Beautiful Table Things #2 🤳 Domestic Summer Edition

This summer, we’re likely staying home. After a long, emotional year, I find myself drawn to the intimacy of domestic life — an aesthetic often overshadowed by the glossy idea of holidays. But for many of us, summer is also made of quiet days at home, between one day trip and the next. I think these in-between moments deserve beauty too.

Below you'll find four beautiful table things I keep noticing -- all with a "domestic summer" kind of vibe. Think close shutters to keep the heat at bay, shadowy rooms, long mornings, ice cream in the freezer... Everyday summer feeling.

Let's go ✨️

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1. Placemats in Natural Materials and Colours

I'm deeply attracted to earthy colours that span the whole palette of coffee-with-milk, nougat, and burnt wheat ready for harvest. I love when these grounding shades are matched with rough and tactile materials - like jute, sedge and straw... a nice, cooling contrast with the bright sun of summer in the shape of a placemat.

Fringed edges, a scalloped motive and heavy-duty jute: these breakfast placemats, as seen on Elsa Billgren's kitchen table, strike a lovely balance that fits just as easily in an urban apartment as in a country cottage. Jute placemats: Zara (possibly).

Look at these handwoven sedge suns in the shade of harvest wheat on Terez Persson's table. A wavy pattern that brings movement and highlights the manual skill of the craftspeople who made them. Round placemats: Ikea (possibly).

September 2025 update: this collection of woven placemats and charger plates by Alabaster Studio is stunning!  

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2. Pedestal Glasses and Vintage Milk Bottles

Summer glasses are their own kind of breed. They need to feel solid in the hand and be spacious enough to welcome copious amounts of hot-weather treats: from icy water with paper-thin lemon slices to scoops of no-churn ice cream. And then granitas, evening amaros on the rocks, iced coffees or matcha lattes, affogatos, and the ubiquitous elderflower cordial. 

Buy good summer glasses once (along with a vintage milk bottle) and use them for life.

Emily Salomon showing off the perfect summer glass: short stem or no stem at all, and a soft roundness to it. 

A fluted version from Elsa Billgren. Lovely with a straw.

And the iconic milk bottle that's ubiquitous in all flea and vintage markets. Go grab yourself one, or two. Here, Lucy Rose has filled it with white wine (from the bulk shop?).

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3. Little Blowl Plates With Super Wide Rims

Use them for toasted almonds or peanuts whenever you feel like whipping up an aperitif. They make the table more fun, with their deep bowl centre and loads of white space around it.

A much more interesting option than the usual bowl.

...like this gorgeous white ceramic dish from Notrenom - brimming with texture and movement - but make it smaller! 

Here's a good example from Elsa Billgren, with a smooth white finish. Pretty with a handful of skin-on almonds for a bit of visual contrast.

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4. Summer Bounty, But Make It Styled

In my household time for decorating is in short supply. I've got to be strategic, quick and inventive, using what's on hand. Most times, I take advantage of the unpacking time after the weekly shop to throw a bunch of fresh produce into my favourite bowls. And the result is just as pretty as a well thought out flower arrangements. So here’s to using your best silver pedestal bowl to display strings of cherry tomatoes on the vine, still warm and redolent of the field.

Copenhagen catering service Easy Peacy does it nicely here, adding a white napkin in thick fabric à la bougie ice buckets in high-end restaurants.

And check out this gorgeous clear glass vase filled to the brim with hairy carrots. Peel them, add a bit of water and snack on them throughout the day, I say.

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I wonder what's on your radar this summer!

Have a great one,

Sinù xx

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