Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Dining table vignette questions


So, I'm curious about something and I don't want to turn this into a witch hunt (no Halloween pun intended) where we tear anyone down, because, even though I don't decorate like that, I enjoy seeing my friend's vignettes just as much as the next blogger.

I mean who doesn't like looking at pretty?

(In other words, please be nice in your comments.)

But, I've just gotta ask...

When you put all that stuff on your table... 

Where do you eat?

Do you take it off, right after you take a photograph?

Or do you take it off when you eat and then put it back on?



I can't imagine talking all of that stuff off every time I eat, but that's just me.


Or do you leave it on and eat around it?

Maybe you never sit at your dining room table, so it doesn't matter?


In the picture below, I can just see that pumpkin on the end going flying if someone sat there that used a lot of hand motion when they talked...


Not to mention the candle... yikes!


Also, when you put something really tall on a table, do you leave it on there?


Is it because you don't want to look at the people across from you?


If that's the case, I've been there, so I get it ;)

Anywho...


I was always taught that you should have an arrangement low enough and shallow enough for people to comfortably chat and also eat, like this...


or to have one tall enough that it was above eyesight, like this...


Has this gone out of fashion?

Or is this just for cuteness?

Fess up, kids :)


Now don't get me wrong!

All of these pictures are pretty and I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I'm seriously curious.

Of course, this is just how my mind works when I look at Pinterest.

Which is what I do when I'm tired of painting. 

Which by the way, is finally done.

At least in those two rooms I was working on ;)

Pictures coming soon.

Anyway, vignettes on dining tables are the least of my questions about things I see on Pinterest, but let's stick with this for now.

xo
rue



82 comments:

  1. When you visit my blog, you'll see that I don't follow "trends". For the most part (occasionally, I err) the centerpiece is short enough to talk over and not too wide to interfer with any of the diners. And I don't "stack" dishes either -- HOW do you eat off six plates stacked one on top of the other.

    But my tables are real. I enjoy looking at the magazines and their "fantasy" tables . . . but that's not how I roll.

    Martha

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  2. I love all these tables! I would be honored to be invited to any of these dinners. When my table tries to look that fancy (and I am not talented enough to achieve that much fancy) - it is for a picture. Or we aren't having anyone over for a meal for a few days. When it is just me and hubby, we eat on tv trays. We are pretty casual folk. And when we are having company, which is our children and grandchildren - we are too clumsy and messy for all that fancy and it all gets put in a cabinet. If I had extra rooms, I would love to have a dining room I could set up like that every month - just to look at!

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  3. It is all for the perfect photo. It reminds me when you visit a model home and it is professionally decorator. Our family eats in the kitchen most of the time - except on holidays.

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  4. I keep a vignette on my table and it is usually taller than normal but there is only my husband and I and we sit on the same side of the table so we can look out and watch the animals. When my kids all come over for supper I still have a vignette but it is considerably smaller. I do not like to have to look around anything when I am trying to talk to the person across from me.

    Grace & Peace

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  5. Hahaha. Love it. I am rather vertically challenged (or short,) so those big center pieces that I can't see over always make me want to play Annie-over with a olive or tater or something:) I prefer something simple that can be removed at supper time.
    Just me. . . they are pretty table-settings though.

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  6. hahaha, you crack me up. I hear ya, sister. I have one white pumpkin on my table. Oh my gosh, when you talked about having an arrangement low enough so you can see the person across from you... I was never taught that, but I always do this cause it just makes sense. These table settings are so lovely, but a bit much for me. It's all about simplicity for me.
    This is a really honest topic that was on your mind, and it's nice that you shared it, Rue.

    ~Sheri

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    1. Aha! You have asked a question Rue, that I have often wondered about also!!
      Seriously, I wonder how practical so many decorating trends are??!!
      We eat on our dining room table, so any decorating on the dining room table has to be conducive to serving and eating meals on our table.
      Thank you for your honesty and frankness, Rue!

      BTW.. another trend I can't figure out, is an all white living room. We LIVE in our living room, and we have a dog, grown boys, etc.. and I just cannot see wanting to peel off a couch cover and wash it every other day to keep it clean?!
      Warm wishes.. Kerin

      {p.s.} I cannot figure out how to leave a comment, other than to 'Reply' in another window to comment... sorry.

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    2. Kerin..thanks for bringing up one of my questions...what's with all the white? Do no people inhabit these rooms? Is there a real living room/kitchen/bathroom someplace in the basement/attic where the family really lives? As to the dining room, having covered the breadth and height of the decor, where so they store it all? Questions, nothing but questions......

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    3. Thank you for the laugh, MJ! I can just picture people huddled in a room somewhere off the rest of the house. Quite a picture! LOL

      xo

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  7. I only have one table to eat at in my house - a small table in our kitchen. We have no separate dining room. So, the only "arrangement" of any kind I have in the middle of the table is small and unobtrusive. Right now, I have a small wooden bowl with some mini pumpkins and cloth napkins in it. Other times I will have a Mason jar full of flowers. We also have three cats, so if I dare put anything elaborate on my table - even a tablecloth - the cats will be too curious about it and will jump on the table. I don't like cats on the table, so I don't even do tablecloths.

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  8. I don't have a dining room, but I do have two tables in my kitchen. I love putting something festive in the center of each and leaving it there. Of course, kids doing homework, their teenage friends juggling my decor, "the push" to the side when they all want to eat and the junk they drop on the tables when they come home from school every day messes up my arrangements...so I have to keep it simple....but from 8-2 on weekdays, it looks pretty! ;-)

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  9. I love flowers and candles on the table, but I keep it simple and I keep it low as well. Sometimes I use a charger under the dinner plate when I'm doing fancy, but these stacks of dishes are above my pay grade -- haha!

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    1. Every time I think of stacked plates, i wonder how one eats from the top one w/o it sliding against the one below and scratching the finish......Or are they all removed and used one at a time? And how many maids does it take to handle it all at a meal?
      At my age, moving stuff out of the house is more important than bringing in more, so age much have something to do with the overabundance of plates and decor. Besides, the food is more important than the prettifying...isn't it? (I have more questions than answers, obviously).

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    2. I actually wonder the same exact thing. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be cute, because I don't think anyone in Blogland has a full wait staff at home, but then again who knows? lol

      And yes, food is MUCH more important :)

      xo

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  10. I usually have a center bowl and a couple of lanterns that I can easily remove if I need to...I don't want anything too high or interfering with talking across the table...

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  11. If I am having a party, I almost always have a buffet on the porch, and most people eat outside at one of the tables. (I never have a party with guests in the summer.) If it is just my daughter and me, and we are having a tea, I set it on one side for two on a table that sits six. If my spouse is home, I usually use the dining room for dinner, and I set it for three, and all I usually have on it is a bucket of flowers. Otherwise, my daughter and I eat at the island in the kitchen. I often set two plates on top of each other using the one on the bottom as a charger. I never use large plates. My vintage china sets have bigger plates that I use as chargers. I try to set a formal table, but I end with random. xoxo Su

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  12. On our table right now - one large but very low (almost flat) dish in the middle with two candlesticks (brass pineapples!) with candles either side. Leaves room for Hubby and I to sit either side and see each other eat etc. However, if there are more than two people I put the candlesticks on the sideboard and whatever dish is in the middle of the table to one side. I don't have tons of stuff on the table so it is easy to move. I decorate other things/places, but not my dining table - we need to sit there to eat!!! I guess as you said it depends on whether or not that is the table that you sit at to eat on a daily basis! xx

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  13. Rue,
    I am so looking forward to having a dining room again! It has been 7 long months without one and that was the room and the table that got all decked out and stayed that way. I also dressed up my gold antique tea cart and 100 year old hutch.
    I left the table dressed in all of her glory until the night before my gathering and then removed certain elements in order to make way for the dishes, food and guests. That way I was able to enjoy it all prior to the event.
    Sounds like a lot of trouble doesn't it-at least when I put it in print! Oh well, that is just me and I am ready to begin again!
    xo
    Jemma

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  14. I "dress" my table so that I have to move very little in order to enjoy the meal. I, too, like low arrangements where everyone can see each other. I really don't think that has gone out of fashion at all.
    I think the biggest share of tables you see are for show and not really used for meals at all. Many bloggers do tablescapes just for the fun of doing them, I think, with no intention of actually using them for a real meal....not ALL of them...but many of them. It is fun to see them and I like doing one on occasion, too.
    I like anything from "just tine as is" to "fancy"...it is just fun to see what everyone does. xo Diana

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  15. My one dining table is rarely used for dining and my vignette usually consists of a laptop computer, mail and whatever else hasn't been put away yet. I am happiest when the table is clear with nothing on it.

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    1. I usually have a flower arrangement on it or at least a decorative bowl, but I'm with you, Melodee :)

      xo

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  16. One thing I noted in a Martha Stewart book is that she may have a lot running down the CENTER of the table -- several bouquets of flowers, etc., but they are all low . . . and she has ONE PERFECT plate at each place setting. She does, however, go all out on the buffet table where the food is!

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  17. Hi Rue,

    I put most of my vignette in a tray that is easy to pick up and move....I love trays!

    We are blessed to have several places to dine in our home and I usually keep the centerpiece simple when I have to deal with it on a daily basis.

    xo
    Barb

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    1. I agree with Barb, whatever I use in the center I place on either an oversized charger or tray that can just be picked up and moved to another piece of furniture or the kitchen counter. I also like to keep everything low so people don't have to move around to see across the table. Plus, I've eaten wonderful meals at homes that are served family style and the food is the real decoration on the table... Displayed in beautiful pottery, glossy wooden servers - I really like that.

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    2. i'm sorry rue! i find this post HILARIOUS!!!! and you probably didn't mean it that way.
      well. as jack benny would say.
      not entirely!
      but it's like the design genie gone WILD!
      when did we become so enamored with 'staging' in this country?
      so beautiful! and yet fake looking. to me at least.
      it's true.
      it DOES make a pretty picture.
      but there is not a sign of LIVING.
      i have noticed a difference in the european blogs... and then the american blogs...
      just viewed from that particular perspective.
      neither right nor wrong. simply the way they approach life. and the art of living.
      very interesting. and i find i lean toward the european approach.
      a fun post!
      XOXO♥

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    3. Hi Mimi :)

      I'm a server of plates and then others can serve themselves, but I do agree that family style can be very nice.

      And a tray is perfect, but most of these don't show one. I'm a corraler (if that's a word lol) too ;)

      xo

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  18. Now for the next post please find couches that are so full of pillows that no one could sit there ;) But that's probably in the formal living room that no one lives in next to the dining room that no one eats in because most of the time, they are living in the family room and eating in the kitchen? :)

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  19. I just love you!! :-) When I have people over to eat and want a centerpiece, I use a small centerpiece so that we can chat and that is if I decide to leave it. I don't do elaborate decorations on the table because it is a pain to dust, move, redo, change, etc. All of the "nice" plates stay stacked at one end in a vintage box so that I can pick it up and move it. When it is just the two of us, I don't worry with it because it's not in our way. We use trivets to put our plates on because I'm a weirdo and don't want sweat marks on the table...LOL When we don't want to sit at the table, we sit at the bar in the kitchen, which is approximately 1 foot from the dining table...LOL If we want to be wild, adventurous and crazy, we will balance our plates on our laps and sit on the white furniture....with chili dogs. ;-) Much love and hugs to you!!

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  20. I've often wondered this same thing! I also want to know where folks store all of their china & drink-ware?? We usually eat at our kitchen table, unless we have more than 5-6 of us. I have a simple, seasonal runner on the table and on top of that, I have one of my mom's old covered cake plates. I hide the salt & pepper and paper napkins in the cake plate. I try to set the dining room table for each season, I find if I do that then we don't pile stuff on the table! I usually use a very simple centerpiece such as an old enamelware coffee pot with flowers or a tray with pumpkins and a few candles. Something easy to move if I need to add the leaf. We don't do "fancy" here, just good food and good conversation at the table. All of those tables you've shown are gorgeous, I guess I just don't have the time or patience to set mine like that. :(

    Can't wait to see your "new" rooms, I'm sure they are gorgeous!

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    1. I don't have the patience either, Deb. If I do have something tall to be cute, it's a flower arrangement that I move to the hutch. Easy peasy.

      xo

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  21. I ask myself the same thing. I believe people who have that kind of decor on their table actually put it up only for good pictures or have several tables in their home and use the other one most times...

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  22. Hi Rue, omg you crack me up! I was just on Pinterest shakin my head at some of the stuff that is there. So I am with ya. No I am the old fashioned type, however, I do have a large Hen on a raised silver tray, flanked by two large candle holders on either side. I never take them off. The table is in the round position with four chairs. I eat there on one end vs standing at the sink (sometimes! lol) Anyway, you have gone where no blogger that I have read has gone before, what a crack up. And, I have kind of stopped blogging for a while, not sure why, but when I sit down, fingers ready, I see z's and cobwebs and my ideas or what I wanted to write about is simply gone! :) Okay, loved the post, way too much stuff on the tables, and WOW it is like long ago, remember the 25-30 pillows on the bed, now those you had to take off before sleeping hahahahahahahaahaha thanks for the laugh today! I needed it! Can't wait to see the painted walls, I have one room left........and have stopped for a time :) Kat =^.^=

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    1. Yes, I tend to do that and end up rattling cages. Odd, because I try to do it in humor, but some people don't get it or don't want to. I can't help it... it's just who I am ;)

      Anyway, I hope you start blogging again. All it takes is a few words and a picture :)

      xo

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  23. I haven't really wondered about this and you know why? Because I KNOW as soon as that shutter is hit, the table goes back to its every day look. The exception would be if someone has more than one table and they can just leave it like that. But you know what I HAVE wondered about? Pillows! How the heck can anyone sit on a chair that has two pillows on it??

    There's a well known blog that specializes in tablescapes that I follow and one day I pointed out that it's so much more practical to have centerpiece that don't interfere with people seeing each other, to which she responded 'go big or go home' lol. I get it. I like drama as much as the next person, but once the show is over, time to get back to basics.

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  24. I ponder these questions all of the time! Also, people who put those large 3 tiered trays (which are beautiful!!) on their kitchen counters.... full of so many many things. It is beautiful, but where does their mail, magazines, books, coupons, etc. all go which are ALWAYS piled on my counter?? (Maybe I could get one of those 3 tiered trays and use it for all of the stuff that I move around constantly.) And there are only 2 of us! If I put a cloche on my kitchen counter w/ something precious under it, I know it would all end up on the floor. Is it only my husband who thrashes into the kitchen at various times during the day and night? I am perpetually cleaning off the kitchen counters all of the time....and the dining room table gets its' share of "stuff" piled onto it, too. And if I piled 3 plates topped with a bowl in front of my family, the laughter would likely not stop. I guess we are Simple Folk!! Simple messy folk.....

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    1. Chris, I have about 1/8th of the counter space of everyone I know, so you won't be seeing one of those on my counters LOL It's pretty, but not functional at all. Although I hear that cooking is a lost art with the younger generation, so I guess they can do that.

      Oh and the laughter... yeah... my family would completely lose their minds laughing if I did it.

      xo

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  25. Hi Rue,
    My feeling is less is more and I too like to see my guest over the table. I am not a big centerpiece person. Usually just something small and simple if anything.
    Kris

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  26. I never stage a table. Not even for photos on my blog. :-)

    Soooo, I have no idea about the answer to your question.

    -giggggles-

    .•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•
    Hugs and magic
    Tessa

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  27. came back to say - ...love the photos in this post and also I was checking out your side bar of blogs - I may be here all day in the future clicking on all these wonderful sounding blogs! have a great weekend.

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  28. I have wondered that too!! Especially when they decorate their kitchen island....where do they prepare meals or do anything else in the kitchen? We do eat in the dining room and the table without leaves is for four. My centerpiece right now takes up the whole table so when we are ready to eat I throw up the sides of the table runner on to the centerpiece and move the whole thing over to the fourth seat. There are only three of us! I think most of those pictures on Pinterest are styled for the pictures and then dismantled.

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  29. Haha. Oh, Rue, if you could see our dining table right now you'd know why I'm giggling over your questions. You've seen our cottage -- how small it is. Our kitchen/dining table is used for eve-ry-thing. Eating, paying bills, sorting mail. I have a big tray that holds playing cards, a battery operated candle, pens/markers, and various and sundry other junk. Oh, and then there's the brass candlestick that a well-meaning neighbor brought over this week so I'd have something romantic for our cottage and there's no place to put it. . .except on the table. Right now there's just enough room for us to eat there. So, um. . .no. . .no pretty "vignette". But the good news is I can see Dennis when we eat there. hehe xo

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  30. Yikes Rue – we barely hear from you in wks while you have allegedly been painting, but it seems you have been on a retreat to examine the meaning of life and coming up with these “How do they get the caramel filling in the Mars bar” tough questions! Tablescaping - my theory has been that anyone who goes to the effort of the beautiful Holiday Tablescapes we love must be so exhausted after that they just go out for supper! If you get this one figured out you will have to host a TED Talk to share your discovery with the world! ( from Wiki – TED=Technology, Entertainment, Design … They address a wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture, often through storytelling.) LOL

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    1. Oops I see your post has me so baffled I mixed up my chocolate bars - I meant Caramilk bar not Mars bar!

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    2. HAHAHAHA!!! Kari you are too funny. I'll be sure and let you know if I do a Ted Talk ;)

      xo

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  31. What a great post - you're a riot!!! I have a seasonal display on my dining room table....on a tray, definitely not too big, and we eat there all the time. When I need to move it, very simple - just lift the whole tray! Same on my prep island - a display of gourds on a tray - I can shove it out of the way to make room for my cutting board, etc. My home is a 'working home' and there aren't any spaces that are just there to look pretty. Even though I do like my home to look pretty it also has to be practical!

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  32. So I am not the only one who has wondered about this? ;)

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  33. Rue,
    I've often wondered the same thing and I enjoyed this post. I guess some of the centerpiece vignettes are set up on a table that isn't used everyday. I do not have the luxury, living in a row-home I have one dining room and one table. So I have an antique dough bowl in the center that right now has velvet pumpkins in it, but usually has fruit. I'm with you where is the space to sit and eat? Love the first tables centerpiece.
    Happy Halloween and Boo kisses,
    Vera

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  34. I've often wondered the same thing. We have a dining room that we only use for holidays. I usually have something on it, but nothing elaborate. Right now there is a crochet tablecloth and a vase of (faux) fall flowers which will be removed for dinner tonight ( we are having guests for dinner). I never set a formal table but I do use placemats and cloth napkins when we have company. On the breakfast table I keep placemats and napkins and/or a table runner and a bowl of fruit unless it is time to go grocery shopping in which case there is an empty bowl. If hubby and I eat at the table we move stuff to one side and if the kids are here I take it off and pile it on the bar. Most of the time we eat in front of the tv - which you can also see from the kitchen and 'breakfast room'. We have an open floor plan - the kitchen has a bar that opens to the breakfast area and there is just a knee wall to separate the table from the living room. Now, how do people cook with all that stuff on the kitchen counters?
    Can't wait to see the 'new' rooms!

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  35. I like using that low and shallow rule of thumb. We so seldom are all around the table - holidays not included - why spoil the view of each other? I think a lot of what you see on Pinterest, blogs, or in magazines is just not practical. Not to say it's not pretty...

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  36. I put one centerpiece, like a toolbox arrangement and that's it. If we use the dining table, I take it off when we sit down, because there's never enough room for the food. I think keeping it simple is my rule. I do love the way some of those centerpieces look, but not practical for me.

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  37. I keep a simple bouquet on the table all the time.
    Yours looks just beautiful. You have a lot of talent.
    I posted a photo of my autumn bouquet on my blog.
    Have a wonderful weekend.
    You look so happy in your photo on the previous post. Its so nice to see.

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  38. We eat at the island or the bar area in our kitchen! We have a breakfast nook and a dining room.....but we eat in those other areas!! SO....zero centerpieces or dudahs.....I just slap the food out on our plates and we dive in. :) Of course, on those rare occasions when I actually set the dining room table for a meal where there's more than just the two of us, I do have a little centerpiece action going on......but it's little and low. Like you, I thought the right way was so you could see over it or under it. My table is not wide, so that makes it really tricky to add placemats, too. So, my tablescapes are simple and functional, but I like to add a little whimsy to a low and long centerpiece. Great post!! L, Dana

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  39. There is definitely a wide difference between real life, and staged photographs, lol! My dining room table is in the kitchen, as we are in a VERY small space, and no, I would not ever have a centerpiece so huge that no one could eat, or see each other, lol! Not in real life, nope!

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  40. I don't really do tablescapes since my dinning table is narrow and long due to the size of your room. I have a simple arrangement in the middle usually on a tray and we just lift it off when we eat and put it back on after.

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  41. Well, I turned my dining space area into an office. There isn't room for any kind of table in the kitchen. So during the day I usually eat sitting on the couch while I'm working online. I did bring an outdoor bistro table in from the patio and have two chairs in a corner of my bedroom. I usually eat there for supper, when I might want to watch a little TV. Not enough room on it for anything. It's only 30 inches round!
    Brenda

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  42. I know just what you mean, Rue. I'm sure all the tables are done up just for the gorgeous photos, because there's no room to eat!

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  44. As for our dining room table vignette, I'll say this: we rarely eat at the dining room table. We only eat there when we have company, which is really not too often. But when we do have company, I do move the window box off the table to the counter. I guess if I needed my dining room table to be more functional (i.e. if we used it everyday) I would definitely have a different vignette on the table. One that I wouldn't need to move everyday if I used it that way! I suspect others are the same, unless there really are people that "unmake" their dining room table like they remove all the decorative pillows from their bed everyday. I'm not one of them, but who knows? :)

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  45. Yep, there are wow factors in those tables! There was one time when I "styled" 3 Christmas tables for a blog party and it was so much fun. But did we eat at them? No. We left them up a few days but by the time our company came for Christmas it was simply the big stack of Spode Christmas Tree plates that we've used every year, adding on extras as each kid married and when grandsons started bringing dates to the family party. I do the best I can to get good pictures of those times too but with water bottles plopped down everywhere by everyone, the effect is not something that people are going to pin.

    Did I tell you, I told someone, about reading an account of the centerpiece at William Randolph Hearst's little house? There was a dressed (all the smelly bloody parts taken out) stag stretched out down the center of the huge table. Honestly. I guess guests were able to reach out and pet the thing as they ate. And then maybe their guests went home and decided to "have a cow" or "three french hens"??

    I know you said to keep this to tablescapes but I have always wondered about the gorgeous tables set outside. I mean, do they not have flies? Birds that fly over? Do they hire little boys with long fans to stand at each corner? How do they keep them clean enough until everyone sits down to eat?

    Just wondering.

    So glad you're back, my inquiring mind friend,
    Dewena

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  46. Good questions, Rue. I confess we usually eat in the living room, not the dining room, which is only used for company. Then I normally move the cloche decor out of the middle of the table to leave room for the food and plates. Practical wins, here.

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  47. My sister keeps her dining room table fully set for a party, but they rarely eat there. It sure looks pretty.

    I on the other hand set a nice table each night for Steve's wonderful meals, but I can't have a centerpiece. I keep one on the table, but he insists that it removed while we eat (big or small) so we have no distractions during the meal.

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  48. Rue, you hit the nail on the head !! Sure you may have ruffled a few feathers but I chuckled as I read. You live for you , not to stage and impress ANYONE, that's why we admire you.Twenty five years ago when I had my own shop and interned for a designer , people had me come in and stage their homes, esp. Christmas. Not for a blog or Pinterest , they were very wealthy and wanted to say I had a designer do it for me.
    Myself, I have two large ironstone platter's that I do a little vignette on or a berry box that I do a vignette in. Simple and sweet. The best...... putting one of my momma' vintage table cloths on , now that's stylin!!! Keep being you , that's why we love and adore your blog :-) Hug's , TT

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  49. I always think about things like that....My pet peeve is when people blog and post about seasons and holidays WAAAAAAYYY in advance. I wrote about that once and it wasn't received well at all....

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  50. This gave me a chuckle, Rue! I can't tell you how many times I've made a centerpiece for my dining table when guests come, only to remove it all when the food comes out, because there's not enough room on the table. I think there was even a time or two when I had to take it off even before anyone set foot in the dining room. Sad :( I used to keep something in the center of my kitchen table, but I got tired of taking it on and off when it was time to eat, or if we were reading the paper at breakfast. Real life gets in the way of those Pinteresty vignettes!

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  51. Hi Rue! Somehow I missed this post and just had to comment on it! The tables are all lovely but I think they are just for snaps on the blogs. Now me, I poke everything I can find on my table! :) Right now it's filled from one end to the other with milk glass! Could we eat there? No, no Nannette! I had my daughter and her family over so I carefully took off the 500 pieces of milk glass and carried them through two rooms to poke them on the table in my sun room! That's how it's done! :) You're a hoot and I've so loved reading the comments.
    You're always a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  52. I haven't read the comments...I never, EVER read them BEFORE I leave MY comment....EVER....
    There's bloggers of all types, just as we are all different. Some really LOVE dressing their table,taking photos and drafting their post. Maybe they bought new dishes and want to show them off...I love that. Some remove everything and go back to a normal, every day table...others ma want to leave their table dressed and eat off tv trays (we have a cousin that does this)...
    I don't do tablescapes much anymore...just too much work...I love doing photos of FOOD...others might think, "what makes her think we are one bit interested in every single thing that goes in her mouth" but that's ok...it's what I love doing....I love posting about my family...my blog serves as a journal so I love having little tidbits about those people I love more than life.
    I try not to question posts on other blogs...like that photo you have here with the candle and the pumpkin too close to the edge...when I looked at the photo, all I really zero'd in on was how the picnic table looks painted in that luscious color....:)
    We all "see" thing differently, I think.
    xoxo

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  53. I love looking at all of the table settings. I get ideas from them. I will admit, I would never use half of the ideas, as they are pretty, but not me. I'm very plain and simple. My daughter and I do have a small jug of flowers that sits on our table. If we are just eating cereal or drinking coffee at the table, the flowers stay there. If not, we just move the jug to the counter in the kitchen. That table with the pumpkin and tall white candle? That is an accident waiting to happen!

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    1. Can't you just see the fire about to happen?! lol

      xo

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  54. When we had a formal dining room, in our last home.... do not have one in this house.... I would decorate with a LOT of items and then downsize the decorations on it for Thanksgiving Day dinner. We never used our formal dining room but a few times a year and would eat at the small dinette table just off the side of the kitchen for our daily meals. I don't think I ever decorated that table. Most of the stuff you see on Pinterest are probably just for photography sake since no one can eat a meal comfortably with all that stuff on it. At least I couldn't. I do like to look at the photos though. xo

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  55. Love your humor, Rue. :) I have often wondered the very same thing. Even looking at magazine articles about entertaining and decorating, I can be heard muttering, "Where does the food go on that table?"

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    1. Thank you, LuAnn :) Although, I think it was lost on a few. Oh well... nothing I can do about that.

      xo

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  56. I'm afraid my "tablescape" is usually whatever project I am working on, typically a quilt. I see my table typically on holidays only!!! :D

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  57. I usually have a center bowl and a couple of lanterns that I can easily remove if I need to...I don't want anything too high or interfering with talking across the table...

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  58. I know just what you mean, Rue. I'm sure all the tables are done up just for the gorgeous photos, because there's no room to eat!

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  59. This is a great inspiring article.I am pretty much pleased with your good work.

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  60. Very useful article about modern dining atbles, it will help me to buy dining tables online.

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  61. I’m purchasing set this weekend with the sole purpose of customizing it for my beach decor.
    This post is very inspiring and will help me through my project.
    I’ll post pictures once I have it done. I’m super excited to get started. Thanks for sharing.
    Treasure Box

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