DINING
2. Symmetry makes mixing up the dining set easier. Mixing and matching dining chairs is simple when you stick with a symmetrical arrangement — a pair of slipcovered armchairs at the ends and wood chairs along the sides, for instance. Even though the chairs at the heads of table are completely different from the others, the look feels well balanced.
The “sometimes” dilemma: What to do if you use something but only occasionally? Fancy china and highly specialized cookware come immediately to mind. If you really do love to have these things when the occasion calls for it, and you have storage space for them, by all means keep them. Just be intentional about what and how much you are keeping, and know why. Try to avoid keeping large sets of anything purely out of guilt — if you’ve inherited something you don’t want, see if someone else in the family wants it, sell it or donate it to charity.
Transitional Dining Room by Robertson Lindsay Interiors Robertson Lindsay Interiors SaveEmail The Traditional Table Setting The knife. Before the 18th century, guests used knives to stab into their food and hold it up for eating. The implement was kept to the left of the guest — it wasn’t until the fork emerged that it found its way to the right, and it’s remained this way ever since (unless you’re left handed). Knives are always placed with the blade toward the plate. In formal dining situations, separate salad and dinner knives may be laid out, but it’s common for just one knife to be used for all the courses. The knife, however, should be removed before dessert is served.
The fork. In a formal setting, always follow the rule of working from the outside in. You should place the fork needed for each course starting at the outer left and work toward the plate. We tend to use two or three forks in a formal sit-down meal, but in the early 19th century, each guest got more than four. For dessert the fork is placed on the left, and the spoon (or dessert knife) is placed on the right. You can choose to lay the pieces out at the beginning or bring them out with the dessert course.
The spoon. Spoons traditionally are always to the right of the place setting and to the right of the knife. If soup is being served first, the spoon will be the outermost implement. If a tea and coffee spoon or dessert spoon is needed, place it to the left of the soup spoon and to the right of the knife. Nowadays, for aesthetic reasons, we tend to lay out our cutlery out according to size, as in the place setting here. There’s no hard and fast rule, but for a traditional setting, placement is always based on the outside in for the courses served.
sarah & bendrix SaveEmail Today’s Table Settings Shine the silver. A formal dinner can be a wonderful time to bring out the family silver. You can also get creative and place all the vintage pieces together to create an individual set for your guests. Tip: An easy way to get your silver clean is to pop some foil in a baking tray, then fill the tray with water and a teaspoon of baking soda. Soak the silver pieces for 10 minutes, then rinse them under warm water. Let them air dry and buff them with a clean cloth.
Use placemats. For wooden tables especially, placemats not only add to the design of your place setting, but also protect your table surface. Use the mat as a designated area for plates and cutlery, and have fun with mixing patterns with colors. Creative placemat mixing can liven up the table; not every place setting has to be the same. Try buying two sets and alternating them for each place.
Let the cutlery take center stage. Presenting the plates and cutlery in the center of the dining table instantly creates a warm, family-style atmosphere. People can chat as they pass the plates around and help serve those around them, which adds warmth to the dining experience. Table decorations can be minimal, with the focus kept on the tableware and the food being served, like a pot roast for dinner or Mom’s minestrone for lunch.
Get creative with cutlery. For a more relaxed approach, bundle each guest’s cutlery and napkins and place the set on each plate. By keeping the color palette neutral, you can create a classic and chic aesthetic. Consider using textured pieces, such as raffia or burlap, to tie together your cutlery and napkins. By limiting the cutlery and the number of plates, you can make the affair more casual.
Celebrate with little gifts or favors. It can be a nice gesture to place little gifts or favors on each of your guests’ place settings. These can be very small items, such as homemade jam, a vintage teaspoon, a bag of homemade biscotti or a potted succulent cutting from the garden. It’s a beautiful way to decorate the table, and your guests will feel welcomed into your home.
Enjoy tray service. A fun alternate way to dress up place settings is to play on the tray service idea. Each individual place setting can be designed on a tray, which can be left at the table for your guests or brought to your guests as they take a seat. Cutlery can be placed within the tray to create a set, or on the outside, making the tray more like a placemat. It makes for fun conversation and easy cleanup.
Mix your plates. When we entertain, we love to bring out our favorite dinner sets and cutlery, but for many of us, storing both everyday and formal dining sets is nearly impossible. If this is the case, why not look at adding designer or patterned pieces to your everyday plates? Simply by adding a patterned entrée plate, you can create a whole new dining set for a special occasion. This can work in reverse, too, with a patterned charger plate beneath your everyday dinner plate. Mix Your Plates for Memorable Table Settings
Accommodate a drinks menu. Glasses for drinks being served during the meal are typically placed to the top right of the dinner plate, above the knife and spoons. It’s traditional to have a water glass and other glasses — wine or champagne glasses, or a highball glass for iced tea — depending on what you’re serving. Choose glassware that’s appropriate for the event, but you can also have fun with color and size. Try using stemless wineglasses, mason jars or goblets as water glasses. Stemless champagne flutes are a sturdy choice for outdoor events. More: How to Seat Your Dinner Guests in Comfort Key Measurements for Planning the Perfect Dining Room Tell us: Have you set a table that you’re particularly proud of? Post your stories and pictures in the Comments section.
Mix Your Plates for Memorable Table Settings Hodgepodges are happenin’ — learn how to combine different-style dishes, silverware and glassware for a highly personal look Becky Dietrich Houzz Contributor. Becky's passion for personal, welcoming, hospitable... More Email EmbedComment39Like26Bookmark271Print Click "Embed" to display an article on your own website or blog. Dishes — formal or casual — come in sets of four, eight, 12 and even 24 in stores. That’s the way it’s always been, and that’s the way it ought to be. Says who? After all, where’s the fun in that? Have you ever been to a flea market or garage sale and seen some dishes you just loved, but there were only three, so you passed them up? Truth is, the most memorable table settings I have ever seen were a lovely hodgepodge of patterns and designs — not only the plates, but the flatware and glassware as well. Ignore the small voice that whines, “You can’t do that!” and follow some simple guidelines to build table settings your family and friends will marvel over — from things you have inherited or found. Eclectic Kitchen by Beach Vintage Beach Vintage SaveEmail The reality is, dishes and glassware break, and flatwa...
So how do you start? In my home, colors my husband and I love tend to govern our mixing, as you can see with the beautiful mishmash of dishes that came to us through Mike’s family, and that we augmented with thrift store and garage sale finds. There are Japanese dishes that Grandma Ruth brought back from a trip to Asia in the 1950s. There is Great-Aunt Bessie’s green-bordered formal china. There is a set of antique fish plates that we bought on vacation in Boston three decades ago. The pink girly dishes are from a garage sale. The demitasses are from a thrift store, and the Fitz and Floyd Christmas plates are the only dishes we have ever bought in a set. You can see that we gravitate toward certain colors, like greens, pinks, blues and reds, and that is totally reflected in our mix of dishes.
I’m going to use the Christmas plate, which is quite large, as a charger. Great-Aunt Bessie’s china will be my choice for the dinner plate, and Grandma’s scalloped-edge Japanese find will be my salad plates. I could just as easily set the table with all my different patterns of dinner plates and salad plates at once, but tonight I’m feeling little-black-dress conservative. Mike and I both have silver that has come through our family — none of it complete — so we have added numerous individual pieces that have crossed our path. Tonight I’m mixing my parent’s wedding silver with some mother-of-pearl-handled knives from an antiques store. The crystal is mixed as well; although we started with a complete set, years of breakage have taken their toll, and we have embraced that.
Fresh flowers and linen napkins (sourced from a thrift store, of course) are paired with “madame” and “monsieur” napkin rings that captured our hearts one day. A giant clamshell that I brought home from the shores of Western Samoa helps relax the tone. A small pillar candle nestles in the shell, completing the table. Bring on the food!
But what if you want a more casual, contemporary look? Pier 1 Imports is one of my favorite sources for mixing dishes. It seems to stock not only great colors but very mixable patterns. Although there are no hard and fast rules, if you’re not sure how to mix, consider combining a floral, a stripe, a solid and a whimsical pattern, as in the combination shown here. Start by mixing three patterns; if you feel brave, go for four or more.
When I want a more casual setting, I will often use a quilt (a modern one, not an antique that I have to baby) as a tablecloth. Then I mix lime-green square plates from Pier 1 with red and white checked napkins under red cabbage-style salad plates and white soup bowls. (Mike makes a to-die-for French onion soup.) Camellias add a smile from the garden at each place setting, while a larger floral arrangement is nestled out of the way. In this setting I let my quilt drive the mix of dishes.
Peggy Hart Home SaveEmail If you have sets of dishes you love and love to use, no problem. Consider setting them on a colorful tablecloth like this one. If you have aqua glassware, so much the better. I hope this encourages you to dig through your attic, to haunt garage sales and to let your table settings share your story. More: Luxurious Holiday Table Settings for Less
Gabriel TothFejel SaveEmail A group of actual crystals on the table will turn your dinner into a wonderland that feels rich and exclusive. You can buy large polished spheres and points online and give them to your guests at the end of the evening.
Personalize Other Table Details Don’t overlook mismatched cutlery as a great way to give your table an unexpected twist. Mix different patterns at every plate for a Shabby Chic feel or go modern with a DIY dip-dye look. Use nail polish to paint the lower half of inexpensive silverware in colors to match the mood. High-quality polish will have better coverage and stay on through hand washing. To remove it postparty, use nail polish remover.
Napkins can also help create a memorable moment. The classic placement of a dinner party napkin is in the center of the plate, adorned with a napkin ring. Instead of a napkin ring, use a thin ribbon to tie a small sprig of leaves, an acorn on a branch or a gilded leaf around each napkin.
Etsy SaveEmail Napkin Garland by Linea Carta - $14 Embroidered linens are the height of old-world luxury, but you don’t have to spend a lot to get the look. Etsy is an excellent source of hand-screened napkins in every imaginable motif. Tip: Use fabric ink and a large rubber stamp from the craft store on inexpensive or vintage napkins to get a similar look. Be sure to test your stamp on a scrap first.
Finishing Touches for the Home Incorporate interior accents or architecture into your party decor. Drape hanging mirrors with strands of pearls or a faux crystal garland. Tie together boughs of lightweight branches and place them across the tops of picture frames. Fill silver ice buckets, rustic urns or glass apothecary jars with a mixture of fruits, acorns, glitter-dipped pinecones and ornaments and place them on bar carts, occasional tables or the serving buffet.
Mercury Votive Holders - $5 Light small votive candles in the guest bath to keep the party atmosphere consistent. Tell us: How do you think creatively when decorating your home for the holidays? More: 25 Scrumptious Holiday Tablescapes by Houzzers
For Christmas morning, Vignette Design completed another clever tablescape using red and green tartan placemats with pinecones on a cake stand serving as a yuletide centerpiece.
Decorating a Cottage? Think Flea Market Style Hit up swap meets and junk shops for furniture that’s comfortable, beautiful and full of stories Becky Dietrich Houzz Contributor. Becky's passion for personal, welcoming, hospitable... More Email EmbedComment35Like20Bookmark235Print Click "Embed" to display an article on your own website or blog. What do flea markets, thrift stores and antiques shops have in common? You are likely to find the most fabulous stuff buried under piles of blankets or sitting in a dark corner. This is the kind of stuff that brings story and humor and a bit of quirkiness to your interior — and that’s just the kind of decor a cottage loves. Eclectic Living Room Eclectic Living Room SaveEmail If your decorating bent is toward old handmade rugs and quilts, chairs with messy slipcovers and a personal array of accessories, flea market style is just right for you and your cottage.
Appalachian Branch Chandelier $1,362 · Only 1 Left
Get rid of limiting ideas about what’s allowed to go where. If you pay bills at the dining table, move your serveware to the kitchen and use your credenza to hide a basket with all your check-writing essentials. Maybe the sideboard shown here is stocked with wedding china, or maybe it’s full of office supplies. Either way, it looks fantastic.
Get a good preview. It’s sometimes challenging to evaluate what a pattern will look like on the wall when thumbing through fabric or wall covering samples. A strong motif that may look like a spread-out pattern on the sample might read as stripey or blotchy once installed. In short, this type of toile motif makes more of a statement. Not that this is a bad thing; you just need to understand how the design will translate and whether it’s the look you’re aiming for. If you’re not sure about a pattern, see if you can find an image of the toile already installed or access a large-size sample and hang it on the wall. This pretty toile wall covering has a distinct oval vignette motif that is apparent when viewed at a distance.
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