As you lighten up your home for spring and summer—swapping out jewel-tone pillows with floral prints, replacing velvet drapes for linen sheers—don’t forget to brighten up your table settings too. You needn’t buy a new set of dishes and flatware, of course (though if you’d like to, go right ahead!). All it takes are a few fresh touches to create a warm-weather tablescape. Below you’ll find plenty of inspiration and a few tips:
• Pastels are pretty, but they’re not your only option. Simply adding in white or ivory table linens or serveware can brighten things up.
• Choose lighter textiles. Goodbye, brocade tablecloth. Hello, raffia place mats. And if you’re dining alfresco amid a strong breeze or indoors beneath a ceiling fan, you might want to eschew table linens altogether, except for napkins.
• Consider shatterproof tableware. Especially if eating outdoors or with little ones, opt for acrylic drinkware and melamine plates. You’ll be surprised at how chic today’s varieties are.
• Amp up the flower power. If you do nothing else, place a bouquet on the table. Real flowers aren’t your thing? Go for faux. You won’t have to worry about the fragrance competing with the aroma of your food—nor will you have to contend with bees as uninvited guests.
Shop all tabletop >
Plain green dishes are made spring-fresh with the addition of fanciful rattan place mats and the Peony Dinner Napkins. The lack of a tablecloth adds a breezy informality (and prevents any real breezes from wreaking havoc.) Find the shatterproof acrylic goblets here, the flatware here, and a similar shell-shape centerpiece here. Photo by Read McKendree.
A plain white tabletop or tablecloth is an ideal canvas for layering prints and colors. Start with Tuileries Garden Place Mats in Natural, then add Country Estate Dinner Plates in Petal Pink and salad plates from the Bamboo Place Setting. The blue of the Royal Copenhagen bowls ties in with that of the Sunprint Napkins and the cutlery handles. At the same time, the green Sequoia Napkins complement the exterior of the Melon Fruit Bowl—and with the salad inside it. Photo by Read McKendree.
This table setting features the same place mats, dinner napkins, cocktail napkins, and cutlery as the one above, but the pale green tablecloth dresses things up a bit. Here the Classic Bamboo Dinner Plates complement the Melon Salad Plates. Feel free to mix not just patterns but also vintage finds, such as the Limoges Duck Tureen, among newer pieces. Photo by Read McKendree.
Pastels aren’t the only way to set a warm-weather table, as shown here in Nicky Hilton Rothschild’s outdoor setting. Blue-and-white also works well, especially when there’s more white than blue or the blue is a pale shade. Here, classic white dinner plates rest atop Rubia Place Mats and beneath Le Panier Salad Plates. The Bamboo Place Settings and Classic Bamboo Napkin Rings hint at tropical ease. The Isabella Acrylic Tumblers in Blue and the clear Isabella Acrylic Wineglasses add timeless elegance. Photo by Read McKendree.
The gold flatware, the dark green table runner, and the Melamine Berry & Thread Dinner Plate would feel apropos for Christmas dinner and Easter lunch alike. The organic texture of the Loop Place Mat and the Bamboo Napkin Ring speak to spring and summer, though, as do the floral motifs of the salad plate and napkin. Photo by Cheng Lin.
Join the Discussion