A Rustic Italian Dinner Party

It’s tablescape day for my monthly dinner club and this month is all about a taste of Italy! I just love creating tablescapes and I can’t wait to show you a rustic italian dinner party table I put together.

If you’re coming over from Stacy at Bricks N Blooms, welcome! I’m so glad you are here! Wasn’t her Italian themed table so beautiful?

In case you are new here, I am part of a virtual monthly dinner club with 4 other blogger friends. Every month we create a tablescape and a menu around a theme.

Here are a few tablescapes that I created last year, in case you missed them. You can click the link at the bottom of each photo to see the post.

St. Patrick's Day place setting
St. Patrick’s Day Tablescape
spring inspired tablescape
Easter Tablescape
garden inspired tablescape
Garden Inspired Tablescape

When I’m creating a tablescape, I like to start with an inspiration piece. This gives me direction with what I want the table to look like, and then the ideas start coming from there.

For this table, the inspiration was actually a couple of different things. The first thought I had was wine bottles.

I knew that would go well with an Italian theme, and the next thing was my small potted olive tree. I think wine and olives definitely says “Italian”.

side view of rustic italian tablescape brown paper table runner down center of table 4 place settings with oval white platter oval wood board on top and a mini loaf of bread wrapped in parchment paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked in sitting on top of each plate fork and knife to left of plate and brown and white striped napkin tied with twine and a wine cork on top to right of plate wine bottles with tapers lined down center of table and a basket with a small olive tree in center of table olive oil tin with breadsticks on table grapevine woven down center of table

a rustic Italian place setting

I started by putting a runner of brown paper down the center of the table.

For each place setting, I used a large oval plate/platter. I found a set of 4 at a thrift store recently, for $2 each.

Next, I layered an oval wooden board on top of the plate. Also thrifted for $2 each.

Then, I topped each plate with a mini baguette wrapped in parchment paper, tied with twine and a sprig of rosemary tucked in.

rustic italian theme place setting white oval platter with oval wood board on top and small loaf of crusty bread wrapped in parchement paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked



I pulled a piece of twine through the center of a wine cork and wrapped it around brown/white striped napkins as a napkin ring.

close up of brown white striped napkin tied with twine and a wine cork on top



To get the twine throught the wine cork, I drilled a small hole, then used a needle with a large eye threaded with the twine.


My thrifted vintage silverware was placed to the left of each plate

rustic italian theme place setting white oval platter with oval wood board on top and small loaf of crusty bread wrapped in parchement paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked in knife and fork to left of platter and the edge of basket and grapevine on the edge overhead view of place setting
rustic italian theme place setting white oval platter with oval wood board on top and small loaf of crusty bread wrapped in parchement paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked in knife and fork to left of platter and the edge of basket and grapevine on the edge and wine bottle for candle holder and an olive oil tin filled with breadsticks at the top of plate brown paper table runner overhead view of place setting

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a rustic Italian centerpiece

For the centerpiece, I used my inspiration pieces which was my small olive tree plant and wine bottles.

Next, I added a few pieces of grapevine down the center of the table and around the olive tree.

I used a basket I already had for the olive tree container and placed it in the center of the table.

rustic italian theme place setting white oval platter with oval wood board on top and small loaf of crusty bread wrapped in parchement paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked in brown white striped napkin tied with twine and a cork on top to right of plate of platter and the edge of basket and wine bottle for candle holder and an olive oil tin filled with breadsticks at the top of plate brown paper table runner
side view of rustic italian tablescape brown paper table runner down center of table 4 place settings with oval white platter oval wood board on top and a mini loaf of bread wrapped in parchment paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked in sitting on top of each plate fork and knife to left of plate and brown and white striped napkin tied with twine and a wine cork on top to right of plate wine bottles with tapers lined down center of table and a basket with a small olive tree in center of table olive oil tin with breadsticks on table grapevine woven down center of table
rustic italian theme place setting white oval platter with oval wood board on top and small loaf of crusty bread wrapped in parchement paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked in knife and fork to left of platter and the edge of basket and grapevine on the edge and wine bottle for candle holder and an olive oil tin filled with breadsticks at the top of plate brown paper table runner overhead view of place setting



Then I used lots of wine bottles randomly place on either side of the olive tree and added an ivory taper to each wine bottle. I dripped candle wax down the bottle for a bit of a rustic look.

rustic italian tablescape with wine bottles with tapers inside and side view of place setting
close up of table inside a wine bottle with wax dripping down sides of bottle
overhead view of rustic italian tablescape brown paper table runner down center of table 4 place settings with oval white platter oval wood board on top and a mini loaf of bread wrapped in parchment paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked in sitting on top of each plate fork and knife to left of plate and brown and white striped napkin tied with twine and a wine cork on top to right of plate wine bottles with tapers lined down center of table and a basket with a small olive tree in center of table olive oil tin with breadsticks on table grapevine woven down center of table



I have a collection of demijohns and they were the perfect addition to my rustic italian dinner party table.

rustic italian theme tablescape showing brown paper tablerunner 3 demi john vases brown white striped napkin tied with twine and wine cork on top wine corks sprinkled beside
close up of 3 demi john vases on rustic italian theme centerpiece tablescape
close up of 3 demi john vases on rustic italian theme centerpiece tablescape



In case you aren’t familiar with demijohns, they were used as early as the 1400’s for fermenting wine and beer. They were also used to store liquids such as wine, olive oil, cider, etc.

close up of olive oil tin with breadsticks inside and wine bottle beside it
rustic italian theme place setting white oval platter with oval wood board on top and small loaf of crusty bread wrapped in parchement paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked in brown white striped napkin tied with twine and a cork on top to right of plate of platter and the edge of basket and wine bottle for candle holder and an olive oil tin filled with breadsticks at the top of plate brown paper table runner
close up of olive oil tin with breadsticks inside

I had an empty olive oil can which was perfect to hold breadsticks.

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finishing touches to an rustic Italian dinner

I ordered vintage wine label printables from Etsy for less than $3.00. I placed them randomly along my table to finish off my rustic Italian dinner table. And sprinkled wine corks around the table, as well.

overhead view of a wine label on brown paper table runner with edge of wine bottle showing and 2 wine corks scattered beside
overhead view of a wine label on brown paper table runner with edge of wine bottle showing and 2 wine corks scattered beside
circle of grapevine hanging on side of white arm chair with rush seat at end of table



And lastly, I added a ring of grapevine to the back of the arm chairs on either end of my table.

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overhead view of rustic italian tablescape brown paper table runner down center of table 4 place settings with oval white platter oval wood board on top and a mini loaf of bread wrapped in parchment paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked in sitting on top of each plate fork and knife to left of plate and brown and white striped napkin tied with twine and a wine cork on top to right of plate wine bottles with tapers lined down center of table and a basket with a small olive tree in center of table olive oil tin with breadsticks on table grapevine woven down center of table

side view of rustic italian tablescape brown paper table runner down center of table 4 place settings with oval white platter oval wood board on top and a mini loaf of bread wrapped in parchment paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked in sitting on top of each plate fork and knife to left of plate and brown and white striped napkin tied with twine and a wine cork on top to right of plate wine bottles with tapers lined down center of table and a basket with a small olive tree in center of table olive oil tin with breadsticks on table grapevine woven down center of table

rustic italian theme place setting white oval platter with oval wood board on top and small loaf of crusty bread wrapped in parchement paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked in knife and fork to left of platter and the edge of basket and grapevine on the edge and wine bottle for candle holder and an olive oil tin filled with breadsticks at the top of plate brown paper table runner overhead view of place setting

side view of rustic italian tablescape brown paper table runner down center of table 4 place settings with oval white platter oval wood board on top and a mini loaf of bread wrapped in parchment paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked in sitting on top of each plate fork and knife to left of plate and brown and white striped napkin tied with twine and a wine cork on top to right of plate wine bottles with tapers lined down center of table and a basket with a small olive tree in center of table olive oil tin with breadsticks on table grapevine woven down center of table

I hope you enjoyed seeing how I created a rustic Italian dinner party tablescape.

Next up, on our tablescape tour is Jen from Midwest Life & Style and you don’t want to miss her beautiful and creative table.

Be sure and take a look at all the other tables for lots of inspiration for creating your own Italian theme dinner party. Click the link at the bottom of each photo to go right to the post.

italian dinner party tablescape
Midwest Life and Style
italian dinner party tablescape
Bricks N Blooms
italian dinner party tablescape
Simply 2 Moms
italian dinner party tablescape
The Ponds Farmhouse

ciao for now,

If you enjoyed this post, be sure and Pin It to remember it……

pinterest graphic for rustic italian theme place setting white oval platter with oval wood board on top and small loaf of crusty bread wrapped in parchement paper tied with twine and a rosemary sprig tucked in knife and fork to left of platter and the edge of basket and grapevine on the edge overhead view of place setting

And I would love for you to follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.

23 Comments

  1. Michele I love you rustic entertaining ideas. That oil can for the bread is genius and I love it all mixed with the wicker decor.

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much Stacy! I just love our dinner club group and creating these tablescapes with you all!

      Reply

  2. Michele
    Your table is just perfect. I loved the wine cork napkin rings and the demijohns!

    Reply

    1. Thank you Rachel! I really appreciate that, and I really enjoyed our theme this month.

      Reply

  3. Your table is so pretty, Michele. It definitely gives me rustic Italian vibes. I love how you did your napkins with the cork. How clever. Pinned!

    Reply

    1. Thank you my friend! I loved our theme this month!

      Reply

  4. Your tablescape is stunning, such great creative ideas with all the different textures. Very Italian!

    Reply

    1. Thank you! This was a fun one to create!

      Reply

    1. Come on girl!! I really appreciate your kind words and so glad you liked it!

      Reply

  6. Absolutely stunning, my friend! I always love your tablescapes. Hugs to you.

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much sweet Renae! I always appreciate your kind words, and I’m so glad you liked it!

      Reply

    2. Such a pretty table to welcome family/friends. Taking the inspiration for my table and upping my everyday game.

      Reply
  7. Sandra Smith says:

    I love everything about it and the collective presence is one of the best tablescapes I’ve ever seen. Loved especially the old olive tin holding bread sticks as well as the place setting oval platter/wooden platter, topped by a wrapped semi-baguette, w/rosemary. Just “Wow!”

    I want to do this right now! Best, Sandra

    Reply

    1. Oh, that is so kind of you to say! I truly appreciate your kind words, and I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It was a really fun table to create.

      Reply

    1. Kim, I am SO sorry I’m just now seeing this!! I have been out of town for 3 weeks, and I am a bit behind on responding to emails and comments. I am honored that you enjoyed the tablescape and want to feature it!

      Reply

  9. Oh, Michele, this is sooo cute. Transported me right back to Italy!

    Now all I need is a cup of gelato

    Reply

    1. Oh, that sounds delicious!! And I appreciate the kind words Diane!

      Reply

  10. Your table looks amazing! I want to be invited to your house, lol!!! Those napkin rings are so creative! Great job, Donna

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much for the kind words! And I’m so glad you enjoyed the post!

      Reply

  11. I found your blog through this series and Bricks n Blooms. What a wonderful table setting! i can’t believe you found 4 large oval serving plates AND oval breadboards to sit inside them. How long did you hunt for those? The drippy candles in wine bottles took me back to date nights with my husband in the 70s. 🙂 we’re still dating every Friday night. Love the breadsticks in the can and the cork napkin rings. Hubby saves me time by using a cork screw to make the holes 😉 on date nights so I plan to copy this right away. Amazing table.

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much for the kind words, and I’m so glad you enjoyed the tablescape. I actually wasn’t even looking for the oval plates or the boards. I just happened to find both of them on thrifting hunts. And actually didn’t purchase them at the same time or even think about putting them together until I was planning this table.
      I’m so glad the drippy candles have fond memories for you!!

      Reply

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