Dinner for One

Home Alone

When my husband is out of town I still like to make myself a pretty place to eat.  This breakfast setting is on the balcony outside my craft room.  I started with a beige throw as the base and added a vintage 50's or 60's cotton placemat.  These are easy to find at antiques fairs and malls and sometimes have matching napkins.  There are generally four to a set, but I have occasionally found a set of six.  I used a new solid red cotton napkin with an antique celluloid ring.  The dishes are Royal Crownford "Calico" made in Staffordshire, England.  You can still find this pattern new and I have added some new pieces that were not always made, like over-sized cups and saucers.   A quick way to tell the difference is that the old pieces won't say "dishwasher safe."  The glass is vintage, with red, white, and blue stripes.

The salt and pepper is a wonderful one-piece set probably from the 50's with flip-top lids.  It went well with my red, blue, and beige color scheme.  I used a small grocery store bunch of Gerbera daisys in a fishbowl vase for my "centerpiece."

The flatware was mix and match red bakelite.  The knives are monogramed with an "R," which is my husband's first initial, but I would have bought it anyway.  Monograms just add to the romance of an old item, making me wonder who had it originally, where they got it, when they used it, what meals (food) it was used with, etc. 

This solo dinner setting is in my craft room on a small, drop-leaf table, probably originally made for sewing.  The dishes are the "Fairlane" pattern by Steubenville Pottery.  

I honestly didn't notice how well it went with my wallpaper until I was looking at the photo, but I admit it could have been on purpose.  My tables start with different things.  Sometimes a table will start with the menu - I'm serving soup so have to use a set that has soup bowls.  It could start with a holiday, like July 4th, and be red, white, and blue.  Maybe I have a new set of green glasses and work the whole setting around them.   Inspiration comes from lots of places.  

The flatware is mix and match silverplate on a new pale pink placemat with a vintage blue napkin.  The pretty bird salt and pepper set is a Jayne Abee, Warrenton antiques fair purchase.  The glass is probably 60's.  Makes me feel old to know that's "vintage" now!