Good morning!
I hope everyone is doing well out there. Today I am sharing a summer tablescape. By way of background/inspiration, I would have to thank Susan from BNOTP. I first stumbled across her blog about five years ago. I don’t know how I came across it, but I’m certainly glad I did. Much to my surprise, there was a whole community of tablescapers out there! It was Susan who introduced me to David Carter Brown dishware, and I, too, am smitten…
Father’s Day is just a few weeks away now, and a guy tablescape was definitely called for. It started with these DCB dishes which I have been slowly collecting over the past several years as they became available on eBay. I was curious about David Carter Brown and googled him to see what I could find. There was a dearth of information about him – not even a Wikipedia entry. The few things that I did learn were that he was born in New York in 1961, and after attending Parsons art school, he apparently opened a studio in Millbrook, NY. He is known for his folk art with many of his paintings/dishware depicting the bucolic scenes of rural America. And that’s all the information I could find for him. No website. No contact information.
The dishware for the current table is from his By the Sea line and made by Sakura, as are many of his dishware lines. I would love to know how this DCB/Sakura relationship came to be, but it is interesting that Sakura is a division of Oneida, the latter with manufacturing and corporate offices previously located at various cities in New York State. Most manufacturing now is out of country. In any event, I am assuming that Mr. Brown was also fond of the sea since he has at least three different sets of coastal themed dishware that I’m aware of.
The set comes with four different salad plates and a dinner plate. These plates were made in 2000 and are invariably described as “vintage” on eBay. Vintage at 22 years. Hmmm. I sure hope that term doesn’t apply to human age lol…
The salad plates show various lighthouses. I wondered where he got his inspiration from and if these lighthouses did, in fact, exist. I fell down a rabbit hole one weekend researching lighthouses – particularly those around the New York State area – they all had such interesting histories. This red and white striped light house is quite distinctive and bears some resemblance to the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine, and whose claim to fame is that it is the eastern most building in the contiguous U.S. The outbuildings at the West Quoddy Head lighthouse are different though.
This lighthouse is somewhat similar to Montauk Point lighthouse on the easternmost tip of Long Island, NY, except that the black strip in the plate is brown in the Montauk Point lighthouse. And again, the outbuildings are different.
This third lighthouse plate was a bit of a puzzler. It bore a distant resemblance to Pigeon Point lighthouse in California but I wondered if a more likely candidate was Brant Point in Nantucket, just given its proximity to New York.
This last plate had me completely stumped. The only lighthouse I was able to find even remotely like it was the Vermilion Lighthouse in Ohio, and this is apparently a replica of the original lighthouse that was removed in 1929. And there is a second lighthouse in the background on the plate which is a mystery too. It occurs to me that he is an artist and is sharing his vision, which may or may not be 100% reality. If anyone out there knows anything about these DCB lighthouses, please share because all of this is just conjecture on my part.
This is the dinner plate. The shoulder depicts lighthouses and sailboats on the sea.
And here is the complete place setting. I set the dishware on driftwood chargers.
I set some clear glasses for the guys’ beer and added some crystal water tumblers for a touch of elegance.
This particular set of red flatware did not include a salad fork. I borrowed one with an anchor on the bottom from another set I had. Mixing is okay in my book. The black and white stitched napkins with the black tassels were a clearance item from old Pier 1.
The centerpiece started with these driftwood links that I found in Pottery Barn way back in January. At 75% off, it was deeply discounted so I presume it was last year’s stock. I couldn’t quite believe that it was still there at that price, to be honest, and I was delighted to take it off their hands. PB had it displayed on a coffee table, but I had it pegged as a centerpiece. I probably should have moved the glasses for a better view.
Here is a close-up of the links. I can’t quite imagine mass-producing this…
I made a narrow S-shape from the links and created a couple of indents for two browny-black lanterns to nestle. And that was really all that was needed; but never one to leave well enough alone, I added two mini red lanterns at each end, just to pull in some red to the centerpiece and elongate it. The driftwood chain and lanterns were set on a black and creamy white woven table runner.
In addition to Father’s Day, we have three guy birthdays in the span of about 7 weeks during the summer so I am sure I will get lots of use from these plates.
A parting view from above.
Thanks for visiting and wishing all the great dads and grand-dads out there the happiest Father’s Day!
Resources:
Dishware: David Carter Brown, By the Sea, eBay
Chargers (used here) and napkins: Old Pier 1
Flatware: Both from Amazon I believe
Table runner and crystal tumblers (Fitz and Floyd), HomeSense
Red lanterns: Jysk
Black lanterns: Canadian Tire
Driftwood links: Pottery Barn
Sharing with Between Naps on the Porch.
Feel free to leave a comment – they are most welcome and much appreciated! I read and respond to each and every comment. You can also subscribe by scrolling down and clicking on the “notify me of new posts”. Your email will never be shared.
Kim! If I were a betting person, I’d put a lot of money down on the fact that I commented on this post way back when it came out! I certainly had a lot to say about it at the time, and now! But no matter what technical glitch on Comments or in my own brain, I’m going to comment now! 🤣 This table is SO cool! I’m sure the guys loved having one all their very own. The red flatware picking up the red in all your wonderful lighthouse plates was the first thing I noticed, and the tie-in with your lanterns. And the driftwood – they’re both so perfect! I sympathize with your rabbit holes, but isn’t it so fun to find things out? You got me fascinted about lighthouses, and I admit, I did a little rabbit-holing of my own. We have a lot of lighthouses on the west coast too, and they’ve always interested me. Thanks for the great table inspiration, and tell the Mr Whiskerz Happy Late Father’s Day! ♥
Ha Barbara! Who knows what happened, but I’m so glad that you popped back to leave a comment and thanks so much! The lighthouses were really a lot of fun to research – especially for this land-locked girl. I didn’t get much past north-eastern U.S. just because of where DCB lives, but I know that there are hundreds of lighthouses along every coast – I think that there had to be one every so often, especially along the ocean coasts. And they all have to have a different pattern so that they are recognizable- that is so cool and I never knew that. Glad that the tablescape provoked an interest in lighthouses especially along the north-western coast – each and every one of them has a history! The guys were appreciative of the masculine tablescape (I think) though it is somewhat hard to dissociate from the food lol! Thanks for visiting my friend and I hope that your summer is going well!
What a great tablescape, Kim! I also credit Susan from BNOTP for introducing DCB’s lines of china (I have the Pumpkin Hollow line of salads). Love the driftwood links, and those F&F water glasses look like a set of Ralph Lauren’s I have. Very sharply dressed tablescape for Father’s Day!
Thanks so much for your lovely comments Rita! My guys have been amazingly indulgent of my tablescapes with bunnies, and pink flowers, and whatnot for family gatherings, so I was really happy to set a table just for them that had a little more masculine feel. I hope you have a wonderful summer enjoying your gorgeous garden and thank you for visiting!
What a lovely table! It works for Father’s Day as well as summer time. I live in North Carolina where we are blessed with 7 lighthouses including iconic Cape Hatteras. David Carter Brown has done many beautiful salad plate sets. He always delivers!
Hi Darlene! 7 lighthouses – wow. I just had to check out the Cape Hatteras light house – very cool and what an interesting history it has! I also learned that each light house has a different design so it is recognizable during the daylight hours. Researching these lighthouses was so much fun and I’m glad that you like the tablescape. You are right – DCB always delivers!
Thanks for visiting and your lovely comments! I hope you have a wonderful day!
Any Dad would love to sit at your nautical table Kim, the lighthouse plates are just beautiful! I’m not familiar with David Carter Brown, such a lovely collection. Love the PB driftwood you scored, so perfect for your sea themed tablescape. I know you will enjoy entertaining all summer long with this masculine setting for Father’s Day and all those guy birthdays! Happy June!
Aww, thanks so much for your sweet comments Jenna. June and July are definitely our summer celebration months so I’m hoping to get lots of use out of these plates. The driftwood links were definitely a score and I should be able to use it again too. Thanks for visiting and hope things are all good in your world down there! Happy June to you too!
I have never done a Father”s Day table and you’ve inspired me Kim! Love the lighthouse dishes and nautical accents. My sister lives on the water in Charleston and I love when we take the boat out to watch dolphins frolic near a now abandoned lighthouse.
Hi Debbee – glad you found some inspiration – I can’t wait to see what you come up with. I’m sure it will be fabulous! How great that you can visit your sister and take the boat out and watch the dolphins with a lighthouse in the background – that just sounds like so much fun! Thanks for visiting and take care over there!
Hello Kim. The Father’s Day table is perfect with the nautical theme. I love lighthouses and have visited the ones on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The DCB dishware is fabulous and each lighthouse plate is stunning. The centerpiece of links and lanterns on the runner is very creative. You will enjoy this tablesetting with all the birthdays you have coming up. Happy June, dear one!
Thanks so much for your comments and visit Pam! If you visited Nantucket then maybe you saw this lighthouse on Brant Point? How cool is that! I’ve become kind of fascinated with lighthouses since doing a little research – they all have such interesting histories. Maybe I’ll get to visit some one day as well. Happy June to you too sweet lady!
Kim – This has got to be one of my favourite table scapes…ever!! And you are genius for the link with the lanterns! The dishware is gorgeous…might the be light houses (from an East Coast gal)! I too love Susan on BNOTP…and have been a follower of hers for the last 3-4 years! Have an awesome day!!
Charlotte, thanks so much for your sweet comments! You must be be very familiar with lighthouses living in PEI; its looks like there are tons of them along the coast – so pretty! I hope you have an awesome day too!