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Welcome to my new blog post series, Tablescaping 101! This series will introduce you to – and help you learn to truly enjoy – the practice and art of setting the table!

You might be new to the concept of tablescaping – which really is just a fancy way of saying, “setting the table.” I tend to think of “setting the table” as something very basic, while “tablescaping” elevates it by giving a little more thought to style, design, and aesthetic. But really, whether you’re tablescaping or just setting the table, there is a correct way to arrange the place setting. And I – much to my surprise – found out as recently as a couple of years ago that I was doing it wrong!

In this post we’ll cover the basics of casual and formal place settings, and consider briefly why it’s important to do them correctly. As you’ll see throughout this series, there’s more than enough room for creativity while still adhering to the basic rules.

To begin, let’s look at the correct placement of elements in a casual place setting.

The basic place setting most people use when sitting down to dinner, at least in the U.S., consists of dinner plate, fork, knife, spoon, napkin, and water glass. These elements are set like this:

Working from the left, we have the napkin & dinner fork, dinner plate, dinner knife, and teaspoon, with the water glass set to the upper right of the dinner plate.

There’s actually some dissent about the napkin placement: some people set it to the left of the fork instead of under it, some set it on the plate.

Another option is to move the napkin to the right: in virtually every table I’ve set where the napkin is folded flat like this, I’ve set it under the right-side utensils. But my favorite way is to give the basic setting just a smidge more personality by setting the napkin on the plate or off to the upper left, inside a napkin ring!

Taking a step beyond this basic setting, if you were to add a salad course to the meal, you would simply need to add the plate and the salad fork. The salad fork is set to the left of the dinner fork, and the salad plate can be placed on top of the dinner plate. If you ever sit down at someone else’s table and wonder which fork to use, remember: with flatware, work from the outside in!

It’s actually a very short hop from casual to formal. Here’s a basic formal setting that includes a few more pieces: a bread plate and butter knife to the upper left of the dinner plate, a wine glass to the right of the water glass, and a dessert spoon across the top of the plate.

Here’s the same setting with a couple of napkin options:

These are the basics of setting a table properly, working our way from a casual setting to a more formal multi-course style.

Wandering napkins aside, I think it’s always worthwhile to take a moment to set the table correctly, even at the most basic level.

Why? As with so many other things in life, standardization is good because it brings order to potential chaos. Imagine if time pieces weren’t standardized: everyone’s clocks would have the same numbers on them, but sunrise at Ted’s house might be at 6:30 while at Bob’s it could be at 10:25. They’d never get that squash game going!

Furthermore, with order comes comfort – or at least familiarity. Your guests have been taught to use the forks “from the outside in,” so why make them fumble for the right utensil at your house?

Finally, setting the table correctly each time – and therefore creating order and familiarity – ensures that guests will be able to focus their attention on engaging in conversation, building relationships, and actually enjoying the food and the fellowship of the meal, rather than worrying over whether they’re using the right fork. A proper table setting conveys respect to your guests (or family members) and shows them that you want them to be comfortable and to enjoy themselves.

Taking time to set the table is a great way to involve the kids in meal time, by the way. Even pre-schoolers can help set items on the table, and can easily learn the correct way to do things. It may surprise you to know that I also encourage you to let your children handle the “good china,” because proper reverence for breakables and valuable things is an important trait to instill.

Next up in the Tablescaping 101 series: tips for planning your next tablescape!

Here’s an image to use on Pinterest if you’d like to save this post for future reference!

There are so many wonderful ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day… as a couple, as a group of “gal pals,” as a family, as friends at school… I don’t exactly gush over the day, but I do love my sweetheart Greg even though we cannot always spend the holiday together. This year I was delighted that we would get almost an entire weekend to celebrate, including both Friday and Saturday nights. We thought it would be lovely to go out for a nice dinner on Friday evening, and I was thinking about a homemade dinner for Saturday night complete with a romantic table-for-two. I had even decided on “the stack,” and previewed it over on Instagram:

But alas, the best-laid plans sometimes go awry. We did not call ahead early enough on Friday to get a table at our chosen restaurant, and because we had no groceries bought for the home-cooked alternative, we decided to enjoy our Valentine’s meal at a more casual (but still top-ten favorite) restaurant and save the “nice dinner out” for Saturday. Both meals – and the entire weekend – were wonderful and the company of course was delightful.

It just meant I wouldn’t get to set my table-for-two. Which I decided to do anyway, just for fun if not for a meal, and I liked it so well I think I will use it for another occasion soon!

The stack consists of beaded-look plastic chargers in a burnished gold finish – I think these may have originally been Hobby Lobby or Pier 1, but mine of course came from the Goodwill — topped with Rose Chintz dinner plates by Johnson Brothers of England and Fire King gold-rimmed dessert plates. The napkins are Pier 1 in a “rolled rose” fold.

I don’t know the brand or pattern of the glassware but these pink-almost-purple goblets are generously sized and pulled the pink from the dinner plates. They were also a Goodwill find.

Flatware is my treasured Oneida “Chandelier,” given to me by my grandmother almost 30 years ago from the estate of her sister, my great-Aunt Hazel. The tablecloth is a flat bed sheet, folded into a panel like this one so it defines the territory of the table-for-two.

And the centerpiece is none other than that romantic French dandy, Lafayette, standing atop a vintage metal lamp base covered in a hand-stitched doily made decades ago by my great-grandmother Metta.  Silk flowers, tealight holders, and an elegant salt-and-pepper set complete the centerpiece, all from my existing stash.

I think this table would would work for any romantic occasion! For more pretty tables set on a budget, join my Facebook Group, Thrifty Tablescapers.

I’m also sharing this table for Tablescape Thursday over at Susan’s blog, Between Naps on the Porch.

Here is an image to Pin if you would like to save this post for future ideas!

 

 

 

 

I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve made a purposeful effort to invite friends over for a meal. I thought that 2019 might shape up to be the year I started entertaining more, but then I got a new job that was mentally exhausting and I moved to a new home that took literally everything I had physically and financially.  So my thoughts about “having friends over for lunch” didn’t really pan out. I did host my annual Christmas cookie exchange in December – which was (and always is) so much fun – but that was really it for “entertaining.”

But the thing is, I really want to do this! I want to welcome friends (and family) into my home and share meals and set pretty tables that people actually enjoy for dining, and so finally I decided to stop wishing and just do it. So a few weeks ago I contacted two friends and invited them to lunch, and wouldn’t you know it, they both accepted – for the same date! This past Sunday I served a simple but lovely “ladies luncheon” for my long-time dear friends Shirley and Kathy. We enjoyed Lemon Herb Chicken Ring (a Pampered Chef recipe) and a guilty-pleasure favorite, Jell-O Cheesecake, for dessert.

The table was a slightly pared-down version of a Spring table I set last year… I really loved these dishes together in that table setting and knew I wanted to use them again. The dinner plates are Martha Stewart Everyday – I call this the boxpleat pattern, but I’m sure it has another name. Dessert plates are Homer Laughlin Eggshell Georgian “Marilyn” in pink and blue.

Flatware is “Napoleon Bee” by Wallace – available on Amazon! Glassware is “Whitehall” by Indiana Glass, in crystal, though I also have them in pink and blue.

And my serving piece is a yellow Depression Glass cake stand – I think it’s by Heisey Glass.

Of course the real treasures at this table were the three of us… we’ve known each other for a very long time, and “back in the day” our families used to go to classic car shows together all over the country. Hobbies and interests evolved over the years and we haven’t kept up with the car shows – in fact even though we live fairly close to one another it had been about 10 years since we all three had been together… until this happy little luncheon!  I’m so glad I got to see these special ladies!

I’m sharing this sweet “ladies luncheon” tablescape for Tablescape Thursday over on Susan’s blog, Between Naps on the Porch. If you would like to see more pretty tables set on a budget, please join my Facebook Group, Thrifty Tablescapers. It’s chock-full of inspiring, budget-friendly table settings! 

Please note, this post contains my affiliate link to Amazon. If you click through using my link to purchase Napoleon Bee flatware, it costs you nothing extra but I earn a small commission. Thank you for using my link if you desire!