Seven tablescaping tips for the perfect summer tablescape

Summer has begun, al fresco entertaining is in full swing (in limited numbers) and we are beginning to be able entertain indoors (following regulations). Excuse all the caveats!

I’ve put together 7 of my top summer tablescaping tips on how to style the perfect tablescape.

1. Theme

Firstly, decide on the type of event you’ll be holding and plan ahead; Is it formal, informal, garden style, party, festive etc. This will help you decide on the look and theme of your tablescape. Let's think of a summer theme, I love the above image from our Herbariae Collection as it has such a summer vibe to it, perfect for both indoors and outdoors. 

2. Choose your dinnerware and glassware

I tend to choose my dinneware first and then build around it. Or if I've a new tablecloth I want to use or glassware I'll work around these to start building my look. For our Herbariae tablescape I used the Herbariae dinner set as my focus. I chose everything else after to compliment the entire look. 

3. Pick your colour

By now you will have some sort of colour palette from either your theme, dinnerware or glassware chosen. This is your next important decision which will create your perfect tablescape.  For our Herbariae tablescape we chose green, white and gold to be the colour palette . Have fun creating your own tablescape from the colours you choose. And it also helps you keep in check. I also like to mix dinnerware and table linen up and bring different colours that contrast well off each other. This will help the designs and colours pop up even more.

4. Plan

Plan your meal, how many courses to make, if you are going formal, make sure you’ve enough cutlery and dinnerware for the different courses, different glassware including your water and different wine glasses. You also need to think practically so that everything goes seamless for you and that you’re not at the kitchen sink for most of the night cleaning the one course cutlery set you have or needing extra serving dishes. These are so important to make your night a success, so your guests can enjoy your company too. Plan ahead so you can arrange to have these on the night itself. Think where your serving dishes will go. Is there room on the table to put them in the center? Or clear away a large space on the counter or a table near the dining table so that the serveware can be placed after serving. You could make this space visually impressive too by dressing it with seasonal flowers, foliage and fruit.

5. Textures and layers 

Build your tablescape with textures and layers. This is a game changer, from a nice table setting to a well thought out beautiful tablescape. Bring in new textures like table linen. You can layer your table linen with large tablecloths and a smaller tablecloth or runner to give that dramatic effect. I see trending more and more is using heavy pattered tablecloths and mixing a different colour for the napkin which can work really well with the right contrasting colours. I've used our fabulous summer cotton sateen tablecloth (in the high grass). Use placemats like the gold placemats that we used in this tablescape which are very popular and great for evening entertaining. Or charger plates which can be used as placemats giving that more formal look that sit under your dinnerplate. Bring in candle sticks, tea lights at different heights and strategically place them across your table with a thought out process. For our recent tablescape we used gold palm tree candlesticks and tealights. We placed the gold candle holders lengthways down the table and in between we placed the tealights. The lights will set your ambience which is what’s going to set the tone for your event.

 6. Table decorations

These are your finishing touches to your table. For summer vibes we have chosen our silver and champagne coloured artichoke and our gold palm trees candle sticks. Your tealights and candles of course will act as your finishing touches to your stunning tablescape. If you are sitting outside outdoor candles or led candles work really well. Have a blanket over each chair for your guest, this will give them comfort and warmth.

7. Floral display

Bringing flowers to the table is your finishing touch. Arrange a floral arrangement to put in the center of your table to compliment your colour theme or if you’re tight on space you can opt for smaller vases and place them across the table. Make sure that the flowers don't obstruct the view from your guests, you do want to talk to them! To finish off put a sprig of flowers like lavender or a flower from your floral display onto each setting either the napkin or the plate.

Here's a video of our recent tablestyling of our Herbariae Collection. 

If you would like to create your own bespoke tablescape please do get in touch with me samantha@hostarotableware.com