DIY Spring Garden Themed Tablescape

Dear Friend, if there is something I love passionately after a dreary winter it’s spring in the garden. So, appropriately I am coming to you today to talk about this DIY spring garden themed tablescape!

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How to Create Spring Garden Themed Tablescapes

Happy Spring season! I’m so excited to be here sharing my spring garden themed tablescape with you.

Last year I didn’t get to create a spring or Easter brunch set up. We did our celebration in an outdoor space at a local park with my entire family. It was so much fun, but now that my dining room is basically finished I wanted to dress it up.

Creating a spring garden themed tablescape is a great way to dip your toe into the Easter waters without going full-blown seasonal decorations.

8 Easy Steps to Build Your Table Setting

01 Decide on a theme.

With the combo of a spring and garden theme, I had a great idea of what types of items to include. Therefore I could include things like clay pots (terra cotta pots), Spanish moss, little birds, faux eggs, seed packets, peat pots, gardening supplies, faux flowers, or a faux carrot or two.

02 Find your spring inspiration.

I tend to look on Pinterest or YouTube for a lot of my inspiration. So, I find a photo or two to anchor my table decorations ideas. And I’m usually riding the line between simple and elegant and always looking for ways to incorporate natural elements.

03 Gather items you already own and take inventory.

Always, always, always, gather what you can out of what you already have. The single best advice for building a lovely table on a budget.

04 Purchase items you don’t have.

Some of my favorite stores are Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Dollar Tree, and occasionally Walmart or Amazon. But I just shop around for the best price. It would be amazing if I could always find exactly what I need at thrift stores.

05 Choose a Color Palette.

I’m a huge fan of neutral colors and tend to lean in that direction as a general rule. Just because it is the most versatile. But I like a good pop of color, too, like the bright green and purple kale.

06 Decide on your centerpiece and accessories.

There are so many choices. You could go with a simple centerpiece or an elegant spring centerpiece. Spring centerpieces are so easy to make entirely about flower arrangements. Nothing says warm weather and new beginnings like fresh flowers. When we’ve got warm days outside, even in early spring, my idea of gorgeous centerpieces is a small bouquet of fresh spring produce.

07 Start Building Your Spring Garden Tablescape.

I always start with a beautiful table, my vintage table set I got at a garage sale for $75. Add a base layer to cover my dining table of something creamy like linen or bleached drop cloth. Then vintage dishes, linen napkins, brass napkin holders, or in this case some rustic string wrapped around them.

08 Vary Heights.

Different heights, even for floral centerpieces, this is a great way to give dimension to the entire table. It’s playful and really allows the focal point, the center of your table, to shine.

How I Got the Spring Feel in my Tablescape

This is my first year creating a fancy table for spring and I liked it so much I may just do it again for Mother’s Day! I’m thinking we’ll use paper plates for Easter dinner though, mostly because I bought the most adorable ones at the Dollar Tree.

I digress, let me show you exactly how I built my spring garden tablescape step by step.

Step One – A Linen White Table Cloth

Two of my favorite fabrics and I managed to include them both, linen and bleached drop cloth.

The only thing I regret is that you can’t see very much of my dining table under those beautiful fabrics. This beautiful table was an amazing garage sale find, the entire set was only $75.

I recently picked up this linen white table cloth at a thrift store for $2, can you say thrift store finds? It was the first thing that came to mind when I decided, last week, to create my very own spring garden tablescape.

Step Two – Bleached Drop Cloth Table Runner

Just a small bit of contrast between the white linen and this creamy drop cloth. See how I made this table runner in this post.

When I made my bleached table cloth table runner I chose to do it a little differently than traditional runners. I measured mine to be exactly 3/4s of the width of my table.

I prefer neutrals, but you could definitely take this small space and go with something bolder, like a floral runner.

Step Three – Vintage Ironstone Dinner Plates, Salad Plates, & Bowls

I love white plates. Vintage dishes are some of my favorite functional decor pieces to use in my home. You can see why, they’re a work of art.

The absolute best flea markets or thrift stores to stop into are the little tiny hometown hole-in-the-wall types. They have the best stuff and the best prices. I do not jest.

Recently I stopped into one locally that I don’t get to go into often (#becausekids) and I was not disappointed.

I actually came home with a couple of boxes full of goodies. And in one of those boxes was this set of 28 ironstone pieces which I paid $28 for. You can do the math, they were dirt cheap. And in near perfect condition.

They add the perfect elegance without being over the top. I encourage you to seek out vintage dishes at every opportunity. It may take you a while to complete a collection, but it is certainly worth the effort.

Step Four – Thrifted Vintage Linen Napkins

Another small touch of elegance is to use real fabric napkins. I’ll be honest, I do not let my children use these. They would no longer be white if I did.

Instead of using my vintage brass napkin rings, or other traditional napkin holders, I chose to do a more rustic jute string tied around them a couple of times.

This is another area where there is definitely room for a splash of color, like green napkins, or a pattern, like floral napkins. Especially on the creamy plates.

These napkins were another among my classic thrift store finds years ago.

Step Five – Spring Garden Centerpiece – Vintage Tureen Repurposed Planter

I love the pop of green the baby kale plants and moss bring up against the neutrals of the table covers and dishes. I’m really loving vegetables as a centerpiece.

Instead of a floral arrangement, I went a little bit non-traditional and chose some beautiful kale to adorn the center of the table. This would coincidentally look great for a garden party also.

I can picture little baby kale in small terra cotta pots or peat pots. But I’m particularly fond of bringing the outdoors in. My dining room has never been so happy as now filled with budding plants.

Step Six – Adding in Garden and Nature Elements

Terra Cotta Pots, Fresh green moss, Spanish moss, Faux Bird’s nest, Faux eggs, and River rocks. These were the natural elements I chose to include.

I have never worked with moss before, so this was a real first experience for me. It is beautiful and the texture really adds something wonderful. However, keep in mind it is very messy.

If you don’t mind the dirt in your garden themed tablescape then you should be fine! Otherwise, perhaps do this outdoors and bring it inside once it’s put together.

Also, side note, Spanish moss really stinks. I could literally see a puff of dust float up when I broke it up to craft it into “nest-like” structures. I’d do it again.

Step Seven – Vintage Brass Candlesticks & Eclectic Candle Types

Another fun thing to collect is old (or new) brass candlestick holders. And recently I found this double candelabra. It was a pure pleasure to fit the beeswax and spiral candles for this fancy event.

Who doesn’t love a bit of romance in every tablescape? Evidently, I do. I can’t help loving the warm glow of lit candles when it starts to get dusk outside.

I almost feel like creating a hush in the house, too. Something serene and purely lovely. I recently picked up these beeswax candles from Target (Magnolia Home) and the spiral candles from Hobby Lobby.

The variation in color and type just adds one more element to the eyes.

Step Eight – Finishing Touches

My finishing touches were really small movements adjusting items so they were all able to be seen. And then there’s the cleaning the moss dust off the plates.

You can be as perfect or as imperfect as you wish. I chose to just go with the “dirt”. I think it’s kind of charming in a way. Maybe that’s just an excuse because I don’t want to clean it up.

It kind of makes me feel a little bit more like I’m actually sitting in a garden among the trees. Maybe even a secret garden, if you will. You know I’m a hopeless romantic when I think dirt is charming.

Well, friends, I hope I have given you the inspiration to build your own spring garden themed tablescape this year! There is still plenty of spring left in the year to try one, or two, or half a dozen.

Thanks for stopping by!

Julie