Table Setting for a Successful Dinner Party Has Never Been Easier!

The task of table setting three times a day, 365 days a year is unrealistic. But when you do have to set a table, it is one of those jobs which is just as easy to do correctly as incorrectly. Your family, just as much as guests, deserves an attractive table. You can prepare a fabulous meal, then ruin it by placing it on styrofoam plates in the midst of a cluttered table. What table setting have you seen that includes your bills and old magazines?

Remember that you are creating a design and in any design there must be a relation of parts to produce a related whole. When placing linen,silver, china and glassware on the table, follow the tips below to make your table setting look great. For more information on general table setting, click here. Decorations, if you choose to use them, should be made to fit into the theme of the dishes and silverware in your table setting. The table covering is the background for the table setting. Whether it is white or colorful, it should be clean and free of wrinkles. No matter how carefully a cloth is washed, creases will appear at the folds. If you like, remove them by steaming or ironing. Most of the time, I don't worry too much about the creases because once you finish setting the table and arranging platters of food, they won't be noticeable. For any table setting, from casual to formal, place mats can be used instead of or in conjunction with table cloths. Traditionally, mats were to be used for breakfast and lunch with a table cloth at dinner. When mats are used, there should be one used under each dish and each piece of silver and glass on the table.

In the restaurant biz, the space allotted to one person at a table is called a “cover.” “We had 350 covers tonight.” means 350 guests were served. When talking about dinner at home, a cover includes the linen, silver, glassware and china to be used by one person; twenty to twenty-four inches in table space should be allotted to each cover for a formal setting. No bumping elbows with the person next to you. If you are flying solo for you dinner party, use as much space as possible to make serving easier. For further clarification, go to the table setting diagram page.

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