The Thanksgiving Hutch

The holiday season often starts with a refresh of our dining room hutch. It tends to get loaded down over time because it can hold so much. That is both the up and the down side!

So a tidying up tends to be more about what is taken off of it rather than much new added.

I knew I wanted an evergreen crown for it this year though. And so far I am sticking to a Thanksgiving theme for the most part until a little bit later.

Much of it should look familiar, since I tend to stick to the same things. I was happy to find that Tricia Foley has a big lidless tureen high up on a shelf in her kitchen similar the one I keep, so I am feeling validated. I could never manage to be as minimal as she is, but her recent book "Life/Style-Elegant Simplicity at Home" has been a huge inspiration for me. Her love of white has certainly been a big influence on me too.

This might be the most pared down version of the hutch I have ever done though. I wonder if you can see the difference? I have just a sampling represented from all the things I love to collect rather than trying to keep so many dishes in one place.

A few favorites like this little bunny tureen always seem to get pride of place. It will hold a bit of cranberry sauce.

The chickens get a feature this time, as do the pottery beakers from Guy Wolff Pottery up top. We will love toasting the season a time or two from them in an old timey way this year.

I love the sparkle of a bit of silver peeking out here and there too.

I thought I would do more transferware than this, but my white plates won out again. The new farm theme plates balance the terracotta beakers out nicely so they will get a turn to shine for awhile.

I have several more marmalade jars, but I find that using only a few really works better to keep the balance with so much variety. I really do try to keep things from looking too busy.

I wouldn't want to live without a dresser and hutch ever again!

A fresh runner on the sideboard and we're good to go.

That ironstone piece at center is something I found at a fleamarket years ago, and appears to have fit on the top of a coffee pot, as it has a grid of holes on bottom. It has no other practical use for me than to look old fashioned and pretty.

The only thing new here is a big silver soup ladle I found last summer.

The candlesticks are actually pewter that got diverted on their way to the shop. I'm afraid that happens a lot!

Another favorite are these ironstone pudding bowls with faces on them that hardly turn up in markets for me. I have only a few, but they transport me to another time.