Tablescaping with Thrift Store Bounty, Or: I Need A Keeper

What do I have in common with Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II, and the Prince of Wales? Read on. . . .


Pull up a chair.
I found a great bargain at a local thrift shop this week, and I've got to ... dish!


Welcome to my entry for Tablescape Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, and Thrift Store Thursday!

At the end of my saga, there are links to all of these special blog parties. They are well worth visiting, and I have promised myself that I will leave a comment for everyone I visit today!

Get comfortable. It's a long tale.
Last time I went thrifting, I spent about 5 bucks.

But now it is official. I need a keeper.

When I started my thrift shop trip this week, I figured I'd find a couple of things, spend a few bucks, come home with my modest treasures tucked into a single small bag. But . . . no.

Instead, I came home with my many treasures wrapped in bubble wrap and packed into two big boxes.

And I am willing to bet that you would have done the same thing!

Would you have walked away from Aynsley bone china?

Tatton Hall by Aynsley

My tablescape:


Tatton Hall is a discontinued pattern, but it has a very current color scheme, blue-green accented with just those bits of red, all on a border of palest yellowy-beige, picked out in shimmery gold.



Turquoise and red had some play in mid-20th-century home decor (especially kitchens) and nowadays it turns up in contemporary and cottage design. It's a variation on the classic pairing of the complementary colors of green and red. But I always thought of turquoise as being more commonly paired with pink to satisfy the green/red combination.



All the dishes are like new -- no chips, no loss of brilliant gold trim, no knife marks. There was no way these pretties were staying on the shelf!

The Bargain Barn is not the cheapest thrift shop around; its volunteers are pretty savvy about what things are worth. But this was a bargain:

4 dinner plates, 4 cups, 4 saucers, and 2 luncheon plates for $25.
14 pieces of Aynsley bone china for $25. Sweet.

Now, of course, I will haunt Ebay and other sources for those missing luncheon size plates, and maybe for a few other pieces. I could get them through Replacements.com, but the cost would be way more than I would ever spend. A single dinner plate is listed for $38 on Replacements. Seriously?

Some details from today's table setting...

My grandmother's little glass dishes, nearly a century old, perfect for fruit or shrimp:

My old Georgian pattern silverplate, from various Ebay auctions:

Another Ebay find, a huge, wide, hand-embroidered linen tablecloth, meticulously stitched in taupe. 12 matching napkins were included (although today I used plain white). All for less than $20, and in perfect condition.

Battenberg lace coasters. 6 for $4 at the thrift.

A cut crystal rose bowl, a gift years ago from a wonderful friend who knew how much I loved rose bowls, and that I'd never buy one for myself. (And at the time, really couldn't buy one for myself.) Inside this beautiful bowl, glimmering turquoise colored glass, and a deep red candle for a soft glow:



So what about me and the royals? What do we have in common, other than our immense wealth and our many castles and our servants oddly called equerries?

Our dishes!

Aynsley, founded in 1775, made dishes for the two Queens and Prince Charles, although it's a safe bet the Royals didn't find their Aynsley at The Bargain Barn in Denville, New Jersey.

But then, the Royals don't have the cozy comfort of a
simple old farmhouse in which to enjoy their Aynsley:

I am lucky. I'm going to leave this tablesetting in place, and
Howard and I can have our leftover chicken right here, tonight.

I bought a second set of dishes at the same shop (next week's Tablescape!), and a few other things, but I passed on a gorgeous big ironstone pitcher, vintage, brown & white transferware design -- $35, a more than fair price.

But I figured I already had enough 'splaining to do when I got home. And there's always tomorrow.

On my way home, I stopped at Dollar Tree and T.J. Maxx. They too were productive trips.

I think I better stay home for a day or two.
Or, find a keeper.
Any volunteers?

Tablescape Thursday is an immensely popular blog party, proving that we can't all be nuts if so many of us still like playing make-believe with dishes. Visit Susan here at Between Naps On The Porch for links to fabulous tables!

Ok, now normally Leigh of Bloggeritaville hosts this blog party, but she (poor thing) is out of town and at the beach, so Chandy of What Now Tablescapes has stepped in to host. Click here to visit Chandy (always fun!) and find other thrifty tales of show & tell.

And visit Holly at Homebody Holly, for more thrifting posts. Click here to visit.