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Savannah Style: A Man’s Table
By Brandon BranchYou can imagine how thrilled I was to design and style a “Man’s Table”. Not that I don’t love every minute I spend designing linens, furniture and the like for Paula…it’s just sometimes…a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do!
I channeled my Dad and Pawpaw when putting everything together for this month’s tabletop inspiration. After all, June is all about Dads. I usually like to do a nice mix of old and new when I design anything, but this time, I chose to go all vintage to honor these two very important men in my life. It’s funny, when it was all said and done, I stood back and thought how new it all looked. I only wished my Dad and Pawpaw were there to pull up a chair and have lunch with me.
Here are the ingredients I used:
China, Glassware and Flatware: The china is an exquisite set from the 1940’s. It has a delicate pine cone pattern and rims of 24kt gold. I borrowed it from my mail carrier, Jimmy Rahn. It was his mother’s pattern and I just love it. If you take away nothing else from me, my design team and Southerners in general…let it be to BORROW BORROW BORROW. (After all, it is an honor to have someone else love the things that we love.) The Art Deco Black Glass Stemware is my new favorite thing! It was a gift to me from my friend and colleague, Libbie Summers, on the completion of my latest stylebook, Paula Deen’s Savannah Style. The flatware is Paula’s own and the knives rest gracefully on the antique sterling knife rests that look like children’s jacks. You can just make out the handle of Paula’s own vintage tomato knives on the plates. The rich butterscotch colored Bakelite handles of the knives were the color inspiration for the centerpiece. 
Flower Arrangement: I love this ice bucket turned vase. It’s a vintage pewter golf trophy from 1952! The perfect receptacle for this “man’s” centerpiece. I filled the trophy vase full of apricot and orange cymbidium orchids, yarrow, Star of Bethlehem and holly leaves.
Take Away Tip: My favorite part of these tabletop inspirations! This month, I used bow ties for my napkin rings! It’s just that simple. The key is to hand tie them. No cheating here….pre-tied ties just don’t evoke the same feel.
Extras: I repurposed a couple of old glass decanter bottles for tea on the table. One for sweet tea and one for unsweetened. Since my Dad and Pawpaw were big hunters in their day, I added two old brass bird dog figurines to dress the table. Lastly, I dropped a few orchid blooms here and there and added two old boxes I use for cuff links in my own home closet. Let’s Eat!