Lobster Table Setting for Two on the Dock
When you grow up in New England, the summer isn’t complete without at least one lobster dinner! Today, I’m joining some blogger friends for a Summer Tablescape Blog Hop. It seemed like the perfect time to style a lobster table setting!
Many thanks to my friend Rita from Panoply for organizing this hop! If you’re stopping by after a visit with Pam from Everyday Living, welcome! There will be links to all of the lovely table settings at the end of this post.
While looking for something in the basement, I came upon these wooden crab napkin rings. They are another treasure from my mom’s collection, and I was immediately inspired to create a tablescape with a seafood theme for summer.
Then it hit me…I had the perfect location to set up my table. In the small town where I grew up, there is a town dock where we would swim and crab all summer long. The view is breathtaking!
I thought that on a weekday before tourist season has started, I’d have the dock to myself. When I arrived, there was just a dad and two young children crabbing. It was like nothing has changed in 40 years!
I set up my round table and covered it with a red and white checkered tablecloth from my stash. It has a casual, summer picnic vibe.
The plates are black vintage enamelware. Again, I was going for the casual look! The red handled flatware compliments the tablecloth.
I stopped at the grocery store on my way to the dock and had them steam two lobsters. And yes, my husband and I had them for dinner that night. They were so good!
The centerpiece is a glass vase that I turned into a hurricane. I filled it with sand and shells and stuck a white pillar candle in the center. Then I attached fish netting (from Dollar Tree) to the outside. I scattered some shells and votive candles around, too.
I love to season my seafood with Old Bay Seasoning. I can’t eat tuna without it! I also love the vintage style look of the tin, so it made it’s way onto the tablescape. The shell crackers are definitely vintage. I remember using them as a kid to crack open lobsters and crabs.
These red vintage plastic salt and pepper shakers also fit with the color scheme and style of the table. You may remember them from my Patriotic Tiered Tray Decor.
Of course, lobster always goes well with a cold beer and corn on the cob. I was thrilled when I found these cans of beer at the town package store. It was like they were made for my tablescape lol!
I couldn’t have chosen a more perfect day to set up this lobster table setting! It was in the low 70’s with sunny skies and a nice breeze. The wind was a little challenging, but nothing ever got blown off of the table. There was no way the candles were going to stay lit, though. I also had to keep my eye out for seagulls, otherwise the lobsters would’ve flown away!
I love that I was able to design this table with mostly items from my stash. All I needed to buy were the lobsters, beer, corn and the fish netting.
I had so much fun creating this lobster table setting! It really got me excited about being able to once again entertain friends and family this summer.
If you love coastal decor, check out my DIY Nautical Rope Wreath.
Here are a few of my other summer tablescapes:
- Rustic Americana Patriotic Tablescape
- A Late Summer Tablescape in the Garden
- Patriotic Tablescape Inspired by Vintage Enamelware
- Blue and White Nautical Summer Tablescape
Now be sure to check out more summer table setting inspiration from the table stylists below! Next on the hop is Marsha from The Little Yellow Corner Store. You’re going to love her Summer Magnolia Tablescape!
Home is Where the Boat Is – Dockside Nautical Table Life and Linda – Mermaid Kisses and Starfish Wishes. Red Cottage Chronicles – How to Plan the Perfect Summer Dinner Party Tablescape Hyacinths for the Soul – Summertime, and the Livins Easy! My Thrift Store Addiction – Lemons and Jadeite Summer Garden Tea for Two Bluesky at Home – Summer Blue and White Table for a Dinner Party Celebrate and Decorate – Nautical Tablescape for the Fourth of July Corner of Plaid and Paisley – Sweet Peach Summer Table. My Hubbard Home – Cottagecore Citrus Tablescape Ideas for Summer Entertaining Belle Bleu Interiors – Welcoming Summer With an Outdoor Tablescape The Painted Apron – Shells on the Beach. Living With Thanksgiving – Patriotic Table by the Pond Debbee’s Buzz – Fun Flamingo Tropical Table Everyday Living – A Welcome to Summer Zucchini Sisters – Lobster Table Setting for Two on the Dock (you are here) The Little Yellow Corner Store – A Bold, Striking Summer Magnolia Tablescape Inspired by Nature Panoply – Summer Seaside Scenes Tablescape
I want to live where you grew up!! Looks so idyllic. And what a cute, picnic style tablescape. Lobster is my very favorite and I rarely eat it. I need to fix that! Haha. Thanks for the summery dining inspiration.
I love this, Rebecca! This setting is lovely for a lobster dinner and all of your details are just perfect!
Rebecca, your tablescape and theme is so stink in’ cute. I love all your details from the shell crackers to the salt and pepper shakers and the Old Bay tin. We have had lobster on the dock in Maryland, Martha’s Vineyard, Maine and on the beach in Mexico. We love them. Your setting is spectacular. What a great day. Hope you enjoyed your lobsters and corn on the cob.
What a fun table by the water! You really nailed the East Coast theme! And your table looks like it was made to go with the deep blue colour of the water!! I love the black enamelware, and those crab napkin rings are darling! I don’t eat lobster myself, but once while we down at my families summer house in PEI they sent me to pick up a few. It was the end of the day and they only had one clawed lobster left and they gave them to me at a deal! My BIL nearly died of laughter and headed out to buy more! I learned quickly that the claws were very important!!
Rebecca, I just got to experience something entirely new through your tablescape post. What a beautiful setting and time at the waterside for a lobster dinner. They look sooooo good!!!!!!! And a cold beer….oh my……what a way to celebrate the season. I am so glad you got to enjoy the beautiful spot were you were raised and, most certainly, I am happy the seagulls didn’t fly away with your dinner. (I know since my husband and I sometimes feed the seagulls with bread at the lakeshore of Lake Michigan). I very lovely and tasty summer tablescape. Have a really pleasant summer.
Oh my goodness!!! What you went through to get this wonderful table setting set up and photographed!! I gasped at the thought of a sea gull taking off with your lobster!!! This reminds me of something I would see on a Hallmark movie in a quaint New England town!! So cute!!! Love it❤️Enjoy the rest of your summer☀️
Rebecca, how I love this! It reminds me of our trip to Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard. Your table has that wonderful vibe of New England. Thank you for taking me to the beautiful dock with lobster, corn on the cob, and Old Bay Seasoning. The red checked table and lobster napkin rings add to the ambiance. Happy Summer!
Great table Rebecca. Having Lobster from the cold waters of New England has to be the best. Love your crab napkin holders.
Rebecca, this tablescape makes me so very happy! It is steeped with so much authentic and regional flair, right down the re-creation of the memories you actually lived in crabbing along the shore. Your trademark of using vintage elements is so awesome, and finding things like the plates, s/p, crackers, and even the bay seasoning tin in your own stash make for my kind of fun in styling. What a treat to be able to find the beer with the graphics that go so incredibly well with your theme. It is a picture-perfect setting, and I appreciate you bringing us to the New England shores for this idyllic setting! Happy Summer, and thank you for participating with such great style in this hop!
Rebecca, I love your setting! How fun to enjoy your memories and stoke your creative vibes by designing a clever tablescape.
We love Old Bay seasoning but have only used it on steaming shrimp. Glad to have learned other ways to use it.
Your styling was great on your table. I haven’t had lobster in many years and you have wet my appetite for some. I also want to visit New England. I have only been once!
Nice to blog hop again with you.
Rebecca, What a fun tablescape for summertime! I know that it is a challenge for table stylists to style a table in a location other than at home. Going down to the local dock was worth all of the effort you went to, to set this table at this wonderful spot. This is so delightful! All of the details are just perfect, down to the vintage salt and pepper shakers! I am glad you enjoyed the lobster dinner!
Rebecca, Makes me want to be there on the dock sitting at your table. Thanks for sharing.
Lynne, Thrifting Wonderland
Rebecca, What a treat to stop by your local market and have them steam lobsters for your dinner! Your setting is delightful and I can practically feel the ocean breeze and hear the sea gulls in the background. Your table details couldn’t be more perfect and I love the graphics from the Old Bay too, along with your picture perfect ‘Fresh Catch’ beer, vintage S&P shakers and quintessential red and white check tablecloth. As always it’s a treat to join you at the table and hop with you. Happy Summer ♥
Rebecca, you have me craving lobster! I may need to find a lobster roll tomorrow. 😂😂😂
Your table details are fun and perfect for your theme. Like you, Old Bay seasoning is a staple for us. I use it on salmon. Delish!
It’s been fun hopping with you.
Nothing screams New England like this post.
Rebecca, I love your dockside table. I LOVE lobster but haven’t had it in ages! It is a pleasure to “pull up a chair” to your charming table! Blessings, Cecilia @My Thrift Store Addiction
Rebecca, what a wonderful table setting and spread, in the most perfect of settings! Now I’m longing for lobster dipped in melted butter! Kudos to you for going “on location” at a favorite spot from you childhood and contending with seagulls and wind. Loved those wonderful crab napkin rings — I actually thought they were real mini steamed crabs! You also did a great job of creating the nautical/beach hurricane in the centerpiece. A very creatively styled tablescape worthy of appearing in a magazine.
Rebecca, your words reminded me of visiting San Francisco the docks and the fresh lobster. Such fun memories. This table is filled with fun memories for you with your moms treasures, set out on the dock. It must have been a lovely meal for you and your hubby!
I’m going to buy some Old Bay seasoning for my tuna sandwiches 🙂
Happy summer
RR
Rebecca, this looks like so much fun! What a beautiful setting to enjoy a lobster dinner. A perfect thing to do in the summertime! Wishing you a wonderful summer!
These is so fun. I love lobster and setting your table up on an empty dock is the best idea. Love the red checked tablecloth with the cute little lobster napkin rings. How nice to go to a local store and have them steam some lobsters. The beer is a perfect a compliment. Always a pleasure Rebecca. Happy summer.u
Hello fellow New Englander! Mainer here – but a weird one cause I don’t like lobster!
Never mind that! That’s a fabulous table setting – you captured the spirit wonderfully <3
Your table is darling, and I love the setting! 😀 I’m linking over from Linda’s blog.
~Ricki Jill
How much fun Rebecca! I am drooling over that lobster and your setting is pure Old New England! The beer cans were meant to be for your table and I love the can of Old Bay seasoning, it’s perfect! You went to a lot of trouble to set this table up, but it is so authentic and you got to enjoy the lobster at home later!! I really enjoyed my trip to the dock, thank you!