By Libbie Summers in partnership with Cosmic Crisp Apples
Assisted by David Dempsey
Apron: Cuisine Apron in White Linen 
Napkins: French Picnic Linen Napkin Set in Yellow Gingham

Gatherings are made of two meals, the menu and the memories. My goal is to always serve up both…even if it’s a simple lunch for four in the backyard. I know that all of us don’t have outdoor spaces to entertain or the weather may not be permitting, but wouldn’t this Spring table be adorable set in your kitchen, or porch or kid’s treehouse? I took my inspiration as I often do from the menu which features the @thecosmiccrisp apples available in grocery stores nationwide. Beautifully red in color and a delicious combination of sweet and tart, my first course is a Radish and Apple Salad so I decorated the setting to match! 

On this day, under a backyard camellia tree where umbrellas are filled with blooms and apples. I set a special lunch table for my family.

When we make even the smallest gatherings special, the message it sends to the guests is, “YOU are special to me.”

I believe it’s always the details that stay with us longest.
In a room, in a meal, in a gathering…it’s the details that honor and inspire us the most. Let that be the leftovers your guests take home.

Here are a few of the details:
1. Surprise and Delight: Think outside the dining room. It’s true, people love a moveable feast, so for a special meal try setting your table anywhere that isn’t your usual dining spot. If you don’t have access to a beautiful outdoor space or weather isn’t permitting, set your table in the living room, kitchen or garage! Anyplace unexpected is a big surprise and delight. Here, I tucked a table in the backyard under a camellia tree heavy with blossoms.

2. Let Your Menu Inspire the Decor: With this Spring table, my main course used Cosmic Crisp apples, so I wanted to use them to help decorate my table. They mixed perfectly with the red and pink camellias growing in the yard. And were beautiful at each place setting with a handmade paper apple blossom on top. Learn how to make the Paper Apple Blossom HERE.

3. Mix and Match: Never worry about not having enough matching china for each place setting. Mixing and matching china, flatware, glassware and napkins gives a homespun chic feel. Mixing old and new pieces will help keep the table fresh. On this table I mixed some of my grandmother’s china with odds and ends I picked up over the years and new gingham-trimmed French Picnic Napkins from my line, Libbie Summers. One of the plates on this lunch table has served two US Presidents! Proof that every piece has a story and there’s always a conversation starter on the table when you mix and match.

4. Multiples: Multiples of the same design element make the biggest impact. Trying to do too many little things for a table can be tedious and your guests can sometimes be confused on where to look. My solution is a dramatic multiple moment of something unexpected and inspiring –an idea that inspires your guests to do in their own homes. With this Spring table, I took a few children’s umbrellas (April Showers right!) and spray painted them in tones of yellows –the color informed by the striae on a Cosmic Crisp apples and camellias. It was an expensive craft and made a HUGE impact. I added flowers and apples to the upturned umbrellas that dotted the pathway to and set the mood for the setting. Other flower and apple-filled umbrellas were placed on the ground around the lunch table. And, one umbrella was used as the “floral arrangement” for the table. No worries if you don’t have a backyard filled with blooming flowers like I did here. Moss or wheatgrass would also have been beautiful inside the up-turned umbrellas with the apples sitting on top of it. Handmade paper flowers or grocery store flowers would also be amazing. Use what you have available.

I hope my take on a Spring Celebration gives you inspiration to create something a little different -a table layered with stories and surrounded by love.
Happy Spring! -Libbie

Other Tabletop Inspirations:
• Inspired by Goldenrod 

• Inspired by Frida Kahlo

• Inspired by Cherry Blossoms

• Inspired by Strawberries