Tag: atlanta fine china

Tabletop Tuesday – Dreaming of a Derby Dinner

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Our inspiration for today’s tabletop today is, of course the Kentucky Derby coming up this weekend, and these beautiful dishes of Julie Wear. Julie is recognized throughout the world for her Thoroughbred paintings. She has painted for notable horse owners and breeders throughout the equine world. Julie eventually turned this talent into a fine tableware line – and we’re so glad she did!

Our base for this is a French antique table, and our first layer is a charger of Julie’s in Cheval Black featuring the iconic snaffle bit. The sophisticated gold detailing combined with the black creates the foundation of a beautiful tablescape.

We paired this with her dinner plate of the same pattern in chestnut brown, adding warmth and interest with layers.

To top the dishes off we have used a salad plate by Julie in her Bluegrass pattern. Featuring the iconic Kentucky Thoroughbreds, this design was made for a derby dinner, but will serve as a smart setting all year round!

For the beverage service, we used a highball by Sideshow Press featuring their Lucky pattern and an iconic mint julep cup – not just for juleps anymore!

To continue the theme, we incorporated a beautiful set of vintage brass cutlery from the mid 20th century made in Thailand, which was found at a flea market. The vintage element adds depth and personality.

Next, a folded Le Jacquard napkin was tucked in the highball glass for an pop of color. To make it a little more fun,  a horseshoe cocktail pick offers even more personality!

You know we love adding unique floral to our tables and once again, partnered with Weston Farms to create these pheasant feather arrangements. Weston Farm’s iconic magnolias are combined with roses to create magnificent floral decor for our Derby Dinner tabletop.

Once the floral is placed, it’s time to enjoy a Mint Julep and a fun Derby Dinner with friends!

What are you up to this Derby Saturday?!? If you’ll be hosting a little soiree, stop in to the showroom and the steve mckenzie’s team will help you select the essentials for your equine-themed gathering!

Tabletop Tuesday – Mikado Modern

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Have we got a tabletop for you on the second installation of our Tabletop Tuesday series! The colors, textures and patterns all blend to create an absolutely delectable setting, which will be ideal for any springtime gatherings from Easter and beyond. Today, we’re pleased to share our “Mikado Modern” tablescape with you..

For this tablescape, we turned to what has become a favorite collection of ours, initially introduced a few years ago by Royal Crown Derby, the Mikado collection. Mikado is an updated, contemporary take on a traditional pattern, first introduce in 1894. The individual pieces tell the story of the beloved opera, The Mikado. Respecting its past, yet appropriate for today’s modern lifestyle, is what we love about this pattern. The bright colors solicit feelings of fresh blooms, crisp spring air and bright sunny walks.

For this tablescape’s floral element, we were able to partner again with Erin Weston of Weston Farms. The timing could not be more perfect for us to incorporate the Japanese magnolia blooms, forsythia and redbuds, all combined with Weston Farms’ fantastic magnolias.

Our antique, French table provided a perfect backdrop for our table setting once again.

A lovely Le Jacard Francais runner was the base of our setting.

The RCD Mikado, in a lavender colorway is the base of our place setting.

We then layered the settiing with a turquoise salad plate and a lime bread and butter plate.

This cutlery is what we have at home and, to us, the ivory evokes the feel of a bygone era.

Clear, stemless glasses for the wine and water were chosen, so as not to compete with all the color we already have going on in our tablescape.

For the main centerpiece, Erin put the RCB Mikado canister in blue to use as a vase. It was then coupled with some blue and white ware with a variety of spring blooms

We even incorporated this beautiful crystal votive, in Green Calcite, by Tish Mills of Harmonious Living  and paired it with only the Stamens and Carpels of the magnolia blossoms.

Next, to celebrate the Asian feeling of the china, we added my favorite 3 Emperors bejeweled by Eric Cortina.

In the end, the table appears set for a king, or at least anyone celebrating the upcoming Easter holiday, or any spring occasion!

The full Mikado collection can be viewed here – the color combinations are absolutely fantastic!!

Will you be incorporating any Mikado pieces into your Easter and spring-themed tablescapes?!? We’d love to hear how you incorporate color and we hope we’ve inspired you to think a bit outside the box with your upcoming tablescapes!

Photos by Rustic White Photography.

Tabletop Tuesday: Jardins Extraordinaires

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Welcome to the inaugural post of our new “Tabletop Tuesday” blog series! Seeing that steve mckenzie’s is known for for offering some of the south’s top tabletop products – along with inspirational tablescape ideas and entertaining tips to go along with them – we thought it was high time for a series of blog posts featuring fabulous tabletops.

Now presenting Jardins Extraordinaires, our first ever “Tabletop Tuesday” blog post. We hope you enjoy!

Our first Tabletop Tuesday feature was inspired by the Jardin Extraordinaires collection by Gien, all of the tropical design we experienced at Maison & Objet, as well as the new Justina Blakeney collection for Selamat Designs.

To begin this tablescape we partnered with Erin Weston of Weston Farms, who styled the floral. For this tablescape we used the magnolia topiaries created during our in-store class.

The base of our tablescape was an antique French table, which offered plenty of warmth and character.

Our place setting began with an R. Wood Studio chartreuse dinner plate.

Next, Erin’s floral brings an organic, soft touch to the table.

A cocktail napkin to ground the glasses adds depth and interest.

A blue tumbler introduces a rich hue.

A pretty vintage cut glass tumbler is brought in for the wine – we love going stemless for wine; taking a note from our European friends!

The Jardins Extraordinaires oblong tray juxtaposed with the round dinner plate works!

The Gien wine coaster serves as a bread and butter plate – think outside of the box and consider dual uses for the pieces you already have!

Vintage brass cutlery, found at a flea market offers a sense of history and ties back into the antique table.

A small R. Wood Studio salad plate is added and ties into the dinner plate.

A soup bowl in R. Wood Studio’s blueberry colorway adds another solid blue element.

A Le Jacquard Francais napkin in a cheeky citrus tone brings in a bit of brightness.

The canape plate from Gien completes the look! The Jardins Extraordinaires small plates are offered in sets of four, with each plate depicting a different garden setting… A conversation starter for sure!

See it all come together in a few quick seconds here:

If only it were that quick in real life!

This tablescape makes us ready to jump into spring.  Most products are available in store at steve mckenzie’s or on our webstore. Contact us for up-to-the-minute availability or if you have any questions. Happy entertaining and bon appetit!

 

All Photos by Rustic White Photography

The Perfect “Rx” for a Valentine’s Hangover

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We’ve been experiencing some very chilly weather here, and if you’re like us, looking to hibernate and stretch out Valentine’s weekend a bit, look no further than this fabulous recipe for Vanilla Fudge… After all, as you can see from the photo below, it’s the perfect “Rx” for whatever ails you!

IMG_3089

This recipe is shared by our great friend and steve mckenzie’s team member, Kim Crosby, whose mother is always “in search for the next best recipe.” She and her sister love the fact that it’s written on their mother’s eye doctor’s prescription pad, and must be at least 35 years old! A classic for sure!!

Since it may be a bit difficult to read from the image, here’s the full recipe:

Vanilla Fudge

3 cups white sugar

1/2 cup white karo syrup

1 cup milk

1/2 lb. butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 to 1 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Bring all of these ingredients together in a mixing bowl, and beat well, until all is incorporated. Transfer to a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and stir, continuously over medium/medium-high heat until the mixture boiling and has reached 232°F, when checked with a candy thermometer. Pour into a buttered dish (an 8×8″ cake pan works well) and cool completely. Once cooled, slice with a thin knife and enjoy!

This fudge makes a lovely gift, and would look especially beautiful presented on our R. Wood Studio Antipasto Platter…

r. wood studio antipasto platter

A big thank you to Kim for sharing this favorite recipe of her family’s and for the fun story accompanying it! Wishing you all warm thoughts and vanilla fudge filled dreams!

Once you’re up and about, we invite you to visit the steve mckenzie’s showroom and take a look at some fabulous new finds we’ve recently brought in. We think they’ll have you looking even more forward to Spring!