HomeEntertaining tips 2 Winning Guide 2 Winning TipsHow To Set A Pinterest Worthy Dinner Table
How To Set A Pinterest Worthy Dinner Table
September 20, 2015
A big part of entertaining guests is about presentation – from how you place the food on the plate to the way the plates are arranged on the table. Pinterest is filled with entertaining inspiration and pictures of well-dressed tables, so we studied the most popular examples of table settings to see what they could teach us.
Placement
The arrangement of your plates, cutlery and glasses on the table is an important factor. The layout will vary slightly depending on whether your event is a formal or informal affair.
Typically a formal event will have a large charger (or service) plate sitting underneath the dinner and salad plates. The forks sit to the left of the plate (salad fork on the outside, dinner fork on the inside) with your knife and soup spoon to the right. A formal event usually also requires red and white wine glasses as well as one for water, and a bread platter and bread knife (traditionally sat to the diner’s left). To finish, the dessert fork and spoon are placed just above the plates.
A less formal event may not require a charger plate and depending on the size of the table you may choose to lay the dessert cutlery separately, in order to save space.
Waiting On Martha has illustrated the above beautifully.
Theme
Some of the best table settings we discovered on Pinterest had an evident theme throughout. When it comes to choosing a theme make sure it is occasion appropriate – your styling may vary according to whether you are celebrating a baby shower or birthday.
If your dinner is not for a set occasion think about introducing a fixed colour scheme instead. Choose complimentary tones (blush or black with gold is very popular at the moment) and source cutlery, napkins and tablecloths that coordinate.
If it proves difficult to source the number of items you need in the same colour or pattern think about using mismatched crockery in a consistent tone instead. You can often pick these items up fairly cheaply at thrift or second-hand stores and vintage markets.
The Centre Piece
The most impressive table settings we saw included a ‘wow’ centrepiece. Flowers, candles and runners in the centre of the table can create an impact whilst pulling your theme together. Guests were blown away by these statement floral arrangements seen at the AEG Gourmet Collection launch at the home of chef Mark Best in Sydney recently.
[AEG Gourmet Collection launch at the home of Mark Best photographed by Daniel Boud]
Be sure to consider the practicality of your statement centrepiece – you want your guests to be able to see each other!
Trends
Some of our favourite trends for table settings at the moment include:
- Sequin or chevron table runners – a bold and modern way to decorate your table.
- Rustic looks – there is an elegance to the simplicity of a rustic table setting, it can look romantic and whimsical at once, and works particularly well for garden parties. To create this look, consider using organic and natural fabrics for your tablecloth and napkins, with simple flowers like lavender sprigs to decorate.
- Succulents are also a hugely popular style statement at the moment, a collection of small pots can look chic but low-key placed down the centre of the table.
- Glitter – and finally, a dinner party is a great excuse to get out the glitter! Add some sparkle to your party with glittery cutlery. It’s easy to make your own at home using just clear nail varnish and a pot of glitter.
Find more of our favourite dinner table trends on our pin board.
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