One of my favorite oldie goldies is the rockabilly hit, Summertime Blues, a silly little diddy in which a teenage boy complains about his summer job. A line in the song claims there “ain’t no cure for the summertime blues.” Well, I’m feeling the summertime blues in a different way, and I don’t need a cure. I caught the blues while visiting Home Goods’ table linens department shopping for a tablecloth for our new picnic table. All it took was one look at the gorgeous blue and white ikat patterned table linens and I was in love. I knew I wanted to bring this look to my dining room so I purchased a runner and some napkins.
A few days later, I wandered into an antique shop nearby and found some old blue glass quart Ball jars. I purchased two of them to use in this tablescape. (Vintage blue Ball jars are available on eBay, Etsy, and in many antique stores, or new ones can be found at Target here or other retail establishments.) I filled them with puffy blue and white hydrangeas (from Trader Joe’s). The hydrangea blooms are so full that three blooms for each jar provides a nice full bouquet.
Preserved boxwood balls sit on chippy white candle pedestals. Because the boxwood and the hydrangeas are a similar height, I felt that I needed to add something shorter to achieve a little variation in heights among the elements of the arrangement. Blue glass votives (from Ikea a few years ago) filled with small battery operated candles were perfect for this purpose. The votives aren’t available from Ikea any longer, some possible alternatives can be found here or here.
Hydrangeas are one of my all time favorite flowers. They give so much “bang for the buck” because only a few stems are needed for a big impact.
The final look is fresh, serene, summery, and cheerful. I am soooo in love with the blue and white, with just the touch of green.
My kind of summertime blues is so much better than the kind in the song!
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I was at Homegoods yesterday in search of a tablecloth for an upcoming dinner party. I passed on this table runner because my store did not have the matching napkins, It looks lovely on your table and now I’m kicking myself! I bought an April Cornell tablecloth instead and found some coordinating napkins at World Market.
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So funny. Once again, our tastes are so similar! I haven’t used the napkins yet, but am looking forward to using them at a dinner party soon.
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