Celebrating Blue and White in the Dining Room

Show off a favorite collection! Blue and white vintage dishes and fresh decor in the dining room make a stunning statement that is easy on the budget.
dining table decor

This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. My full disclosure policy can be found here.

Happy happy Friday! Are you in need of a weekend break? I know I am! Even though I work from home, I try to keep "office hours" during the week.

This week was a bit of a doozy...it hasn't been my month, I know! What with all the nonsense with my computer and hard drive, I have also been breaking things, dropping things, stubbing my toes and generally just having a rough go of it!

Oh well, sometimes that's the way it goes! I like keeping it real because I'll be the first to admit most days I'm a hot mess! You might see "perfection" here on the blog, but it's mostly an illusion...brought about by careful styling and photo editing! 😉

Decorating with blue and white vintage dishes


Today I'm excited to share how I brought my blue and white vintage plate collection together to decorate my dining room! This isn't your grandma's dining room! While I'm using lots and lots of vintage items, many that I'm sure grandma also enjoyed using in her day, I've upped the visual appeal with a more modern approach.

I've already shared how I made blue and white floral chargers using a paper napkin. It's such an easy project, and you are only limited by the patterns you find!

I also recently shared how to hang a vintage plate wreath. I used more of my blue and white dishes, all different, all thrifted (except for a few I shopped online).

blue and white vintage plate wreath

This room makes me happy.

pink tulips in milk glass

Blue and white, vintage and collected items, and a pop of hot pink to really set everything off!

Like these life-like tulips that you may have already seen in my bird's nest centerpiece or on my Spring decorated mantel. The tulips are from Amazon, and come in a pack of 30 stems, so there's lots to go around and decorate all the spaces!

And on my table?

Oh I made the prettiest centerpiece that was so inexpensive! Hot pink faux hydrangeas planted in a DIY rustic stone-looking pot. Be watching for that tutorial soon!

blue and white Spring dining room decor

Setting a table in layers

Setting a beautiful table is most effective if you think in layers.

My dining table was refinished years ago, and I'm not a big fan of tablecloths because they're so formal, but I do love using table runners!

I started with a canvas drop cloth table runner that I sewed before I started blogging. It has wide layers of ruffles on each end that are so yummy, and it makes a perfect base for any season really. That's why you'll see me using it so much!

farmhouse modern dining room

To celebrate the blue and white vintage theme in this room, I added a blue ticking striped runner (see a wider stripe version here) on top of my ruffled drop cloth runner! Yes, I layered runners on my dining table! 

Why not? It's like the best of both worlds! I love that the striped runner is shorter so you can still see those heavy ruffles peeking out from the neutral canvas drop cloth.

blue and white decor with faux pink hydrangea in DIY weathered pot

The next layer on the table is chargers. I used the dollar store ones with beaded edging that I spray painted white, as well as the blue and white floral chargers I decoupaged with paper napkins.

Each place setting then got layers of vintage plates, all blue and white, all different. I found the dishes I'm using in my dining room at different times, in different states and thrift stores. So many memories of where I bought them!

dining tablescape and blue polka dot napkins

The fact that they're all blue and white means it doesn't matter that they don't match. It's a cohesive blending of vintage goodness!

vintage dishes in a modern setting

Imagine my excitement when I found the perfect fabric napkins at Home Goods (see similar floral napkins here and polka dot napkins here)! I am always drawn to polka dots, and the fact that this set included these navy napkins with white polka dots as well as the most beautiful floral napkins that matched my vintage dishes was a huge win! All for only $6.99! And they're April Cornell!

I simply tied each napkin into a loose knot and laid it on each place setting for an additional layer.

vintage plate wreath and decorated table

It's pretty without being overly fussy. Those polka dots keep it modern while the vintage treasures harken back to a simpler time. Remember Sunday meals at grandma's? She always made a roast with pan gravy, mashed potatoes, homemade dinner rolls and a chocolate cake or pie!

Do you ever miss those days? I know my kids wish I could whip out a Sunday meal like grandma did, so effortlessly!

My blue and white decorated dining table was pretty effortless, so I'll leave the cooking to grandma (oh wait, that's my job too!).

ironstone and blue and white transferware collection

Spring shelves

milk glass, ironstone, blue and white transferware

black hutch with white dishes

Spring dining room decor

dining room with blue and white dishes and pink accents

Pin it to Remember

blue and white dining room decor

Do you collect vintage dishes?

bringing beauty to the ordinary,





SIGN UP FOR FREE DIY TUTORIALS

share this post
more

Comments