Table Setting for Various Occasions

There are so many different ways to dress your place up! For the connoisseurs who excel at making statements through space, each avenue presents its own opportunities and its own challenges; yet each is tantalizingly integral to the overall dialogue a place initiates- with visitors and residents alike. Take your home for instance- it isn’t just about wall colors, furniture or elements here; sometimes it is the moments and occasions which populate the space that offer a canvas for personal expression and impressions. Even the minutest of incidental additions and objects of utility here can add an innovative and interesting twist on the flavor and experience of a space.

Nowhere else, however, has this spontaneity evolved into as elaborate an art form as at the dining table. Table settings are more than just functional endeavors; they are a slice of human culture and history as encapsulated in the ritual and etiquette of dining. At the heart of every gustatory celebration- no matter how formal or informal, table settings offer the perfect medium to set tone and structure to your meal time while generously contributing to the aesthetic and visual impact of the space. And with contemporary renditions boldly deviating from rigid norms to make place for modern lifestyle and dynamics, the possibilities are truly numerous.

Therefore whether preparing for a grand dinner party with friends, annual festivals and occasions with family, or making a special effort for a cozy dinner with your partner, table settings and party supplies are the tools to set your space and experience afire. It helps to know the basic thumb rules when setting your table out, experimenting with and building upon these to arrive at your very own configurations. Adapting your table setting to your meal, requirements and décor style, you can create pure art right in the heart of your home. Here are a few basics, and the ideas that come with them, to help you along the way.

If you want to bring centuries of style and impressions to your mealtime, there is no better way than to turn to the classics. A formal table setting, and elaborate multi-course meals to go with it, can take your occasion and impressions to a whole new level. And the visual impact is guaranteed to be truly spectacular, with everything from the china to the centerpieces playing its part to perfection.

Plates

In essence, a formal table setting is fine tuned to each course of your elaborate meal. Whether you serve a five or a nine course meal, it helps to have a charger plate (also called service plates) to set stage to the choreography of taste and visual indulgences on their way. A charger plate isn’t for eating on- instead it offers a base to accommodate the host of dishes- from soup bowls to salad plates- that each course brings to the table, only to be removed after the entrée course before dessert is served.

You can place your entrée plate atop the charger plate, and the appetizer plate on top of it, or just leave the charger plate by itself if your meals come plated up from the kitchen.  A bread plate, with its butter knife is placed to the top left of your charger plate if you are serving a selection of warm breads to keep the food and conversation going.

Flatware

Cutlery is placed around the charger plate in line with eating requirements- the dinner fork is placed to the left of the plate, followed by the salad fork. To the right of the plate, place the dinner knife, followed by fish knife, dinner spoon and soup spoon. If you are not serving salad or fish, you can omit the associated cutlery from your setting. The dessert fork and dessert spoon are placed to the head of the charger plate, typically facing in opposite directions.

Stemware

At a bare minimum, a formal table setting includes a wine glass and a goblet for water. These are placed to the top right of the charger plate, with the wine glass placed in line with the dinner knife below and the bread plate to the left; the water goblet is placed to its left, a little lower so as to be within easy reach of the diner. If you are serving both red and white wine, you can add another wine glass to the setting as well as a champagne flute if celebrations are in order; these are typically placed to the right of the first wine glass with the champagne flute on the outside.

Napkins

Napkins are the final touch to add to your table setting, and how you craft and place these can make a big difference to the look, feel and tone of your table and meal. These are typically placed on the charger plate- sometimes neatly folded and other times crafted into elaborate swans, sails, ballerinas and figures. But you don’t need to go as elaborate; even when rolled up and embellished with a dainty napkin ring it can bring oodles of oomph to your table.

But let’s face it- in the pace of modern work and life, formal dinners truly are a rare indulgence. This doesn’t mean however that you need to pass by the opportunity to let your table setting do the talking for you; even a casual pizza night in or a weekend kickback with friends can be charmed by a stunning table setting. The key here is to adapt and improvise, not getting caught with the laws of formal settings and letting your occasion and itinerary decide the final configuration and details.

Photo credit: Jonathan Borba

Plan around Your Meal

Consider how many courses you are really going to serve; a typical informal meal usually comprises of no more than three (including dessert), so plate your table up accordingly. Yet not all informal dinners need separate dishes for each course- it is quite common to use the same plate especially if the food is dry and non-messy. Further if your meal doesn’t really need to plated and can be eaten straight from the communal bowl, packaging or box, then factor this in to your table setting; sometimes you need more napkins on the table than plates when it comes to informal affairs.

Adapt and Omit

When setting out your table, start with the same rules as a formal table setting, eliminating what isn’t needed and keeping what is. You might not, for instance, need separate wine glasses and even a bread plate might seem a tab bit overindulgent for the occasion. At a bare minimum, include an entrée plate with the necessary flatware and stemware.

Mix It Up

There is something particularly pleasing about perfectly coordinated dinnerware, but informal table settings are the perfect excuse to shake things up a bit. You could mix and match your designs and colors to bring a playful vibrancy to the table, bring a theme to life, or go completely eclectic with your choices to really adapt the mood and scheme of things. Even the fold or placement of the napkin is an opportunity to impress the flavor of the proceedings- one you don’t want to miss!

While you are at it, why not bring some green cred to your table setting? From the choice of dinner ware to how you arrange and weave them together into a dining experience, every step of a meal- no matter formal or informal- can be used to contribute a little to the environment and energy savings. Whether indoors in the comfort of your home or coming together in the very lap of nature, you can transform your dining experience to bring it in harmony with all that surrounds it.

Photo credit: Ballard Designs

Choose So You Can Reuse

From the centerpiece to the embellishments, use decorations and items that do not need to be tossed in the bin after a single use. Ditch paper napkins in favor of long-lasting cloth ones, and replace fresh cut flowers with potted varieties. Even planning your meal can help you here, as you may not need fresh plates for each course, thereby reducing your washing load and energy expenditure later.

Experiment with Presentation

Reviewing how you parcel and present your food on the table and plates might help add a few green points to your meal. Gorgeous oven casseroles look just as smart on your table as in the oven, and with a little tidying up can make for an impressive visual statement. Further, try and integrate commercial packaging into the scheme of things- ice-cream cups can bring a touch of quaint charm while bottled beverages can reduce clutter and hassle.

Go Ethnic

For a particularly memorable dinner statement, why not bring a flavor of eastern dining or ethnic ideas to your table setting! Banana leaves for placemats, dried palm leaf plates and empty coconuts to serve your beverages- these not only make for fun dining experiences, they also help make your table setting a whole lot more environmental friendly.

Whether at Thanksgiving and Christmas or at children’s birthday parties and events, the kids table comes with its own set of expectations, demands and challenges, especially when it comes to table setting. For starts, getting the kids to warm up to a formalized layout is quite a task in itself; add to that the risks of things being flipped and thrown about and you have quite a range of unfortunate scenarios to tame. Yet at the same time, here is a table where even the most formal setting can take on a fantastical tone and unleash your innermost creativity.

Photo credit: OhPartyDays

Child Proof Your Setting

When laying out a kids table, pick items, dishware and decorations that are hundred percent childproof. Unbreakable plates and glasses, artificial flowers and non-toxic decorations, plastic forks and knives that are safe and easy to use as well as plates with inbuilt containers make dining a lot easier for your kids, and you while you are away at the grown-ups table. Also, avoid little stuff like napkin rings or marbles for decorations- children are a lot keener to swallow these than the greens on their plate!

Keep It Minimal

Make your table setting uncomplicated and easy to follow. Opting for a minimal configuration minimizes the chances of spillage and confusion. You can always opt for elaborate designs, vivid colors and intricate patterns to keep your table setting from looking stark or dull, even in the most minimalist of arrangements.

Engage the Kids

Children have shorter attention span than most elaborate dinners, so integrate activities to keep children engaged between courses or while you finish your meal. A paper table runner can double up as a canvas for the children to doodle on, kids can decorate their own cupcakes before eating them or you could give their dolls/ action figures a place at the table to keep their imaginations in charge.

Published in: Ideas | Author: Lynn