No Muss No Fuss...

Hosted by Between Naps on the Porch
After relinquishing my table from our organizing and decluttering projects, I turned it from a messy heap to something wonderful-twice! For your Met Monday pleasure, I present you not one, but two tablescapes!

THEME:
"Asian Romance"

INSPIRATION:
Target's "Red Solstice" Dinnerware set
I knew that we were going to celebrate the Chinese New Year and since it will also be Valentine's Day, I went with Red and Black!

It took a while to find all the pieces, but I started back in January. As you know, most dinnerware sets at Target rarely go on sale, but this Red Solstice set was at 30% off and since I've waited three years for them to be discounted, I gave in... (I know, it's not my minimum 40% off preference but sometimes compromises have to be made for the things you've been patient with...)

If you've brushed up on your Chinese table etiquette lately, you'll find that minimalism is the key; where "No Muss, No Fuss" reigns. So I did the same with my table. Harmony reigns on a traditional Chinese table and I achieved that by not varying the heights too much, I kept everything low and the colors uniform. The tablecloth is a huge black denim remnant fabric I've had so that's FREE!

I used lowball smoke glasses from Libbey, aptly called, Classic Smoke,
Red is a very auspicious and powerful color for the Chinese, and since it is their New Year, I honored that with tealights undulating on the center representing fireworks and ferocity of a tiger and the red ribbon symbolizing the dragon.

The napkins with Asian motif were from Tuesday Morning last year... 19 cents a napkin. It was a perfect accompaniment to complete the Chinese air of the overall design without giving it too much of a Western take.

The black wood chopsticks, a combo of the Japanese and Chinese styles were from our local Asian market... $2.50 for 5 pairs.
The placemats were my everyday ones I got from Walmart back in 2008.
I love this shadow shot, it reminds me of the typical red Chinese lanterns that are quite visible this time of year...

Right after my idea "ding!" with my Morrocan bedroom, I was inspired to tackle more Valentine's Day ideas. So here's the other tablescape!

THEME:
"Just The Two of Us"

INSPIRATION:
"Hugging Couple" Statue from Ross
On the same table, I changed it up to accomodate a more romantic tete-a-tete... Back in December, I saw these plates in Kohl's that for the longest time, were on sale for 50% off but they weren't moving much (yes, I went back several times... lol)
It has a beautiful damask floral design in matte gray finish on creamy white, finished with gold rim. When I first saw this set, I fell in love! So of course, it was on my mind to use it for today!

I also have this very fluid pearlescent purple statue of a hugging couple from Ross (2008), for $15. It inspired me to use it as my centerpiece because it gave away the motif of the table without much else needed to support it.
I only used a few and staggered red glass mosaic votive candle holders to illuminate the statue and table.

The red check tablecloth, a 75% off find at my local Kroger's-$5.00. The goblets were my Luigi Bormioli set that I've had since 1996. On top, of each plate is a 75% off Target find last December- clear salad plates with a silver rim. It complimented the utensils, Lace by Hampton.
A dark silhouette shot...

This plate is called, Spirit of the Season by St. Nicholas Square. On December 30th, we hit Kohl's for some much needed winter clothing, then of course, I had to see the housewares clearance section. Lo and behold, 9 of these were at the very bottom of a non-descript rack, not tagged at all! So I approached a couple of sales associate and they scanned at 70% off. I thought, good but you know me, I always have to ask...

So I did. "Well, since these are the last 9 plates you have, and you'll be putting it on 80% off soon, can you just give it to me tonight?" I was stunned when they said YES! I headed to the Customer Service and had the discount redone there but since they messed up, only giving it to me for 73% off, I came back and again was floored that they gave it to me for a total of 88% off!!! I paid $1.68 each after tax! Yeah!!!

TABLESCAPING IDEAS: ("Brain" was busy...) Use the colors of the theme you are going for to save money and not worry about being bogged down with the typical symbols of a particular theme.

Susan, thanks for letting me join in today and thanks for all of you who "heart" me today!

Happy Valentine's Day!