Setting the Table: Special Occasion edition
When I was young, I loved helping my mom set the table.
Our house was party central, and my mom always turned out a beautiful table. There is a hidden closet in the dining room filled with special serving pieces (including the punch bowl that my grandfather used for the flaming Wassail on Christmas Eve) and a closet in my brother’s old room that held the tablecloths, pressed and folded and draped across hangers, at the ready.
I think I loved the ceremony of it: polishing the silver, creating special folds in the cloth napkins, choosing the napkin rings. I loved using all the silver, not just the regular three pieces, but the salad fork too; the dessert spoon. As a grown up, I really don’t entertain that way (though my wedding registry told a different story: to give you a sense of it, I have two sets of chargers, one casual, one formal.) Lately, on photo shoots, I’ve been indulging the entertaining fantasy through tablescapes that tell the story of the home.
Tips for a Special Table
Photo: Josh Grubbs
Personal Salt Cellars
Everything feels more special when you get your own. Also avoids the need to pass the salt.
Mix the Silver
Variety is the spice of life; throw in a little bamboo-handled knife for the butter. This is also a great way to supplement an incomplete set if that’s what you have.
Mood Lighting
Candles, obviously. But why not make them special? I picked up these beautifully patterened tapers at Nickey Kehoe on a recent trip to L.A. No need to have an even number, and your candlesticks need not be a set.
Water Goblets
Goblets just sound fun. Here we have a set of vintage purple wine and water goblets, but this is a great place to mix and match. (At home, I have simple wine glasses that work for red or white; our goblets are a modern Waterford cut crystal to honor my Irish heritage.)
Oddball servers
It’s good to have little nibbly bits on the table. I love this vintage dual sided bowl, with cornichons and marcona almonds. The handle makes it easy for passing. And who doesn’t love a pheasant-shaped gravy boat?
Chargers
For the uninitiated, a charger is the big plate that goes under the other plates. Functionally, it catches drips and spills before they get to the table, but I just like the structure they add to the overall arrangement. Placemats can get messy and feel crowded, especially if you are squeezing at a holiday table. Chargers also work great on tablecloths, through we skipped that layer here.
Objets
Marble or alabaster fruit. Why not? I do love to add in conversation starters. (It’s amazing how many people’s grandmothers had faux fruit of some sort in the house.) Warm nostalgia and shared experience, check!
Finally, Flowers
My mom always made her own arrangements and I like to do the same. Start with a wide mouth vase, take a mixture of blooms with similar volume and cut them short, and fill in with looser texture (seeded eucalyptus is my favorite). Eh voila!