Table Setting 101 for Summer

Make the Fine Furniture Design Summer Home China Hutch the home for your dinnerware.

The summer season is one of the most popular times when families spend time outdoors and hold barbecues and get-togethers. Since this is so, if you want to dine al fresco, then you’d want to remember a few concepts –

Remember the Silverware

There is one basic rule in every place setting. Whether you are going to use placemats, you must always have each table setting centered to every seat. There must be about 24-30 inches between each place setting. This is about 18 inches of space between the guests to avoid elbow rubbing.

As for the silverware, the forks must always be set on the left side of the seat. The knife must have its blade pointing inward with the spoon on its right side. Here’s a little something that would end the confusion on table setting, left and fork both have four letters while five, knife, and spoon all have five letters. So there, you should be able to remember it more easily now.

It also pays to remember this other simple rule – work from the outside in. This is another way of saying that you go inward as the meal progresses.

Also the Glassware

Regardless of the beverage that you’re serving, whether you’re serving juice, wine, or water, the glassware must always be placed above the knife at the top right portion of the place setting.

Be sure to have an extra set of glassware right where the drink station is situated to make room for guests asking for an extra glass or breakage.

Always make it a point to have the glasses set before the guests arrive. This will tell the guests that the bar’s opened and that beverage will be free-flowing.

Plate and Bowl Arrangement

Now that you’ve got your silverware and glassware set up, it’s time to consider what to do with your stacks of bowls and plates. This gets a tad trickier since the arrangement will depend hugely on what you will be serving.

This time, remember that you will be working from the top down. Since summer isn’t exactly a soup weather, then you could begin with an appetizer. Either way, you’d need a bowl so place it at the top and center of your plate and bowl setting.

You can also go ahead and unleash your creative side as you use flowers or some seasonal fruits to decorate the table. Summer is the perfect season for bright yellow lemons or to display the aromatic beauty of lavender.

Right under the bowl, should be the salad plate. If there’s no salad on your menu, then this layer can be eliminated. If the meals are served buffet style, then it’s an informal setting so just place a bottom plate as the main course plate.

Top with a Lovely Napkin

What makes fine dining fine? It’s not just the silverware or glassware. It’s not even the flower vases and stacks of fruits. At times, the proper placement of a well-folded napkin is all it takes to finish the table setting with a bang.

The table napkin can be something as simple as a folded cloth underneath the bottom plate, left side. If you want to include a napkin ring, then you can place it on the left side of the fork or just place it on top of the topmost plate. Don’t put it in a bowl, though.

One Cardinal Rule

No plastic, please! Whether you’re inviting guests to a formal or informal dinner, you must never serve plastic spoons, forks, knives, or plates. Say no to paper cups if you want to make the dining experience an elevated one.

At the end of your party, make sure that you store the glassware, silverware, and ceramics into an enclosed china cabinet so that you can use them again to entertain more guests.

Tags: decorating the table, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, table setting, table settings

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 7th, 2017 at 8:45 am and is filed under Dining Room Design, Interior Design 101, Interior Design Elements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.