Set the Table
Editor's selection
Shop This Table
Every piece in the photograph, with the editor's note on why it's there.
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14 pieces
Long Faux Hydrangea Dining Table Centerpiece — Rustic Farmhouse Mantle Arrangement
The centerpiece the whole table is built around — full white blooms and green leaf, low enough to see across.
Faux White Hydrangea Arrangement in Rope Basket
The basket version, tied with a striped ribbon. It lives on the table between hydrangea seasons and no one is the wiser.
Handcrafted Light Blue & White Trim Placemat — Embroidered Scalloped Edge Cotton
The pale blue scalloped mat that starts every place setting here — it does more for a plain plate than any charger.
MacKenzie-Childs Cherry Check Dinner Plates — Red & White (Set of 4)
Red-and-white check under white — the unexpected layer that keeps the table from reading strictly coastal.
MacKenzie-Childs Bistro 5-Piece Place Setting — Courtly Check
The black-and-white checked handles you can see in every photograph. Buy one setting and you'll buy four.
MacKenzie-Childs Rabbit Collection Ceramic Flower Dessert Plates (Set of 4)
Scalloped white flower plates for the top layer — and for shortcake once the berries come in.
Embroidered Linen Napkin Set — Blue Sea-Life (Crab, Fish, Lobster, Shell)
Ivory linen hand-embroidered in French blue — fold it square on the plate and let the crab face the guest.
BetyHom Rustic White Wooden Nautical Anchor Napkin Holder
The carved anchor caddy that holds the extra napkins upright at the center of the table.
MacKenzie-Childs Rosy Check Teapot Salt & Pepper Shakers
The two tiny pink teapots that make everyone smile before they sit down. My favorite thing on the table.
MacKenzie-Childs Rosy Check Stoneware Pitcher
Pale pink check for the water, the lemonade, or a fat bunch of garden roses once dinner is cleared.
Ribbed Glass Ice Bucket with Gold Handle & Wood Lid
Fluted glass, brass handle, wood lid — the reason the white wine stays cold and nobody leaves the table.
Crystal Champagne Flutes with Pink Bow, 8 oz (Set of 2)
The blush bow detail that carries the pink through from the pitcher to the glassware.
Romantic Seashell Wine Glasses — Blush Pink Stemware
Shell-shaped coupes on twisted blush stems — the glass that makes a Tuesday supper feel like an occasion.
MacKenzie-Childs Sterling Check Double Old-Fashioned Glasses (Set of 2)
Pale blue check tumblers for water and for the cocktail hour that always runs into dinner.
This is the table we set the moment the hydrangeas turn — a round wicker-chaired table pulled onto the terrace, the ocean flat and pale behind the privet, and a striped-ribbon basket of white hydrangeas doing all the heavy lifting in the middle. Everything else on this table is small: a scalloped placemat, a checked plate, a linen napkin with a crab embroidered on it, a pair of little pink teapot shakers that make everyone smile before they sit down. That is really the whole trick to a Nantucket table. One generous centerpiece, then a collection of quiet, beautiful, slightly whimsical things layered underneath the plate. Nothing here is precious. The glasses are handled by children, the napkins go in the wash, the ice bucket sweats onto the cloth and no one minds. What makes it feel like a photograph is the layering — blue under red under white, gold rims catching the late light, checked flatware handles all pointing the same direction. Set it at five, pour the wine at six, and let the table stay out until the mosquitoes win.
Long Faux Hydrangea Dining Table Centerpiece — Rustic Farmhouse Mantle Arrangement
The centerpiece the whole table is built around — full white blooms and green leaf, low enough to see across.
If you only bring home one piece from this room, begin here — it sets the palette, the scale, and the mood of everything that follows.
View This Piece →The Nantucket Formula
Every layer that makes this room work — and why.
- 01One Generous Centerpiece
A basket of white hydrangeas tied with black-and-white striped ribbon — tall enough to matter, low enough to talk over.
- 02Layer Three Plates
Scalloped placemat, checked charger or dinner plate, then the salad plate. Three layers is what separates a set table from a styled one.
- 03Hand-Painted Check
MacKenzie-Childs check is the punctuation — flatware handles, a plate rim, a pitcher. Repeat it three times and stop.
- 04A Little Pink
Rosy check and blush stemware keep an all-blue table from feeling like a paint chip.
- 05Embroidered Linen
A crab, a shell, a lobster — the small hand-stitched detail guests notice as they sit down.
- 06Something Whimsical
The teapot salt and peppers, the anchor napkin holder. Every good table has one thing that isn't serious.
- 07Ice, Always
A ribbed glass bucket with a wood lid means the wine stays cold and the table never has to be left.
One generous centerpiece, then a collection of small, beautiful, slightly whimsical things layered underneath the plate.
Complete the Look in Stages
The best rooms are never finished in a weekend. If you're building this room slowly, here is the order we'd bring things home.
- 01Foundation
Begin with the anchor — the sofa, the rug, or the bed. It sets the scale and the palette for everything else.
- 02Lighting
Layer the light next. A pair of lamps and one small warm bulb do more for the room than any wall color.
- 03Textiles
Add the softness — pillows, throws, a runner. This is where the room begins to feel like yours.
- 04Accessories
Bring in the ginger jars, the trays, the framed watercolors. Style in vignettes of three.
- 05Finishing Touches
Candles, greenery, the small found thing. The details that make the room feel collected, not decorated.
Editor's Notes
Tie the ribbon yourself
A plain woven basket becomes the centerpiece the moment you wrap a black-and-white grosgrain ribbon around it. Two dollars of ribbon, all of the effect.
Three layers, always
Placemat, dinner plate, salad plate. If you only own two, add a folded napkin as the third — the eye reads layers, not price.
Point the handles
Line every checked flatware handle the same direction. It's the smallest bit of discipline on the table and the reason it photographs well.
Mix the pinks and blues
Rosy check with sterling check sounds wrong and looks right. Keep the linens white and the two checks will happily share a table.
Best For
- Summer suppers on the terrace
- Lobster rolls and rosé
- Birthday dinners outdoors
- Sunday lunch with the hydrangeas open
- Any night the wind finally dies down
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The Coastal Cottage Styling Guide
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