Setting the Table: Napkin Rings

For me, cooking and eating a good meal is only part of the overall experience. I like to set a pretty table too. You probably have your own creative ways and lots of pretty things to put on the table but I thought I"d share mine, starting with napkin rings.

I should explain first that I like to use mismatched old china and mismatched Victorian Silver-Plated Napkin Rings. And antique water goblets. And various mismatched antique and vintage dishes. Sounds a little weird? I think you might like it if you try. You have to remember that you need a theme and/or a colour scheme to tie everything together.

I buy antique and vintage white linen napkins and Victorian Napkin Rings (either figural or plain) to add a little bit of formality to my table settings. The napkins don't have to match but you do have to pick one colour and stick to it. I chose white as I like to have patterns and other colours in the dishes and the centerpiece. You don't want to go too wild with a riot of colour and pattern!

We'll talk more about themes and colour schemes later but since I have some photos of my assorted napkin rings ready, I'm going to start with that. On the left you can see my plain Victorian napkin rings which I display in a Victorian Bride's Basket which is missing it's glass bowl, until I need them.

The fun part is that at Christmas I let my grandchildren choose which napkin ring they want to use. They love that and even though I have special children's pewter napkin rings in various animal and Christmas shapes, they often choose one of the silver-plated figurals.

I use both Figural and plain napkin rings. The plain ones are much cheaper and you can often find those at flea markets and antique stores for a very reasonable price. Take them home and clean them up a bit and you have a very unique conversation piece!

The figurals are stunning and they always spark a lively conversation at the dinner table. Figurals are quite sought after by collectors so they can fetch a high price. You need to have a sharp eye and be on the lookout for a bargain at flea markets, junk stores and antique stores. Avoid E-Bay as they go for far too much there!

There are many kinds of napkin rings and the photos I've put here are just a few of the ones I have on hand for creating a unique table setting. Once you place a beautiful crisp clean white linen napkin in one of these and put it on the table, it looks gorgeous. I'll add some photos of a table once it's set in another post.

Comments

Unknown said…
Any tips on where to find collections of mismatched silver napkin rings?