WELCOME to CAROLINA PANACHE! I believe our homes should be a haven, a place of beauty and peace that reflect who we are and what's important to us. I'm on a journey to add personality and panache to every corner of my house. For me, good design evolves, grows and changes with the needs of one's lifestyle. I want my home to be creative, to be stylish, to be entertaining, to be real. I hope you will join me on my journey. It's always more fun to travel together.
This blog is all about bringing style and elegance to the home. The art of dressing your home goes beyond hanging a few items on the wall and arranging furniture. Much like a fabulous set of earrings or a new stylish handbag may take your little black dress from fine to fabulous, home accesories and key furnishings can take your rooms from ho-hum to singing the Halleluiah Chorus! Join with me as we discover new ways to add panache to every room of the house.

Tablescape Tuesday - Asian Elegance

Welcome to another TABLESCAPE TUESDAY! Today's table is called Asian Elegance and I will also share my recipe for Warm Chinese Chicken Salad at the end of this post. I've been away for a long weekend visiting my parents in West Virginia. My parents are preparing to retire this year and move here to North Carolina. This is an exciting time for them. A new chapter in their lives and I'm excited to be able to share it with them. So that is why you haven't seen a post for the last four days. Now, let's take a look at the table. I've set the table in my sunroom today. The table is a double-drop leaf table I inherited from my dear Aunt Velma when she passed away in 2005. The table is maple but today I am using an ivory damask tablecloth. I then used a yellow hem stitched linen placemat under a teak wood placemat to add depth and texture.
I was inspired to do an Asian themed table today because of these lovely green square plates. I found these at my local HomeGoods store last fall. They were on markdown and only had two left. I've been using them as display plates. Next I layered on a decorative salad plate. I love the way the colors work together.


In order to continue the Asian theme I pulled out some decorative pagodas as centerpiece accessories. The largest one holds a candle. I also used an Orchid as my floral accent.

So many Asian inspired scenes incorporate birds so I pulled out a set of sparrow figurines I purchased at Kirkland's a few years ago and placed them along my tablerunner. I also have a set of Sparrow napkin rings. They are made of iron and painted a soft white and have been heavily distressed. The picture below shows a close up of both.


The napkin I chose to use today is a linen fruit and floral print. The background is a very soft yellow with cherry blossoms, grapes, pomegranates and roses. Anybody ready for Spring? I'm getting excited! When I cam home yesterday I noticed that some of my bulbs have already shot through the earth and are showing the first signs of green.


Here is just a clean shot of the dinner plate. I would love to find at least four more of these. I found the same pattern in red a few weeks ago.


Now for a SIMPLE SUPPER my Warm Chinese Chicken Salad is just the thing. Serve with an assortment of whole grain crackers or toasted sesame breadsticks and you've got a very satisfying meal.
WARM CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons walnut oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried whole tarragon
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups torn Chinese cabbage
2 cups torn romaine lettuce
2/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
3 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups halved seedless red grapes
Combine the first 9 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well. Toss cabbage and lettuce with half of dressing mixture in a large shallow bowl. Sprinkle walnuts over cabbage and lettuce mixture.
Next, combine chicken and 3 tablespoons remaining dressing mixture in a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is thoroughly heated. Toss hot chicken mixture and grape halves with cabbage mixture. Serve salad warm with remaining salad dressing. Makes 4 servings. The tangy dressing gives the warm chicken a delicious Oriental flavor. You can also substitute the grapes with Mandarin Orange slices. I've done this when I didn't have any grapes on hand. It works equally well with the flavors of the dressing. Enjoy!
For more tablescape inspiration visit Susan at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com
The Powder Room project is almost ready for the reveal. I should be posting pictures on Thursday or Saturday. It really is turning out beautifully. See you tomorrow with a special Cook's Corner featuring "DEATH BY CHOCOLATE". Friday night I am hosting a group of ladies for a "Choctails" party so I thought I would get a jump on my desserts. Until then,
Happy Decorating!
~Alisa






28 comments:

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

The green square plate and the brown floral salad plate are just gorgeous and used together are such a stunning table setting. All of your accessories really compliment the overall theme. The recipe sounds wonderful and one I will try. Thanks, Marty

Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer said...

Alisa I love the green/brown/pink together! The square plates are great..... and I love the salad plate

I love the theme...pulls it all together beautifully!

Kathleen said...

Lovely setting! The slad against the green is very pretty!

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

I love square plates and I love the ones you found. I hope you can add to your set! Very pretty!

xinex said...

What a lovely Asian tablescape! Those square green plates and the flowered round salad plates really complement each other. The placemats really coordinated well too. Your centerpiece is very well created...Christine

ellen b. said...

Hello Alisa
I really love the richness in color of your asian inspired table. Just gorgeous! Again I have to say you really have a great eye for design and what to pull together to make a pleasing scape!! Just gorgeous...

Carolina Mama said...

This is beautiful! Love the Asian look and that recipe sounds great!

PAT said...

This is beautiful! I have the red square salad plates in this pattern. I love the green, too.

Terrie's Lil' Piece of Serenity said...

This is a beautiful tablescape. I love those green dinnerplates. The floral salad plates are just lovely, too. I love the little birds. I have a lot of those little birds around our home. I love bringing a little nature into our home. And of course, I love the orchid. I am green with envy about your bulbs popping their heads out of the ground. We won't see that for a couple more months. But, I am glad you shared about them. I can dream. I love to garden. Have a beautiful day!
Hugs, Terrie

Cami @ Creating Myself said...

Love all the layers you use in your decorating! Your tables are alwasy completely pulled together & maxed out w/out being too much...that's hard to do.

Kristens Creations said...

How beautiful! Love the square plates and placemats. Wonderful job! The salad sounds great too! Kristen

Maryrose said...

Wonderful table, I especially like the brown floral salad plate. Thanks, Maryrose
PS - I can't wait to try the salad.

Jewel Sauls said...

Stunning! I love the green plates and the birds! :D Jewel

redsoxmom said...

Alisa,
Love the tablescape today. It would be lovely to eat at your table! I also went asian today for Chinese New Year. I was going to use one of my birds, but I forgot! I think I saw some similar plates in green at TJ Maxx or Marshalls recently.Thanks for sharing!

Melissa Miller said...

Alisa you have so many beautiful ideas for tablescapes. You are super talented!
I love the Asian plates and the little birds. The square green ones too.
The chicken salad recipe sounds so delicious.

Have a wonderful evening.
~Melissa :)

Linda Q said...

Oooo love the coloring of this tablescape. Very nice asian inspiration!
Linda

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

I love all of the pretty layers on your table, and those napkin rings are so great! The square plate AND the smaller plate are both beautiful. laurie

Melanie said...

Beautiful colors...salad sounds delicious.
Melanie@Bella~Mella

Kathleen Ellis said...

Lovely, Alisa! I LOVE those plates and the chargers and the sparrow napkin rings! Lovely, lovely!
Have a happy week!
;-D

Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...

Hi Alisa,
this is really lovely! What a great recipe too. I'm kind of jealous you have bulbs poking out(in Jan) how cool. Cindy in freezing Wisconsin

Miss Janice said...

Love your tablescape and how you pulled it all together! I love the colors and the china. Great job!

Envoy-ette said...

This post is perfect for the Chinese New Year! Very well done!

The Style Sisters said...

Love the square green plates! All of your accents are just beautiful...the pinks, greens and browns and the Asian flair. Love it.

a quiet life said...

just love your blog, i am a dish addict and appreciate a good table when i see one! and of course coming with recipes gives you bonus points!

Lady Katherine said...

Love this! The plate with the asian is looks so wonderful! Love the napkin rings. So pretty!

A Hint of Home said...

I love the Asian theme. Your square plates are very pretty. I would love to find red ones. I've enjoyed looking at your blog.

Lynne (lynnesgiftsfromtheheart) said...

I'm sorry I'm so incredibly late in swinging by to see this gorgeous tablescape. I especially love the square plates and the birds.. thanks for sharing..
hugs ~lynne~

Susan (Between Naps On The Porch.net) said...

Alisa...love the Asian inspired tablesettings! You thought of everything, including the lovely orchids! :-) Try eBay...may they'll have more of those pretty green plates. Keep checking...lots of stuff seems to get posted on eBay in the spring.
Thanks for another great tablescape! Susan

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