A Patriotic Collected Summer Table

Sep 13

1 min read

My first question: What to do with a vintage 48-star American flag?

Answer: Hang it, of course. Just not where you'd typically hang one.

Rustic outdoor table set with silverware, china, fruit, flowers, and American flag backdrop, creating a patriotic garden still life.

I didn't set out to make everything match. Most of it doesn't. Three or four china patterns found their way onto the table alongside pewter, silver, wicker, old books and whatever was blooming along the shrubs. Behind it all? A wonderful 48-star American flag hung from an apple tree.

The table itself came from the contents of an old family compound in Northport—the Crow's Nest estate—that I serendipitously acquired one August, along with most of the things piled onto and around it. The rest have been gathered here and there over the years—the sort of things that become much more interesting once they're finally unpacked from boxes and brought out into the daylight.

Next question: What to do with an old brass chandelier?

Answer: Hang it, of course.

Oops. No tree branch strong enough for that one.

Answer: Plop it in the middle of the table and try to hide the cord.

What started as a few vines and flowers wound in to hide a cord suddenly morphed into a brilliantly lush and blooming centerpiece.

Serendipity strikes again.