Skip to main content

Rustic Thanksgiving Table w/ Clarice Cliff Autumn Foliage Turkey Plates



This table actually began with the Etsy filming done here at my home.  It started out more spartan because Tara Young wanted the turkey plates to really stand alone since, after all, the documentary is more about the transferware than table settings.  


But...you all know me....I don't do 'minimalist' too well so after they left I went to changing up the table.
 I added this, and added that, and added those....
  I changed this table three different times after the filming ended so you'll probably see glimpses of them all!

Starring at the table are these highly collected turkey plates by Clarice Cliff  of Royal Staffordshire.  This pattern is commonly called Autumn Foliage for the beautiful border that frames the turkey.  
   Here's a funny story about these very plates.  I bought six of these plates from a lady who bought them from a dealer for $295 EACH (yes $295 each) that I sold to the dealer for $150 each just five or six years ago.  Now they are back in my hands and in my shop for $99 each. How funny is that?  And, hopefully a good deal for somebody looking for them!  These are one of the more popular of the turkey themed English wares.

For a more casual, rustic feel I swapped out the linen cloth

with its beautiful hand work,

 for a big piece of burlap that offered a more rustic, relaxed feel.  

I placed raffia instead of placemats under the plates for added texture and to further enhance the feel of casual.


I mingled hand carved antler handled knives right along with traditional flatware...love to mix and match!  

Pressed glasses in one of my favorite colors, amber, along with vintage Candlewick glasses (I think that's what you all told me these are) with little bubble like feet stand next to one another.  More mix and match = more texture = more interesting table top.

Brown transferware napkin rings...Tonquin pattern....with jacquard napkins.

I really like the centerpiece I created from a wreath of Autumn grasses, berries and foliage, 
facorns (fake acorns), a cake stand and a bark pillar candle.  I will do a post on this centerpiece tomorrow or the next day, and then will wrap up with the 3rd day of the Etsy filming.  

A pair of pheasants flanks the centerpiece, further adding to  the rustically refined look.

At one point I started missing color at the table and added plaid napkins under the wreath to create the illusion of a larger, wider centerpiece and under each of the plates to add a pop of color.  I randomly placed some pears around the centerpiece as well.

I kept looking at the table, thinking something wasn't right.  It was only after I'd taken pictures and put everything away that I realized what it was.  Sometimes, I spot things in photos that I'd never have noticed in person.  Here, it was that I had two napkins out! One was under the plates and the other to the sides of them.  Oh well...around here, sometimes two napkins are a good thing...a necessary thing!
As much as I love color, I do think this table looked best without adding more of it.

Do you? 

Which table setting do you like best?



Joining:

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground 
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Home and Garden Thursday  at A Delightsome Life 
Inspiration Friday  at The Picket Fence
Fridays Unfolded at Stuff and Nonsense 
Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps On The Porch

Comments

  1. I always love your wonderful tablesettings, your Thanksgiving ones are my faves, and I can always use an extra napkin!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love these plates! What a story about the plates coming full circle back to you. I really like the transferware napkin rings too! As usual, great tablescape.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like the setting with the burlap and without the plaid under the centerpiece....simple and elegant!!! Can't wait to see day 3!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh...this is such a pretty Thanksgiving table. I like it with the raffia and only one napkin. I love the addition of raffia. It just makes the table.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gorgeous, as always! You can come set my table any time.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gorgeous! I love the burlap sans the plaid :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm with Sweet Violets. My favorite! Love that you have those plates!!! Blessings- xo Diana

    ReplyDelete
  8. I agree! I like the burlap without the plaid. It makes the centerpiece stand out more. All are lovely, though!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love it, Nancy! I think they should have let you work your magic. You can still see the plates with your tablescape and I think it just looks so inviting to sit at. Love the centerpiece and the neutrality of the whole thing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's such fun watching the evolution of your table settings, Nancy! From how it looked for the filming to how you would like to have it for a meal. I think I like the next to the last photo best. As beautiful as the larger centerpiece was, there's something more "autumnal" about the other setting, and I also like having a more monochromatic palette, with only the one dark napkin. And the burlap truly adds to the look, moreso than the white cloth, despite how pretty it is. But really, they're all beautiful! You have such lovely things. Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love the table, so simple and beautiful. Your really don't need anything to detract from those lovely plates.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ok I just love that centerpiece! Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love it! Your centerpiece arrangement is gorgeous!

    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's ALL amazing! The centerpiece is to die for. I like the setting without the napkins. The raffia adds such a creative touch! The main focus is your gorgeous transferware!
    Have a great weekend!
    sandy

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh Nancy, this is such a beautiful thanksgiving table. Your tablecloth is perfect with the thanksgiving brown transferware. The centerpiece is perfect with the table and how smart to use the raffia as placemats.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Beautiful table! I love both and i want to add that I love your wall color...Christine

    ReplyDelete
  17. Nancy, they are both beautiful, but I like the more natural, rustic touches of the second table the best. Love the idea of the raffia under the plates. As for two napkins ~ I like the one under the plate as an adder layer of textile, sorta like a placemat. Then the other to use. How about that? Love those plates! ~ Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  18. You have such a knack for table settings! I think I like the one with the burlap runner. At first, I liked the addition of the plaid but, after going back and forth several times, I think I like it better without the plaid. It's a close toss up though :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wow, your tablescapes are beautiful. I'd say I really like the burlap tablescape with the straw underneath the plates - the centerpiece is marvelous and looks so well with each setting -I appreciate you sharing - I will be featuring your post in this week's Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from my readers. I appreciate the time you take to post a comment and I read them all.

Popular posts from this blog

English Cottage Living Room - Before, Partly After & Still a Work in Progress

I am sorry for not posting more pictures of the progress we've made settling into this new (to us) home.   It seems life rushes by so fast and that at times, doing little things, even those that I love and enjoy, often get pushed aside and onto the back shelf of my mind where I tell myself, "I'll get to this later".  Well, it is later and though I don't have as much to share with you as I'd like, I'm going to at least share my favorite spot in our living room.  I promise to show the rest of the room soon but for now the opposite half of the living room has been occupied by my daughters boyfriend who has been staying with us for the past 7 or so weeks until his apartment is ready for him to move into, and so the couch is usually made up for him to sleep on!   Here is a photo of the current living room just as we found it, a small room just off the entry of the house with a nice marble and wood fireplace surround, hard wood floors, beautiful crown mouldi

The History of Johnson Brothers and The Friendly Village Tablescape

Last week, Shawn and I popped into a couple of estate sales and I picked up over 100 pieces of Johnson Brother's The Friendly Village .  I think I may have to hang on to 12 of the dinner plates and use them this year at Thanksgiving but the rest of them, including this 48 piece service for 8, will be you know where. I don't know about you all, but I have had enough of Summer and I am down right ready for the cooler temperatures of Autumn.  I've been doing a lot of rearranging around the house….I'm in one of those zones where I've got a zillion projects going on, even if half of them are just in my mind that I'm contemplating!   We've also been moving kids out and around.  Three of them are out and the three still at home are moving or rearranging their rooms around.    Since I am yearning for Fall, haven't posted any tablescapes in a while and just got these Friendly Village pieces I decided to set the table with them.      Oh great, I

More Traditional Red White & Blue Rooms with Transferware

A couple of weeks ago I shared some pictures of beautiful rooms in red and blue color schemes decorated with transferware .    Here is another roundup of rooms that I adore, all with red and blue color schemes and all with transferware!  Enjoy!  (via Traditional Home) (via enchanted home) (my old living room) Joining some of the following parties: Between Naps on The Porch Transformation Thursday at  The Shabby Chic Cottage Feathered Nest Friday at  French Country Cottage Friday Inspiration  At The Picket Fence Cindy at  My Romantic Home Funky Junk Interiors Charm of Home No Minimalist Here WOW  Amaze Me Mondays  Making Monday Link Party  Motivational Mondays  What'd You Do This Weekend?   Inspire Me Monday   Make It Pretty Monday   Monday Link Party  Inspire Me Monday 

My English Country Mom Cave

Susan, at Between Naps on the Porch is hosting a Home Goods Mom Cave contest with four lucky winners.  Come on in to my little niche I've carved out of my house.  This is where I work, create, relax, read and chat with friends and family. This is one of my favorite spots in the house to read about one of my favorite subjects...English transferware or poetry, and drink tea.  I often start and end my day right here. Next to the chair is an antique dumbwaiter which holds some decorative items as well as lots of poetry books.  This is the view of the room from the wing back chair.  This cozy room serves as a small living room, although it's not uncommon to have 8 or 9 of the girls in here during family gatherings.  It's usually where we all wind up to have coffee and visit. . On either side of the sofa I display some of my vintage Canine figurines on Spode meat drainers. Above the sofa are some of my favorite paintings.  The one directly over the sofa my Mom pain

Decorating with Brown Transferware & $100 GIVEAWAY

Brown was introduced as a transferware color around 1829-30 and is the least expensive of colors to make. Therefore it is fairly common, so far as transferware goes, to find.  It is also one of the most collected colors and it is probably the most versatile of colors in my opinion.  Brown is neutral and looks good with any color scheme from pastels to rich jewel tones, but it is with the ushering in of Autumn that I see it popping up in home decor and vignettes the most.  Though, most of these rooms and vignettes are decorated with brown pieces year round, it just seems the perfect time to share them.  I may have to do another post because there are so, so many more equally beautiful spaces that have incorporated the use of displaying brown transferware  and I can't fit them all here. So, check these lovelies out and then stick around for the giveaway at the bottom of the post. This vignette just stole my heart the first time I saw it.  So many of us have vintage luggage

The Aesthetic Movement and Transferware

What is the Aesthetic Movement? The Aesthetic Movement refers to a period of time in the late 19 th century (1870-1900) which was a backlash to the formal Victorian years.  Artists and writers of the Aesthetic movement period maintained the belief that art should provide refined sensuous pleasure, rather than convey moral or sentimental messages.  They believed that art did not have any didactic purpose; it need only be beautiful.  Japanese art had a great influence on Aestheticism. Aesthetic interiors were often decorated with Japanese prints, screens, fans and other objects. An appreciation of the art of Japan is seen in the work of many Aesthetic artists and designers such as James McNeill Whistler and E.W. Godwin. photo credit Country Living The Aesthetes developed the cult of beauty, which they considered the basic factor in art. They ascertained that life should copy art and considered nature as crude and lacking in design

Decorating with Blue Transferware and a GIVEAWAY!

   If you haven't already been over to Enchanted Home , you'll want to go over after you finish this post because the wonderful Tina, who authors the incredibly gorgeous blog,  has a great post up about decorating with dishes plus she's hosting a giveaway to my online shop, English Transferware !  Details at the end of the post! I know Tina loves blue and white (just look at her header and you'll know!) and has a collection of her own. In honor of Tina, I've decided to share some of my favorite images of rooms decorated with and often around blue transferware collections.  You can see more rooms decorated with blue transferware on my Pinterest board . To me, Charles Faudree is just about as synonymous with English transferware as he his with French Country Decorating...he seemed to always find a use for it in his incredibly detailed decorating schemes.  Isn't this bedroom charming? I love this next image from Decor Magazine.  Look how the blu