Table Settings

There’s more to setting a table than knowing where the knives go. There’s your imagination, for instance. The way you add a pop of color or a special detail and suddenly, a quick bite to eat becomes a fun family dinner. Or maybe it’s the way your parties get remembered and talked about long after the fact.

Here are all the details about what you’re putting on your table.

The casual dinner table

For gatherings that are special but still cozy, this approach starts with the basic everyday setting above and adds a salad or bread plate with butter knife on the upper left, wine goblet next to the water glass on the upper right, and napkin to the side. Note that the knife blade always faces in—toward the diner and away from other guests. This symbolically reassures one's neighbor to the right that one does not secretly wish them harm.

The elegant dinner table

Building on the casual dinner setting, add a charger beneath the dinner plate for instant glamour, then position the dessert spoon and fork horizontally and head-to-tail above. A smaller salad fork is placed to the left of the dinner fork. Rule of thumb: Always begin dining with the outside utensil and work your way in, no matter how many pieces there are. When in doubt, look to your host or hostess with big, pleading puppy eyes and shrug your shoulders.

The centerpiece

As if you didn’t have enough to do before a dinner party, there’s still the centerpiece to consider. Phone the florist, create one, or make it easy on yourself and nab a ready-made showpiece. Do keep in mind that, a centerpiece should never block guests’ view of each other across the table. Generally, that means a maximum height of about 12 inches; very tall centerpieces should be placed on a sideboard or sturdy, slender pedestal that won’t obstruct conversation. Do keep width to about 18 inches for a small table, 18-24 inches for a larger table. Don’t limit yourself to a single centerpiece or just flowers—a row of glass hurricanes filled with candles or fruit can have a big impact.

Setting up a buffet

This table-setting business is all well and good if you're having a sit-down dinner. But what about a buffet? Here is a handy diagram for that easy-on-the-hostess approach to dinner parties -

Source - Pier1.com