by Helen Kain | Aug 28, 2022 | Black, Green, Recent, Summer Tablescapes, White
Bucolic, simple, charming— Design Naif, by Villeroy and Boch.The name “Naif” is a tribute to the school of artists who emigrated from France during the mid-to-late Victorian period. Villeroy and Boch describe the pattern more fulsomely: “When it...
by Helen Kain | Jan 23, 2022 | Black, Spring Tablescapes, White, Winter Tablescapes, Yellow
Black and white with cheerful touches of lemon yellow seemed just the ticket for a chilly January day. I stumbled on this charming set of square luncheon plates on eBay when I was looking for additional pieces for my sparse collection of Maxcera’s Toile...
by Helen Kain | Dec 4, 2021 | Black, Christmas, Green, Pink and Red, Recent, Winter Tablescapes
There is something infinitely appealing about an old-fashioned Christmas scene, with half-timbered houses, ladies in bonnets and long skirts, and wait … what is that cart? Carol singers, people exchanging greetings, the decorated tree and a happy dog are...
by Helen Kain | Nov 27, 2021 | Black, Blue, Christmas, Green, Pink and Red, Recent
It’s tree-trimming day—when we haul two artificial trees in their “body bags” along with boxes of lights and ornaments up from the basement (my least favourite part). Glenn wrestles the real tree into its stand and lies on the floor, awkwardly...
by Helen Kain | Oct 30, 2021 | Black, Fall Tablescapes, Halloween, Pink and Red, White
Greetings, dear readers. We flew from Heathrow Airport yesterday after spending eighteen days in various parts of England, beginning and ending in London. We were blessed with marvellous weather—warm and dry enough for a leather jacket and jeans, mainly, with only a...
by Helen Kain | Jun 17, 2021 | Black, Pink and Red, Summer Tablescapes, White
Our peonies in the Cape run the gamut from snow white with a splash of crimson at the heart through to a vibrant cerise. Some of the earliest bloomers are a delicate shade of pink, some with the palest yellow ruffles near the base of the frou-frou centre. Be still, oh...