Last month I started something new, a series introducing 5 flowers that I’m loving at this moment – pretty close to real time, in season varieties.  It’s intended to be a project to begin cataloging flowers and reminding ourselves that 1. spring will come and 2. there are flowers available even if it is frigid outside and they’re not growing in our own yards.  The second step of this was designing an arrangement or tablescape (or both) utilizing these flower, sort of a “see them in action” thought.

We’re in month 2 of that series and I’m already going to switch that up a bit.  It seems necessary to show my Valentine’s tabletop this week, instead of after the fact, so next week we’ll talk in more detail about the flowers I’m featuring here.  All flowers in shades of pink, red and coral – in honor of this day of love we so fondly celebrate.

These are colors that I don’t naturally gravitate towards.  I was putting the recipe and flower order together with this holiday in mind but part of me was actually inwardly cringing.  It felt cliché.  Too expected.  I don’t necessarily like to do the “expected” thing.  However, I went on with my order and improvised.

So here we are with warm, vibrant hues of winter flowers.  A blue wall in my dining room and a wood table top.  I began shopping my house to bring all the elements together.

My first find was these sweet vintage plates my sister bought for me with delicate pink blooms and glimmering gold edges.  I’ve used them before in my everyday life, but never really incorporated them into a full pacesetting.  I felt they were more appropriate for a feminine tea party rather than a dinner.  But Valentine’s Day is one of the holidays where those rules stretch.  Plus, I always like to use something that holds a meaning and is special to me beyond just being a trendy piece of décor.  This fit the bill.

I knew I wanted this to keep a somewhat modern vibe.  Using vintage plates meant that I was going to have to use something with clean lines to offset the romantic florals and again fight against this feeling like a girly tea party.  I pulled out my modern gold flatware – which looked great with the gold trim on the plates, layered the smaller plates with sleek stoneware ones underneath and added glassware.  The napkin was a struggle.  I didn’t want to use a cliché pink or red option but honestly wasn’t sure what else might work. I was thinking about my blue-ish wall and contemplating color densities and unsure of it all together. I pulled out these mustard ones quite my accident and was pleasantly surprised.  They worked with the gold and drew attention to some of the warmer, more amber hues in the flowers.  They seemed unexpected and modern and I love them.

My last task was making something for the wall.  I imagined that I was creating a dinner party with a little bar setup and wanted a heart shaped something.  The idea of a wreath was on my mind but I wasn’t sure I could create something that wasn’t tacky.  I’m really not a fan of heart shaped objects.  They feel a little too girly girl.  I’m feminine and love flowers, but heart shaped items take things a little too far for my liking.  After a little foraging and picking up some dried flowers and citrus from around my studio, I made a wreath.  Fastened some Adorn silk ribbons to it and gave it my final nod of approval.  Heart shaped, not totally cheesy.

Sources: floral plates: vintage | stoneware dinner plates: Pottery Barn | napkins: Pier 1 | flatware: Walmart | wine glasses: Target | cordial glasses: vintage | candles: Hobby Lobby | wreath ribbon: Adorn

Ta dah!  Date night.  Dinner party.  Galentine’s.  Whatever your occasion this week, here’s some inspiration.  And if you happen to be ordering (or receiving) flowers from me this week, they’ll be in this same color palette so incorporating them into your Friday night celebration should be easy.

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