How to Decorate a Dining Table Using Fostoria Glassware

The Fostoria Glass Company was founded in 1887 in the Ohio town of the same name. It later moved to West Virginia and did not close its doors until 1983. It produced a seemingly endless variety of glassware, including tableware, cologne bottles and candlesticks, throughout its history, including Depression glass. Fostoria introduced the American glass pattern, which is the longest-running domestic glass pattern. Fostoria has many enthusiastic collectors today, and there are several ways to effectively show off collected Fostoria items on a dining table. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Use your Fostoria glass pieces as part of place settings for dinners. Do this, however, only if you are confident your dinner guests will prize your pieces as much as you do and use them carefully. Start with an attractive place mat, especially if the Fostoria glass is translucent or transparent. Place a Fostoria plate in the middle of the mat, with glassware at the upper right corner. If you dont have matching items of Fostoria for all your place settings, use only a few of the items in patterns to show off the pieces. For example, use only a Fostoria wine glass for each setting or use a Fostoria plate every other place.

2

Display one or two pieces of Fostoria as decoration when the dining table is not in use. Cover your table with a high-quality tablecloth that complements the color of your Fostoria piece. Place a Fostoria bowl or vase in the middle of the table. Fill the bowl with real or faux fruit or dried flowers. Do not overfill the bowl or vase because you want to show off the glass, not the filling. Use Fostoria candlesticks and place an elegant taper in each one. Accent the candlestick with a sprig of silk flowers or leaves but do not obscure the glass itself.

3

Avoid putting all your collectible Fostoria glassware on the table at once. This would look cluttered and mismatched. Instead, rotate one or two Fostoria pieces periodically with a different color tablecloth to vary the design theme. Accompany a red bowl, vase or candlestick with sprigs of green holly for end-of-year holiday decorations. Incorporate lighter-weight glass pieces with pastel flowers for spring displays.

4

Use Fostoria pieces such as ice buckets, pitchers, cake plates or punch bowls as fruit bowls or fill them with silk flowers or other decorations. As with any Fostoria dining table decoration, feature the glassware and do not overwhelm it with the filling.