table set table talk

we had a dinner party on the weekend made fabulous by sharing with wonderful friends that made the table talk, but there were a few little details i needed to add to make sure the table was set!

firstly the invitations - tho the date was set i was a bit late getting the official invite out, of course i couldn't find any gorgeous invitations at the last minute!

so i came home & put together my own from my ikea napkins, plastic silver cutlery, paper plate, 

our little mud by nest tag for effect (& a magnet on the back for the fridge!) 

 next time i will be better planned & get my friend

 Jo at Cranky Mammas Cards & Things to do them for me!

so invites were out, but i now had more guests than i did dinner plates & glasses... so i spent a fabulous afternoon scouring second hand stores to find some items with plenty of vintage 'table talk'..

the stories that could be told by this dinner set of 6 plates, 6 sides & 6 bowls - all for $3 !! 

 i actually love it so much i will use it as my every day set!  

the blue set i had set the theme of mismatched vintage chic in my favourite blue & white colour, with a rustic little fragrant touch of white shells, rosemary twig & staar anise & a little splash of ikea napkin to match the invites

one can never have enough cocktail glasses, especially @ 10cents each!  i have also been known as the platter queen, so what were a couple more silver platters to add to my collection, for all of 50c!

instead of flowers i potted some white pratia seedlings in some square glass candle holders left 

over from our wedding, the little white star flower on them is just so sweet! 

 i will now plant the seedlings in my garden so i will always have my centre piece!  

a simple tea light in my nanna's old crystal bowls & fleur dy lys wine glasses lined the centre of the table & gave a stunning effect on the gorgeous 'bargain' target white embossed cotton tablecloths!

with a minimal budget, a little bit of thought & a willingness to shop in places you don't necessarily find brand new things - (also try garage sales, ebay & borrowing from friends) -

 you never know what 'treasures' you will find amongst someone else's 'trash'

 (or as i like to refer to it as vintage pieces that talk!) -

 our table was set & our table talked!

table set

table talk

after all that i almost forgot the finishing touch... food! 

 thank goodness for my sous chefs & donna hay & her 'no time to cook' book!!

let the light shine in

this is an example of making two rooms one open living space.  it was a project requiring builders to do some work rather than just a nest style-over, however i wanted to show how we made better use of the space with some straight forward renovations.

before - the blue dividing wall separated the kitchen & dining from the living space.  it made the dining area quiet pokey & the living space dark.  a door on the end wall opened up into the kitchen & took up unnecessary space that we thought could be better utilised, as there was already another sliding door off the dining area.

before nest

during - three main changes were made..

• the non-structural wall was removed which straight away let the light shine into the living area & the rooms flowed open
• the end door was filled in completely, as there was already access to the room through the sliding door off the dining area
• the lino flooring in the dining area was removed to reveal a continual flow of the floorboards.

during..

after - 

• floating shelves were put in place of the door which is a much more practical & appealing use of the space
• a sand & polish of the newly discovered floorboards
• a fresh paint of the walls & ceilings
• & of course some finishing touches by nest styling - a light, practical & open living/dining area was created!

nest's been!

the feature canvas 'a word tells a thousand pictures' on the wall at the end of the table was designed & created for the client by our nest stylist, you can read more about this piece under the style topic 'a blank wall'.