Family Supper A la French Country

Our family suppers are always an informal affair. We usually set up like this if at all. And you mustn't take "like this" literally.



Everything here is all at hand at close range all the time. The difference is a matter of composition. Or rather, composure. Because often we serve right off the stove, and everyone knows where to find a plate and fork, and if not, it's all in plain sight! (We're talking adults here. The parents prepare plates for the kids.)



This bit of flatware lives in this glass jar. The jar is a thrift store find--no lid. But how would a lid work for me here? Aside from the convenience of a jar of forks and spoons, I like that the arrangement says "welcome" to the drop in diner. Usually family. Always room for more.



The dignity of a table cover is the by-product of the practicality of not having to scrub a wood table after each use. But a nice by-product. Antique French linen is my favorite. It has an appealing simplicity and beauty on its own. And it comes closest to the classic French country table setting which I love.


The habit of a white tablecloth frees you from decisions of what goes with what when you want to set a nice table quickly for a meal. It often shows off what is on the table--food, dishware, glasses, centerpiece-- best. These napkins are from my Pottery Barn splurge this summer. They are really the star of this very basic table setting.




I wonder if any of you ever need this much focus on function. But I raised a large family and it's second nature to me now. Work smart, not hard! Life is short. As a blogging friend quoted recently, this is so you "don't run out of time to live".




Eighteenth century natural homespun linen and crochet towel. Soup/cereal bowls always in this basket.






My antique birdcage usually sits on the breakfast island.





A cachepot or vase with a dried bouquet is always nearby if not already on the table.





My Wedgewood dinner plates, flatware, creamware and ironstone bowls, are all vintage.






















"In the middle of the room stood a long table of plain boards placed on trestles, with benches down each side. At one end of it, where an arm-chair stood pushed back, were spread the remains of the Badger's plain but ample supper. Rows of spotless plates winked from the shelves of the dresser at the far end of the room, and from the rafters overhead hung hams, bundles of dried herbs, nets of onions, and baskets of eggs. It seemed a place where weary harvesters could line up in scores along the table and keep their Harvest Home with mirth and song, or where two or three friends of simple tastes could sit about as they pleased and eat and smoke and talk in comfort and contentment."

Kenneth Graham, Mr. Badger chapter of The Wind in the Willows.


Thanks for stopping by to supper!
Ciao! for now! and Au Revoir!

Jacqueline
I'm linking up with The Style Sisters for Centerpiece Wednesday
Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday
Vintage Thingie Thursday at The Coloradolady
Vignette Fridays at Color Outside the Lines
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special