Mad About Tea

Alice in Wonderland large tea set, $170, House of Bedrooms Kids, Bloomfield Hills.

Mini tea party set, $125, La Belle Provence, Birmingham.

 

MacKenzie-Childs Teatime table, $2,975, La Belle Provence, Birmingham.

 

Maryanne Candy dot hostess apron, $20, Bed Bath & Beyond, Detroit-area stores

 

Hooker Sanctuary spindle side chair, $397, Birmingham Design Studio, Birmingham.

 

 Hooker Sanctuary tall spindle side chair, $565, Birmingham Design Studio, Birmingham

 

Hooker Leesburg side chair, $294, Birmingham Design Studio, Birmingham.

 

Tea chair, $1,310, Quatrine, Birmingham.

 

Bulova Tristan table clock,  $50, Eurich’s Clock World, Dearborn

 

 Bulova Wentworth table clock, $260, Eurich’s Clock World, Dearborn


Ultra-Imaginative Décor

The Mad Hatter Bistro/Bar/Tea Room is steeped in all things Alice

Fun checks, florals, and stripes, bright patterns, items that are upside-down and topsy-turvy, mismatched tea cups, zany playing cards, whimsical timepieces, eclectic furnishings — it all awaits at the  Mad Hatter Bistro/Bar/Tea Room in Birmingham. Owner Eileen Sakko treasures each element of the décor, as it reminds her of her father. “I opened the Mad Hatter as a legacy to my father; he had a tea room many years ago and he carried a pocket watch.” The eatery’s fascinating interior features the work of renowned restaurant designer Ron Rea, who “encouraged me to design my own vision,” Sakko says. With help from her mother, her daughter, her aunts, and others, Sakko made sure the Mad Hatter reflects the family’s creativity and seems nearly right out of the pages of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It’s highly recommended that you reserve a time for tea (or lunch or dinner) at this fun and imaginative spot — and don’t be late! madhatterbistro.com

Bumblebees and Butterflies: The Rendezvous with Tea shop, in Grosse Pointe Woods, sells a variety of nature-themed teapots of which the Mad Hatter and his friends would most certainly approve. 313-332-0787, trwtea.com.

Coming in 2016: A new Alice film (Walt Disney Pictures), called Alice Through the Looking Glass, is scheduled for release in May 2016, and stars Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway. Viewers will meet the Lord of Time and some of Alice’s new friends.