Dianne's Creative Table

I am inspired by light, all things natural, reusing previously loved items, and bargains!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Dining Room On the Garden 2008



Masterpiece!  Each garden for the 2008 Antique and Garden Show was based on a painting.  Our painting by Pierre Bonnard was Dining Room On the Garden 1934-35.   

  
The entry window frame was purchased.  The frames on the sides and the redwood planter boxes in each corner were built by family and friends.

The window frames are finished on both sides and currently hanging from the ceiling of our basement.   The blue tiles are also in the basement waiting patiently to become the floor for our new wine cellar.




The urns now flank our dining room door.




 The table, chairs, and carpet were all temporarily borrowed from my in-laws dining room.  The dishes were on-loan from a local shop.  Tablescaping at the Garden Show! 
The landscape architect on the right and my handsome hubby on the left.


Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Not Quite Spring

I find February to be a difficult month to design a table.  It's not spring, even though the weather for the past few days has made it feel that spring has arrived, I know that another blast of Artic air will arrive before the real spring starts.  I don't want to rush the season with flowers and greenery on my table when everything outside is still brown, so I decided to use the dishes I found in an antique store in Colorado on vacation this past summer.  The pattern, along with the price, was so sweet, I couldn't resist even though I had to figure out how to get and entire set of dishes home safely on the airplane!   I paid more for the bubble wrap, tape and boxes than I did for the entire set of china, but all arrived safe and sound. 
You can double click on any picture to view a larger size.  








Mexican glassware was a find at TJ  about 10 years ago.  Isn't it fun when something new is a perfect fit with something old?
I don't know the pattern of the china.  It was made by Illinois China Co. and Replacements has it listed as Bird with Gold Band.  I would love to know the real name so I can find the two missing salad plates.   I think it might be the original Chirp! 
Birds are from TJ also, but they were purchase recently.  I love using my mirrors in the table center.  It provides wonderful reflections and an anchor for my center pieces.  
 Here's hoping spring arrives for real, real soon!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Anybody Want to Buy a Minature Gondola?

The theme for the 2007 Antique and Garden Show was Italian Gardens.  Each garden was based on a city.  My husband's city was Venice.
Welcome, come stroll through our garden.





You might recognize those hand cut stones from previous gardens.  I'm sure we will use them again and again. 

The gondola was built by by friends from some of the left over panels from the Labyrinth garden.  Working nights and weekends, friends and family painstakingly constructed a half scale gondola.   These gardens would not happen if it wasn't for the help of our friends and family.












Only Best Use of Color award this year.


 Now, who wants to bid on a slightly used gondola?

Monday, February 14, 2011

An Outdoor Room 2006

The theme for this garden was Inside Out.  Each garden had to choose an inside room and recreate it as a outside garden.  My husband and the landscape architect chose "Sleep"  as his theme.
It always starts with a blank, plastic-covered piece of plywood.  The landscapers have three days to create a garden wonderland.  It's non-stop work, sometimes into the early morning to get it finished on time.  Their task was to transform this space into an outdoor bedroom.
The planning begin in our driveway and our backyard.  The hand cut stones came from an old spring house. 


This strange prototype structure is the beginning of a wood canopy.
Then comes move-in day and it all goes to the convention center usually in several loads over the three days.   It always a extended affair, enlisting the help of our talented friends and family.


One wall completed, one more to go.  Built by my Father-in-law.
The bed is a antique porch swing that drops down to make a bed.  It was loaned to us by our friends Thom and Suzanne right off their front porch. 
The wooden canopy goes in.  This was hand built over several weeks in our friend Kevin's woodworking shop with his expert advice and guidance. 

My dear Mother-in-law stripped her own bedroom to provide linens and create the bedroom. 

The wrought iron towers were loaned by a local business, but they were too plain, so at the last minute, the sheer fabric was draped to soften the look.

At noon, on the 3rd day,  everyone has to leave so the judges can come in.  This year one of the judges was Colin Cowie who has done events for Oprah.  When we returned for the patron party, we were greeted with a Best In Show ribbon!  Very exciting. 



Come in and visit the finished garden.


Wouldn't it be wonderful to sleep outside, gently swaying with the evening breezes, listening to the water?  
Since the show is always in Feburary, we tried to make it look  romantic, intimate, and personal  by adding the ingredients for a romantic evening with champagne, strawberries, and even one of our wedding photos.  


The canopy was repurposed after the show for the wedding of the son of our dear friends.

Hope you enjoyed this look back at one our previous gardens.  I use the word "our" in the most loose way since my only real job is to prepare and deliver food for everyone's dinner so they don't have to stop working.  Oh, and help put the bedroom together on this one.  Heaving lifting.... me?   Only if it's a big stack of dishes!