Sologne by Gien is described as “… a complete dinner service named for the Sologne region in France where game is abundant. Gien Sologne features various motifs that capture and celebrate game animals from the Sologne.”
It’s a deceptively complex pattern, with layers of detail in soft, earthy tones with a hint of blue-grey in the reeds and grasses that decorate the outer edges of the plates.
The dessert plates are a very generous 9.25″ and feature ten different types of game, and an additional six hunting dogs. So far I’ve confined myself to the ten game plates, but the dogs are very tempting. We had a relatively small crowd this year for our Thanksgiving dinner, so the game plates fit the bill nicely.
These little rusty wagon place card holders are from Pottery Barn a few years ago.
I printed off individual pictures of everyone on plain card stock and used them as place cards. The matte texture of the paper gave the pictures a hazy vintage feel.
They were a bit hit with the little ones, who dashed eagerly into the dining room to see where they were sitting and what animal they had at their place.
Our granddaughter Juliana is crazy about ducks, and was delighted to find her picture at the duck place setting.
For large family dinners, we extend the table out to its fullest length, which is 120″. With all the kids, dogs, fun and excitement I prefer to use the fitted table pad to protect the table top, and that necessitates a tablecloth. While it’s practical, the vinyl cover on the table pad is not what you’d call attractive…
Very few runners are long enough for a 10′ table, so I employed a long piece of burlap for the centrepiece.
A bark edged shallow box filled with chrysanthemums, small gourds, pumpkins and moss covered grapevine balls provided some colour.
Amber Luster triple tea light holders in a climbing vine pattern from Pier 1 (currently on clearance!) and more chrysanthemums in bark covered glass vases continued the theme down the length of the table.
Harvest Wreath bittersweet napkin holders from Pier 1 added more colour. They’re a bit delicate, but I really like them. The napkins are Acorn Harvest jacquard from Williams Sonoma.
The grey detail in the napkins picks up on the grey blue in the plates.
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- Stag
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- Snipe
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- Woodcock
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- Pleasant
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- Fox
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- Partridge
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- Boar
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- Duck
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- Deer
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- Rabbit
I realize I forgot to take a picture of the dinner plate itself, but as you can see from the edges showing under the dessert plates, it features intricate etching of grasses and reeds in soft brown and grey shades.
My collection of amber glassware is a bit of a motley collection.
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- Morgantown 7617 Etch #36
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- Morgantown 7617 wine and Tiffin Franciscan Julia Iced Tea
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- Pier 1 tumbler
I have ten of the Morgantown pattern # 716 amber stemmed wine glasses (actually they’re water glasses, but I use them as wine) in two different etches. I have four of the matching iced tea glasses in etch #36 and six iced tea glasses from the Julia pattern by Tiffin Franciscan. As we had little ones at the table as well, I added some tortoiseshell tumblers from Pier 1 for their settings. Mix and match, but they coordinated.
Twig placemats from a very long time ago and vintage bakelite handled cutlery from a large canteen set I have were the underpinnings for the place settings.
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- Fox
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- Hare
The pewter salt & pepper shakers are from Vagabond House.
It was a lovely evening and everyone ate until they burst – typical Thanksgiving. We had our family dinner in late September, even earlier than the “already-early-to-Americans” scheduled date of the second Monday in October.
It’s only a couple of weeks to American Thanksgiving and the usual jumble of leftover Hallowe’en, autumn themed and Christmas goods are pushing store shelves to bursting. It’s a very confusing time of year from a decor perspective!
I’m sticking with fall for a bit longer. We have guests coming for dinner tomorrow evening and I’m at a bit of a loss to know what to choose. Pink hydrangea are still blooming in the garden and I’m tempted to press them into service. Not exactly fall colours, but I can probably do something with them – maybe with forest greens. Hmmm… Stay tuned!
Have a good weekend everyone.
I’m sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch.
I adore those little wagons!!! I didn’t get into Pottery Barn for a couple of years, so these are something I missed. They are such a fun little addition to the overall look of the table. There are no words to describe my love for the dishes!!! Beautiful!
Thanks, Alycia. I have pondered the Sologne pattern for a long time. I love Gien, but it’s nnot exactly a deal :). I think I’ll continue to love it, though. I’ve had Villa de Medicis for over 10 years and still adore it every time I use it. I’d forgotten all about the wagons until I was setting the table and was rummaging around in the napkin ring/placecard holder drawer. Yes! I thought, perfect. Such f7n, rediscovering things, isn’t it?
This is the most beautiful Thanksgiving dinner table setting that I have ever seen. The plates are very apropos for the occasion and all the extra glasses, napkins, etc that compliment the dishes. I have a few Amber wine glasses that you are welcome to have if you like. Looking forward to your next setting.
You’re too kind, Maura! The family had a good dinner, and the little ones were delighted to see themselves immortalized. They were mesmerized by the pictures and kept staring at them all through dinner :). Thank you for the amber wine glass offer. I’ll tske you up on it when we get together. Have fun at your next port of call!
I love everything about this table – especially the personal touch of picture place cards on the wooden wagons!
Thanks, Mary! I enjoyed digging through family photos and choosing. Lauren’s was her in camo, of course!
As always I’m entranced by your glassware and linens, but the plates got my attention. I only recently got into game plates (at an antique mall where Spode Woodland dinner plates were priced at $12! I bought all but the turkeys!), but these are lovely colors and designs. Especially the pheasant. Keep enjoying fall – winter lasts long enough.
I love those Woodland game plates – the drawings are exquisite. Spode is a marvellous producer of really beautiful tableware. Good find, Sandra! The Gien dessert plates came out in two batches. The original six have been around for quite a while and they only recently added another four (Boar, Stag, Pheasant and Fox). I’m with you on the pheasant; it’s one of the nicest. The drawing is spread right around the plate in an enticing way. I managed to pluck the hydrangea from the garden last night just in front of a killer frost and some snow. Like it or not, it seems winter is here. Brrrrr….
Dear Helen,
I am a new-ish reader of your blog and I’m slowly going through all your old posts so you’ll be seeing comments from me all over the place.
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You may think this is a weird question but I’ve been struggling with it for several years and I’m on the verge of having our table legs cut down! How tall is your table and what is the distance between the top of the chair and the top of the table?
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When I put the pad on our table, even my 6′ tall husband complains that the chair is too low. There is no way I could use the table pad, a cloth, a placemat, and two plate. Our chins would be in our soup! How do you handle that? Do you have cushions on your chairs?
Hi Barb,
Welcome to the site! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my zany hobby. 🙂
Your question isn’t weird at all. I did some digging and came up with this article on standard table heights, what distance you need between the seat and any apron on the table etc. This might help with your question: http://www.parotas.com/en/standard-table-chair-heights-guide/ Before you cut the legs, you might want to check if it’s the chairs that are too low or the table that seems too high. Good luck!
Like you, one of our tables seems too high – the one in the glass area in the kitchen in our Ancaster house. I find I’m sitting way too low, and I notice the grandkids struggling more with it, too. The table is antique, on pedestal legs with casters. No easy fix for that one, other than removing the casters… The chairs that go with it are modern, padded seats.
Chat soon,
Helen
I apologize for taking so long to thank you for that link! Both the table and the chairs are within ‘normal’ bounds, but the space between them is on the high side of normal because the table has a deep apron (there are small drawers at each end. If I cut the legs down, there would only be 7″ between the seat and the bottom of the apron, which is fine if you’re normal size. All our friends are, at the moment, but we have had some that are ‘oversize’ and they would have had trouble with only 7″. What I need (and want) is a new table (and chairs) but I’m having trouble justifying them since the old one is pristine. Fortunately, my husband dislikes them as much as I do. Thank you SO MUCH for you help!!!!
You’re most welcome! I’m glad I could help.
If you’re thinking of swapping out the table, you might consider selling the one you have, and even purchasing a new-to-you replacement on Craigslist. In Canada, my kids are forever buying and selling used stuff on Kijiji – very popular site in Canada, not so much in the US. But you get the idea. Good luck!
Wow! I’ve admired this fabulous pattern online at Replacements.com and wished for a woodland cabin vacation home with big cabinets and Sologne settings for 12. Your tablescape is so beautiful here. Thank you for sharing family Thanksgiving with us. Very grateful.
I dithered about acquiring this pattern for the longest time. I have several game bird sets, but they’re mostly salad/dessert plates, and vintage/antique to boot, so not for every day, put-in-the-dishwasher use. The soft browns in this pattern make it very versatile for a lot of fall settings, and the mugs are a lovely size for tea.
My daughter in law and I adore the unique game deer.