Easter approaches, but not the vibrantly green Easter of sudden unseasonal heatwaves, spring picnics and al fresco fun. Instead, Easter in our small corner of the world promises to be sprinkled with snow flurries, with only the hardiest early apple blossom and narcissi spikes braving the chill. We don’t care; at Easter each year the house fills with family and friends, and we’ve been adding some decorative touches to spruce things up for their arrival. Let’s start with lunch…
I wanted to create an interesting Easter table that will see us through a number of meals and provide some distractions for little hands; I used a leftover piece of wallpaper for a simple, natural table runner. It’s wipe-proof, unlikely to tear and means there’s no need for a tablecloth beneath. I love using wallpaper for table runners – our local DIY store lets you cut sample lengths and I have a bundle of offcuts from when we were decorating bedrooms; some vibrant and some, like this, more subtle. Simple brown kraft paper looks great too, or you could use a roll of black paper to mimic a chalkboard; I’ve done this for informal dinners with friends and it looks gorgeous when decorated with white chalk pens (leave some on the table for guests to doodle with..)
I made these seasonal napkin rings by cutting toilet rolls in half and glueing a length of fabric around each. I sourced the archive image of the spring hare from here; it was once a bookplate in a dictionary… I printed it out several times on a sheet of white paper and cut into strips before glueing around each ring.
I used the same image for placemats, printing onto A3 recycled paper, and creating a set of hares racing around the table…
For the centre of the table, I trailed a variety of spring elements to create a narrow but interesting feature, that can stay in place throughout the long weekend…
We dragged a mossy log back from the park and this, when dried out, provided the backbone (n.b. if you do this, I’d suggest leaving it in the porch overnight for any existing many-legged residents to seek alternative accommodation, thus avoiding a mass exodus across the lunch table). Homemade nests were placed at each end, with smaller ones tucked along the log. Old terracotta pots planted with narcissi are scattered at intervals, and should come into bloom at just about the right time…
Hard-boiled white duck eggs sit alongside faux eggs and blown quails eggs, filling bowls and egg cups, and even a tiny vintage silver tea pot from Harry’s play kitchen.
I wandered around the house collecting any small vases or bowls of the right sort of palette, like this duck-egg blue vase which normally sits on a mantel but looks just right here…
I decided to make a decorative banner for the fireplace in the kitchen, so set about painting some eggs in fantasy colours and designs (don’t try looking these up in any bird book; accuracy was never my strong point). These beautiful paints are from legendary Parisian art store Sennelier, and were a gift from my father; I don’t break them out very often but when I do they’re a joy to use.
I painted my eggs onto watercolour postcard paper, then scanned them in so I could cut out enough for a banner; I like how they turned out, and think I’ll use them as individual place cards, or maybe transfer print them onto a plain tea towel in the future; if you want to use them for anything seasonal I’ve attached my file as a PDF below, which looks like this when you open it;
If the weather-man is right, we’ll be lighting the log fire more than once and it will be the centre of attention, so I’ve arranged the folded books from a couple of weeks ago to add a spark of humour and interest…
And as a final touch, on the large cook’s table sits a vase filled with plastic eggs and a fallen cherry-tree branch, a victim of the recent storms; we rescued it, trimmed just a little and then decked the branches sparingly with speckled eggs. To do this, I placed a drinking glass inside the vase, filled it with water and inserted the branch, before carefully dropping the plastic eggs all around, filling up the space between the glass and the vase.
Elsewhere, a collection of wicker baskets which we’ve collected over the years sits waiting in the hall for the small hands of eager egg-hunters on Easter Monday. We’re all ready to lay out the hunt (below), but are waiting till the very last minute to decide whether this is a bracing outdoor escapade calling for wellies, scarves and hot chocolate, or whether instead we’ll be placing eggs in nooks and crannies around the house before unleashing indoor chaos…
Our next task is a spot of seasonal baking; these baby chick cupcakes went down well last year so a newly hatched batch is top of the list. If you click on the picture below you can find the details of how we made them.
Have a wonderful Easter weekend, wherever you are and whomever you’re with; may spring sunshine and good chocolate find their way to your door…
Mila.
Wonderful ideas and photos!! Have a great Easter weekend, Kate!
Sue
A beautiful post – you always give me such amazing ideas, your home is lovely I would like to transport your adorable Easter themed table into my kitchen – I wish!
Hope you have a fabulous Easter Day with your family and friends x
Kate
Thanks Sue, for a lovely message! Hope you and yours have a wonderful weekend..
lovinghomemade
Absolutely amazing, all so beautiful. Love your table but also wondering how you got the overhead shot! Happy Easter
Kate
Ah, good question; with some difficulty! Teetering on a step ladder, arm extended over the table… not advisable but ultimately quite effective I’m sure the pros use some kind of decorator-like platform across the table to get a true ‘top-down’ shot, but I made do with a rather more basic set-up! Happy Easter…
lovinghomemade
Very effective, well done!
Lina
I also wondered this! Nicely done!
Bestof2sisters
Wow, Kate.. you create the most beautiful decorations! Although most of them I’ll never be able to follow myself,I just LOVE admiring the photos, and reading about where you find all the odd bits and bobs. The log from the park – genius!
I dream of one day having the time and capacity to craft, design and enjoy projects like this
Have a wonderful Easter x
Kate
Thank you! And yes, the log…. it was actually the third one I dragged back; the first was rotted and the second about 2 foot longer than the table (delusions of grandeur!), still, persistence is everything Happy Easter x
Ailsa
I love this table setting with all it’s natural tones and elements, and the water colour eggs are really beautiful! I’m a little envious of your cherry branch tree as well, you’ve had more success than I had with mine
http://cocoblueinteriors.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/easter-tree-blogging-fail.html
A very happy Easter weekend to you and yours!
perfectfridaywine
I have been anticipating an Easter special and it hasn’t disappointed – I particularly love those March Hares! Roll on the sunshine for an outdoor egg hunt!!
Emily Wignall Design
Gorgeous! I love how you picked a color palette and then pulled stuff from around your house. Gorgeous! And, thanks for the printable. Can’t wait to print them and use them in my own home.
Alison
Hope you make it outdoors for the egg hunt, nothing beats it. I find myself gathering the same colour themes, creams, duck eggs really are some of my favourites. Have you seen the painted egg shell mini-vase idea, beautiful? I think I found it over on talesfromahappyhouse blog, quite fiddly but super relaxing. I’ve displayed mine in a real egg carton. Have a super weekend x
WantItEverSo
Wow, that is just stunning! What lucky friends and family you have that will be joining you at that gorgeous table. Love the idea of using wallpaper as a runner, brilliant, will be stealing that from you for future special occasions at my place. Love Sarah x
Cerys @ Rainy Day Mum
Absuloutely wonderful I love the little chicks you’ve inspired me (I’m planning ahead already for next year)
Rita from designmegillah
Martha Stewart should be afraid that you’ll take over her job! Amazing!
homemadekids
Nell, my 12 yo, and I were almost reduced to tears trying to tie skeins around a half egg in a bid to dye a pattern on to it with old onion skins. We totally failed! You have the rare gift of making craft seem easy and continually shake up my imagination. Fabulous! I wrote a post today about a similarly creative woman who paints houses which you might enjoy, or be inspired by, see http://islingtonfacesblog.com/2013/03/28/teresa-robertson-unique-house-painter/
happy easter, nicola
Green Door Hospitality
Beautiful!! I included one of your images in a post showing a collection of great Easter tablescape options for this year.
Kenley
Karen @annumography
I love how tasteful your tablescape is while still invoking the holiday spirit!
annumography
I love how tasteful your tablescape is while still invoking the holiday!
Susan - saf affect
The wallpaper table runner is lovely. Have a very Happy Easter, Kate!
beingmeyear
Wow, thanks for liking my blog or I wouldn’t have seen yours…some really creative ideas on here, thoroughly inspiring!
Barbara Backer-Gray
Amazing! I love the table!
southern folksy tales
I’m an American Southern Granny that enjoys the glimpse of English life your wonderful site provides. Here the weather is cooler than usual which means high sixties as long as the sun is shining and when night falls, around forty or so. Our azaleas have faded though it’s constant companion, purple wisteria, still falls in graceful swags from any available tree. Most of the pear and peach trees have snowy white or blushing pink blossoms announcing our short Spring is here! Best of all the dogwood trees have blossomed as though the cotton crop has taken to the sky; just in time for Easter…..
thehouseofjones
Oh WOW! Kate, you have excelled yourself! How very welcoming for all your lovely guests – what time should we come round?! Adore all the little details and the cherry blossom is so pretty.
Now that all the hard work is done I hope you’ve poured yourself a large glass of vino, and are enjoying a little sit down (within easy reach of some mini eggs)!
Have yourself a very Happy Easter,
Jones x
Celebrating Easter With a Beautiful Table, Great Food and Family | mamacormier
[...] the other table decorations my inspiration came from Kate’s Creative Space. This woman’s creativity blows me away. I love her [...]
Gillian
Kate that table is amazing!! The wallpaper runner is a genius idea, especially as you can throw it out when it’s used, rather than having to soak stains out of a tablecloth. And your watercolour eggs are very beautiful indeed. Happy Easter to you and your family. x
ripe red berries
Beautiful…and inspiring, thank you… Oh how I’d love to be a guest of yours! Enjoy the weekend – how could you not?
Happy Easter to you and yours!!
Anonymous
Simply stunning! Hope you have a wonderful Easter x
Caroline Chapman Schroback
Happy Easter to you & yours!
Anonymous
Just amazing, Kate! So much taste, style and you’ve got a perfect eye of artist. Applause!!! Happy Easter to you and your beautiful family!
Lina
You’ve been busy! Always so impressed with your creative endeavours! I think what I love most is that you make things that are SO unique and special.. and they really don’t require a lot of money just some creative problem solving (printing large format, sourcing imagery) and good taste of course!
Lina
You’ve been busy! Always so impressed with your creative endeavours! I think what I love most is that you make things that are SO unique and special.. and they really don’t require a lot of money just some creative problem solving (printing large format, sourcing imagery) and good taste of course!
A Painted Romance « Kate's Creative Space
[…] decorated the table with garden flowers in a similar palette, and sprayed this log white as a centrepiece. Tiny tea-light candles in little porcelain cups completed the […]