from placemats to coasters. You don't have to build a Japanese rock garden in your back
yard, however, to take advantage of the pebble trend. Decorator items made from and
inspired by pebbles can be found at any home store. Add a whimsical, light-hearted
element to your table with the underlying peaceful persona of stone.


(l to r: candy rocks, Martha Stewart; rock centerpiece, The Knot)

Centerpiece of the week: Cracking into an egg-citing Easter egg

There's no telling what stunning creations you can hatch with an egg, a little glue and
a lot of creativity. Create a vase using a blown-out ostrich egg. The inspiration for this
eggs-citement is from Martha Stewart.



An oversize eggshell filled with flowers unites two symbols of spring in a single
arrangement. Look online for blown-out ostrich eggs (which cost about $10). Using
a tape measure and a pencil, mark dashes around the top, each about 2 inches from
the existing opening. Connect the dashes with thin painters' tape, creating a circle,
as shown. Fit a Dremel drill with a cut-out blade. Wearing protective goggles, hold
the egg securely in one hand while using the other to drill just inside the taped line.
Remove painters' tape. Next, tape fine-grit sandpaper, right side up, to your work
surface. Run the cut edge of the egg over the sandpaper to smooth and level it. Use
floral adhesive to secure egg to a small compote and to secure a narrow vessel inside
the egg. Fill vessel with water, and add flowers.

A Hoppy Easter tablesetting

With Easter almost here, the bunnies in store are multiplying like -- well, like rabbits.
May the Easter bunny hippity-hop into your home and become apart of your tablesetting,



How did the rabbit become so prominent in our celebration of Easter? Well, if the kids
ask, inform them that the furry fellow with the long ears was revered in ancient Egypt
as a symbol of the moon. And, inasmuch as the date of Easter is determined by the
full moon, voila! the concept of the Easter Bunny evolved. Easter always falls on
the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox (first day of spring)!



Easter is a time of the year when people get together to celebrate and it has always
been a grand family get-together at my Godmother’s house. After church and our
Easter egg hunt, everyone gathered around a beautiful table for a scrumptious dinner.



When setting your table this Easter, why not start with a central theme. Whether
your taste runs to whimsical Easter bunnies or spring florals, coordinating your
tablesetting around a central theme will make a more effective seasonal statement.

Landscapes Inspire Tablescapes: New! Juliska ceramics

Intricate, extravagant detailing and unusual shapes herald Jardins du Monde - - -
Juliska's celebration of the splendor, artistry and romance of four of the world's
most beautiful gardens. These highly designed and lavishly detailed pieces add
depth, exuberance and whimsy to the Berry and Thread collection, and they're
equally beautiful standing alone.



The Jardins du Monde Collection pays homage to gardens in Italy, France, Spain,
and England known for their exceptional creativity and visual excitement.
"Landriana" marries the grandeur of the Italian garden with a lush England style.
"Villandry" is all about formal patterns, harmony and majesty. "Alcazar" represents
an exotic and lavish blend of cultures. And "Heligan" speaks to the romance of a lost,
walled garden.






The black glass pieces are chic and sensual. The color is so deep and rich that its core
is aubergine. Juliska introduced goblets, candlesticks, tea lights, hurricanes, vases and
compotes.



Juliska embodies a fresh take on classic design - timeless European elegance updated
with imaginative new interpretations and a healthy dose of modern-day functionality.
It represents for me an entertaining and living attitude - - - timeless, romantic and
always effortlessly chic. I hope you're inspired by Juliska, just as I am!

Bloom Service: Philadelphia Flower Show and floral dinnerware from Anthropologie

Now that I've turned my clock up a hour, all I can think about is spring! Bright, warm days.
The smell of thawing earth. The ubiquitous yellow of daffodils and forsythia. Short sleeves!
Well, I can't have that for about five more weeks; but there was a pseduo-spring of sorts
unfolding last week at the Philadelphia Flower Show.



On Friday I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show and beyond the creativity of the
exhibitors, I admired how they brought the best in horticulture to the convention center.
I'm sure my Mom, a natural born gardener, can attest that it's not easy tricking a summer-
blooming plant or a flowering tree into producing its very best blooms on a cold March
day. There was one exhibit after another that was absolutely gorgeous. I've enclosed
a few of my pictures. Enjoy!



I adore flowers -- all kinds, all colors -- and I especially love how they can bring a table
setting to life. The beauty of fresh foliage speaks for itself, bringing a touch of spring to
the table any time of the year.



Moving away from solids, floral patterns in tableware have come on the scene bursting with
spring and summer goodness. These floral patterns may hint at the traditional, but lean
toward retro and modern designs, with bursts of bright tones sure to please any design
palette.



Anthropologie's Kew Bouquet dinnerware and Watercolors dinnerware pop with up
close visions of blue and yellow flowers making way for a more modern approach
to floral dinnerware.



If you're creating a tablesetting and want to make florals a part of the look, there are
a few design basics you should know. Florals can actually be one of the simplest color
schemes to put together because floral patterns often features a range of shades and
colors that will coordinate with solid dinnerware.




The natural beauty of flowers, whether in touches large or small on your table can be
fresh and beautiful way to make your table inviting.