How to Set an Eclectic Table for Mother's Day or Any Occasion

How to Set an Eclectic Table for Mother's Day using different colored glassware, vintage bottles, napkins

How to set an eclectic table for Mother’s Day or any occasion. When setting an eclectic table, first, choose something sentimental. Maybe a set of plates, glassware, vintage linens, a vase, old bottles, or anything that reminds you of someone or someplace special.

I am joining Cindy and Mary Ann for our Sunday favorites! And both Cindy and Mary Ann do this well! Cindy uses two napkins to add that extra pattern! Take a look at Cindy’s post here.

Mary Ann has a beautiful collection of different color glassware. She often uses this as her starting point, adding flowers to compliment the glassware’s colors. You can see how she displays her glassware collection here.

Mix it Up

Use all one color palette but with different patterns or lots of colors and lots of patterns. There are no rules!

How to Set an Eclectic Table for Mother's Day

Table Linens

I love to start with a beautiful linen tablecloth in a natural color. Linen can be pressed or left with natural wrinkles for a casual look.

Any guess which one I almost always go for? “If it wrinkles, It’s real.” That’s what my friend Kathryn used to say about linen.

When I leave a tablecloth unpressed, I almost always press the napkins. But not quite in the traditional sense of “pressing.” It’s all about balance. Unpressed everything might look a little lazy, but pressed napkins with a natural linen tablecloth or a bare wood table… perfect!

A trick for the look of pressed natural linens without ironing or steaming

We use linen napkins almost every night, so, at the end of the week, I have a lot of table linens. I wash my table linens with my dish towels in hot water with a low spin cycle.

Here’s How I Get the Wrinkles Almost Out

I dry the dish towels but hang the linen napkins. I take each napkin while still pretty wet and hold two corners, giving it a sturdy shake. I try to hear a “snap!” That’s when I know I’ve shaken it enough to release some of the wrinkles. I do this from at least two directions, then fold in half and smooth out the wrinkles, ensuring the corners line up. Then I place it on a drying rack. Once dry, they are pretty stiff. Not “pressed,” but pretty close to it.

Use a Mix of Dishes

I love to mix it up by using at least one odd plate with a more neutral base. I may use it as a bread and butter or salad plate. Either way, an attractive dish mixed in with your everyday stoneware or china makes it fun and interesting.

The plates I’m using today are so beautiful! They are the Floral Dessert Plates in blue and come in three colors.

Terrain has some beautiful options like these and these.

I’m always searching for vintage plates at flea markets and thrift stores too!

How to set an eclectic table for Mother’s Day or any occasion includes beautiful, simple glassware, a mix of linens and dishes, and something vintage.

Glassware

This is a great way to set an eclectic table. I love to use two or three different glasses. Almost always casual. I love these tumblers made by Duralex that I always look for at Monoprix in France.

Terrain Cafe has glassware by Wek, like the jars. Sadly they do not sell them, and I had no luck finding a source.

The Colored Glass Bee Wine Glasses are even more beautiful in person. Made in France, and look as pretty in my glass front cabinet as they do on the table.

Candlelight

Use vintage candle holders or something simple. For a special night, these twisty candles are so pretty. They had a very long burn time.

I like using a Habit + Form tray to protect the tablecloth when using candles outdoors. The breeze tends to leave a little wax.

The simple tray adds another dimension to your eclectic table and protects the tablecloth simultaneously! And the trays are so useful to use for so many purposes.

A vase, bottles, or jars for flowers

How to Set an Eclectic Table for Mother's Day or any occasion - flowers, bottles, candles

I used three bottles with Hellebore clippings from potted flowers to add that sentimental piece to my table.

The bottles are all souvenirs brought back from family trips. It’s the one thing I always look for when we travel. It may be in a cafe or a grocery store. I love to find them, use them on our trip for foraged finds, and then bring them back for memories.

Flowers or foraged greens

No matter where you live, finding something you can use if you don’t want to buy flowers is possible.

I always use what’s in season. Even if I could buy peonies at the flower market at Christmas, I think of peonies when they pop up in the garden. And where I live, it’s late May to early June.

I had a few hellebores for this table that I used in our early spring pots on the porch. They are about to be cut back and planted in the garden, but their deep burgundy colors are perfect with the print of the napkins and the color of the glassware. Funny how that works out sometimes.

Using Vintage or New

I love using a little vintage, but if you don’t have a vintage, buy something new and start a tradition. Maybe use your purchase for every Mother’s Day or special occasion. I recall Brunch with Babs saying that a tradition is something you start one year, repeat the following year…and you have a tradition! I love that! It’s never too late to start a tradition! So will this be the year you start a new one!?

Here are a few more favorites I saw on Instagram:

The Gardener’s Cottage

Janet’s home was featured in Cottage & Bungalows magazine! So well deserved! Bravo Janet!

Urban Cottage Home

Steve has an impressive collection of art and pottery. His display of cherry blossoms stopped me in my tracks while scrolling Instagram.

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