how to ...

Hello all,

So as I mentioned over the weekend I planned to do a post on table setting - a "how to" kind of thing. After doing a mood board in the previous post, focusing on blue, white and greys I decided to stick with this colour palette when creating the table setting for this post.

I wanted to keep the theme of this table setting fresh, perfect for spring time, using layers of white, blue, silver and a bit of pattern to lift the objects. 

So here is my Table Setting How To.

• I think the best way to start a table setting is to get all of the crockery, linen, flowers, glassware and anything else you might want to use an lay everything out on the floor to see exactly what you have. You can then start grouping things together before your hands even touch the table. This really helps me visually see what items work well together, its a really easy way to shuffle things around without having to worry about knocking anything over.

• Once you have found what items work well together, I recommend taking photographs to refer to in case you forget, it's just nice to have a visual reference to look back at in the midst of moving around all the different items.

• Once all the prep work is done it's time for the fun part. Obviously this starts with the table cloths, linens and/or placements. Using a patterned cloth with a textured or plain runner or linen place mats is a great way to create more texture and layers which I think only add to the interest of a table setting.

• As many of the items I'm using for the table setting are plain surfaces without pattern, along with the limited colour palette I have decided to use a patterned cloth. I then layered with white cotton placements, which match the napkins.

• Once the table cloth and place mats are set it's now down to placing objects, I usually start with the crockery and glassware next. Once the key elements of the table are set it's just a case of adding things such as flowers and decorative items, this tends to take the longest as it's just a case of placing things and seeing whether they not only visually work but also whether they work practically. I constantly change my mind during this stage, as you will see from the image above which has the two dipping bowls in the wicker basket, they are soon changed when I start to adding other items.

• Now that the crockery, cutlery and glassware is in place it's time to start decorating the table space around it. Whatever your table theme I think the addition of flowers is one of the most important aspects of pulling together the look of the table. I like to have a centre piece of flowers and then smaller cuts either in glass jars placed randomly around the table or hand tied flowers laid upon the crockery or against the napkins.  

• In my opinion there aren't any rules in terms of what items should or shouldn't be used when creating a table setting, within reason obviously. I have used silver tree decorations which sit along side the crockery and glassware, on paper it may not seem like the ideal partnership but aslong as the size and colour fit in with the over theme of your table I say be as creative as you want. After all it's merely just a case of taking it off the table and putting something else in it's place. Trial and error is the best way to think of it. As long as the essentials are in place then you can be as playful as you want. Just keep in mind your colours and the practical element of your items, you don't want items to get in the way or feel uneasy about things getting knocked over. Also bear in mind the height of flowers and extra decoration as you don't want to block out the sight of any guests at the table.

Here are some more snaps of my table setting with the finishing touches added.

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