Although born and raised in the city my paternal grandpa was a country boy at heart and spent his adulthood living in the countryside. He passed away in March, so we wanted to celebrate his memory with this Father’s Day table setting. The Grandpa I knew no longer fished, it was a pastime he occasionally enjoyed as a younger man, but when Mom found this year’s tablecloth, she knew it would be perfect for the setting.
Mom loves colour, pattern, and prints so she was drawn to this tablecloth when she found it in a thrift shop. Designed by April Cornell, a Canadian based company, this tablecloth is a little bit country and a lot stunning. Even if you’re more urban at heart there is something very special about this print and the combination of colours. Mom and I both enjoyed finding the right pieces to compliment this print for our setting.
More than once I have mentioned how fortuitous some of Mom’s last-minute finds have been in previous table settings and this setting had not one but two such finds. First mom came home with a beautiful set of handmade salt and pepper shakers featuring a lake at sunrise. The colours and imagery were perfect for our theme and one of my favourite pieces to date. The second she had originally passed on but decided to purchase the wood sculpture of cattails featured in our centrepiece. She had originally believed it to be by a Canadian artist, but it turned out to be sculpted by an Ecuadorian artist Luis Potosi. The wood was a little dry, but mom oiled the piece, and it came to life. The more we admired the piece the more movement and artistry we found. It was perfect for our table setting but our pictures do not do it justice. It is really something to see in person and now sits in my parents living room.
This table setting did give us a little bit of trouble when it came to deciding what dinnerware we wanted to use. It took multiple attempts, but we finally figured out the best combination to use. We set the table, I climbed up on my ladder, took amazing pictures only to realize we had forgotten the cutlery. So the next day when the lighting was right I got back up on the ladder and took more photos. After everything was put away and I was looking over the photos I realized we had used our first choice of bowls, not the ones we had decided on. Third times a charm and we finally got all the photos we needed on Father’s Day. Lesson learned! Now we know to double check everything before we put everything away. Can you spot the mistakes below?
The bowls we decided upon were our everyday bowls by Mikasa, the plates are by Denby and the horn cutlery finished everything off. We used a Japanese copper tray, the wood sculpture, a handmade clay fish and a spray of pussy willow. Just goes to show that you do not need flowers for a centerpiece. I know we have said it before, but we will say it once again, look around your house. If you love it enough to own it, consider putting it on your table for a special occasion.
Whether you were celebrating the father figures still with us or honouring their memory we hope that you got to spend quality time with your loved ones.