aster heralds the beginning of spring, a time when flowers pop up and the whole world wears its Sunday best. Bring that outside beauty in with a spring-fresh tablescape that captures the soft colors of the season. Start with a table dressed up in a pastel plaid tablecloth (or simply a piece of unhemmed fabric), accessorized with fluted plates in cotton candy tones that are revisited on the delicate hemstitch napkins.

Invoke a touch of whimsy with Victorian-style birdhouses clustered into an Easter Village centerpiece. Redefine the eggcup with scalloped china teacups in a quartet of spring shades; with colored eggs nested inside, they make elegant accent pieces. (Use plastic or papier-mâché eggs, if they’re just for decoration.) Look for dressy details that add an extra grace note – graceful gingerbread trim recalling Easters of old, dishes as ruffled as a little girl's petticoat, gold-trimmed teacups with triangular saucers that marry a modern design with a sense of nostalgia.