So one night my husband asked if we can host his family for dinner the next day at our new house. I panicked for 2 minutes. One of his aunts known for her impressive entertainment skills and impeccable dinner presentations was going, and of course my mother in- law was on the guest list too. Broccoli salad, cinnamon and butter baked salmon, Thai chicken.. but wait! I lacked dining chairs! We were still on the look out for chairs to go with our black wired pieces, and I refused to bring in the monoblocks. With the help of the internet, I looked for a chair peg, sent it to my girl Lotus ( I love her) and she came back with two stores where I could find similar ones. I needed some table napkins, a few serving spoons and place mats. Thank God I had Rustans Gift checks so the next day I finished styling my clients house, homeschooled the kids then set out for my dinner party shopping..
I had 4 hours. Thank God traffic was light. I got the chairs and picked up some items from Rustans. I wanted to buy fresh flowers but ran out of time so thought of settling for bamboo leaves which grew around the neighborhood. So here is what I ended up doing.. Nothing fancy and my gallery wall was still incomplete but it had to do.
If you read my video post about Styling A Dinner Table, you will notice that the center of the table is full of decor. If you look for table settings at Pinterest, you will find similar ones too. These tables look pretty and when you are entertaining I think it makes things look better if you have at least one center piece. Serving the food buffet style on a separate table, if not plated is ideal too. Don’t you just love going to dinner where things look beyond presentable and everyday? For this particular dinner I kept the centerpiece and styling to a minimum due to time constraints.
Here are some tips to help you style your own dinner table setting:
1. Plan your color scheme. Table napkins, coasters, and flowers are three ways you can add color to your setting.
2. Put something from nature like leaves, flowers, driftwood or stone.
3. Add something metallic or shiny for contrast. Some ideas include gold, bronze, silver or copper decor. Mirror is a good option too.
4. Compose everything in various heights or elevations to add interest.
5. Check for functionality afterwards. Consider that tall center pieces hamper conversations.
Someone asked me if I can suggest simple table settings for family dinners where you want to put food on the center. The key is to leave space and minimalism and simplicity while making things looks pretty. Here is an example..
photo via : loony.com
My dinner went well, and the grey upholstered dining chairs we got worked perfectly. Hope you all get inspired to create pretty table settings for your next party at home.
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