A Nautical Tablescape

I've been fascinated with the ocean and all things nautical for as long as I can remember.  Today, I'm sharing a tablescape with you, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

"The tides are in our veins."~Robinson Jeffers

 I've wanted to do a nautical-themed table since I first began my blog, but I was kind of waiting on the right dishes to come along.  {;)  We've collected seashells from our trips to the coast for many years now, and I also purchased some picture-perfect shells (the kind I never find on the beach) when we were in Southport a few years ago.  When we finished a room in our basement, we wanted it to have a travel theme, and that included things to do with ocean travel.  I brought some of those things up from the basement to use on this table.

"He had bought a large map representing the sea,
Without the least vestige of land:
And the crew were much pleased when they found it to be 
a map they could all understand." ~Lewis Carroll

The dishes with the clipper ship and map reflect my fascination with maps and cartography.  I can just imagine those explorers from previous centuries setting out in their ships to chart new territory.  I bought the table runner from HomeGoods at the same time that I bought the plates.  Dinner plates and salad plates are Royal Stafford, made in Great Britain.  The gingham checked placemats are the perfect shade of blue for the dishes, and they have such a summery feel.  The napkins I've had for years, and I used our everyday flatware, Oneida "Colonial Boston" for this table setting.

"One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach."
~Anne Morrow Lindbergh, "Gifts From the Sea"

For the centerpiece, I used my newly acquired (from eBay) brass cricket box, which I've filled with purchased seashells.

 The necklace is from Talbots, given to me by my mother-in-law many years ago.  The pendant represents a Nantucket basket with a scrimshaw lid.

 I chose the woven napkin rings because the weave reminds me of Nantucket baskets.

"Drink up me hearties, yo ho.  Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's life for me."
~Captain Jack Sparrow, "Pirates of the Carribean"

Also as part of the centerpiece, I used two books topped with a hurricane globe filled with faux sand and seashells we've picked up along the beach over the years.  I bought the pirate book on one of our trips to the coast.  The wreck of Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, was discovered near Beaufort inlet off the coast of North Carolina in 1996.

"But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls. "
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The large scallop shell in the picture above came from France; my mother-in-law got several of these at one of the markets in the little town where they stayed.

 The rope ball came from Michael's this year. 

"I set thee High for a star in the heavens, a sign and hope for the seamen."
~Charles Kingsley on the constellation Andromeda

The starfish and the sand dollars were all purchased from a gift shop in Southport, North Carolina, but the gray and white fossil shell was found on the beach by us.  The small celestial globe was a gift from me to my husband one Christmas.  We used to star gaze with our telescopes, and we belonged to the local astronomy club for awhile when our son was growing up.  I still love to look at the night sky.  The wooden box with the anchor design was purchased online several years ago.  The round brass piece is a vintage compass that I purchased as a gift for my husband many years ago in Southport.

"The Southern Cross I saw every night abeam; the sun every morning came up astern; every evening it went down ahead.  I wished for no other compass to guide me, for these were true."~Joshua Slocum

Here you can see that the wooden box holds a small spyglass, and this is what the compass looks like when open.  Isn't it pretty?  I just love the intricate design.

   

"Then later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?"
~Gordon Lightfoot, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"
 
 The miniature ship's bell came from World Market.

Candlelight pictures are my favorite.  ;)

"The true peace of God begins at any spot a thousand miles from the nearest land."~Joseph Conrad

"He that will learn to pray, let him go to sea."~George Herbert

The cups and saucers, creamer, and sugar bowl are part of my "Liberty Blue" dishes.

"In gulfs enchanted where the Siren sings,
and coral reefs lie bare,
Where the cold sea-maids rise to sun their streaming hair."
~The Chambered Nautilus, Oliver Wendell Holmes

I added these images today because I can never resist capturing morning shots with the dappled sunlight.

Thanks so much for your visit!  I'll be linking this post to:

Tablescape Thursday -- Between Naps on the Porch
Thoughts of Home on Thursday -- Decor to Adore
Foodie Friday and Everything Else -- Rattlebridge Farm
Home Sweet Home Party -- The Charm of Home
Dishing It & Digging It

Have a wonderful day!!

Blessings,

Denise