Table Setting 101: How to Create a Tablescape

A tablescape is the overall design and setup of a table, including its centerpiece, linens and place settings. Creating one is an excellent way to take your event decor up a notch, whether you’re planning an intimate dinner, holiday get-together, wedding, birthday party, anniversary celebration or any other gathering.

Because tablescaping design can be simple or complex, putting a design together can feel daunting. We’ve got you covered with a step-by-step guide, complete with tips and mistakes to avoid.

How to Decorate a Table in 6 Steps

Learn how to set up party tables in six steps. 

1. Choose a Theme or Color Scheme

What’s the occasion for your event? A tablescape for a graduation will look different from springtime tea party setups and holiday dining tables. If you’re throwing a seasonal bash, choosing a color scheme is easy: 

• Winter: Go for red, green, silver and gold. 
• Spring: Experiment with pastel shades and gingham. 
• Summer: Try vibrant shades of yellow and pink. 
• Fall: Embrace the shift to fall with red, orange, yellow and brown. 

Other occasions allow you to get more creative. For example, you can choose the guest of honor’s favorite colors for a birthday party, a student’s high school colors for a graduation party, or the Pantone color of the year from their marriage year for a couple’s anniversary get-together.

If you’re throwing a party without a specific occasion, your theme options are virtually limitless. Pinterest is an excellent resource for finding a theme that fits your style. Here are a few ideas to get the brainstorming process started:

• Y2K
• ‘70s or ’80s
• Disco
• Black and white
• Circus
• Hollywood

Once you’ve got your theme and color scheme, generating ideas for decorating tabletops will be much easier. 

2. Select Table Linens

Create the base of your table using tablecloths, runners, placemats or napkins — or all of the above. Don’t be afraid to mix and match textures, materials and colors to create a unique and unforgettable table. 

Keep your theme and color scheme in mind. For example, you can use a blue floral tablecloth and pink striped placemats for a springtime tablescape. For a Halloween party, try black toile or lamour and finish the look with velvet napkins.

You could also embrace a child’s restaurant experience by printing custom paper placemats with tic-tac-toe, mazes, word searches and sudoku. This is perfect for a kid’s birthday party or for a group of adults ready to flex their imagination muscles.

3. Arrange Dinnerware and Glassware

When arranging dinnerware and glassware for a casual event, remember the basics:

1. Lay down the charger plate or placemat. 
2. Layer the dinner plate on top. 
3. Place the salad plate on top of the dinner plate. 
4. Put the soup bowl on top of the salad plate. 
5. Set the napkin to the left of the plate. 
6. Set the fork on top of the napkin. 
7. Place the knife to the right of the plate. 
8. Set the spoon to the right of the knife. 
9. Place a water glass directly above the knife. 
10. Put other glassware to the right of and slightly above the water glass. 

You can make some adjustments. For example, you might fold the napkin into a fancy shape and place it on top of the salad plate or wrap your silverware in a napkin and slide on a napkin ring. 

Your choice of dinnerware and glassware also matters. Similar to selecting linens, you can mix things up instead of using matching plates, bowls, utensils and glasses. You might use vintage plates with stamped designs and sleek stemless wine glasses.

4. Add Centerpieces and Decorative Accents

No dinner party table setup is complete without a centerpiece. There are two things to remember with centerpiece design — ensure it’s not so high that it blocks guests from interacting, and leave enough room for the place settings. Otherwise, you can go as elaborate or as simple as you want. Here are some elements to consider:

• Seasonal flowers, such as sunflowers in summer and dahlias in autumn
• Other seasonal elements, such as sprigs of weeping willow in spring and red berry branches in winter
• Candles and candlesticks
• Bowls of fruits, such as lemons, limes, apples or bunches of grapes
• Ceramic or glass vases 

5. Incorporate Personal Touches

Place cards are a simple and fun tablescape idea, but there are many more ways to make your guests feel special. For example:

• Place a packet of seeds at every seat for a springtime garden party. 
• Put together personalized candy bags for a Halloween get-together. 
• Make a friendship bracelet for each guest, and set it at their seats. 
• Print and frame wallet-sized photos of your guests and use them in place of placecards. 
• Place a tea bag at every seat for a cozy winter party. 
• Sprinkle some stickers at each place setting. 

You can also use family heirlooms in your tablescape, such as serving platters that have been handed down through generations. 

6. Make Final Adjustments and Add Finishing Touches

Before your guests arrive, walk around your table to ensure guests have enough room to eat, can see one another and can chat comfortably. Also, confirm the tablescape design is cohesive and fits your chosen theme. As a final touch, adjust the lighting to set the atmosphere by laying down string lights, lighting candles or toning down the overhead lighting.

Table Setting Design Tips

Before you start gathering your materials, consider these final tablescape ideas and tips:

• Consider whether your event is formal or casual: Formal events might benefit from elaborate place settings and metallic colors. If you’re throwing a casual get-together, keep place settings simple and be a bit bolder with colors and patterns. 
• Incorporate natural elements: Aside from flowers, you can add stones, sprigs of basil, moss, pine branches, seashells, pinecones or fruits. 
• Iron linens: If it’s been a while since you used your favorite napkins or you’ve purchased a new tablecloth, give it a good iron to smooth out wrinkles. 
• Decorate chairs: You can find cushions that fit your theme or hang wreaths or ribbons on the backs of chairs. 

Common Tablescaping Mistakes to Avoid 

The biggest mistake to avoid is overcrowding your table. It’s easy to get carried away when creating a tablescape, especially when you’re excited about your theme, but placing too many items on the table can impede guest comfort and make it difficult for people to interact. This extends beyond creating a centerpiece that overpowers your table — you also won’t want to overdo it on the dinnerware. If you’re not serving soup, leave soup bowls out of the place setting! 

Additionally, while mixing and matching colors, textures, materials and patterns can make for a unique design, you don’t want these elements to clash. Choose a cohesive color palette, strategically place bold colors, create balance by making centerpieces symmetrical, and follow the rule of three by grouping items like candles in threes.

Rent Tabletop Decor and Linens for Your Utah Event From Diamond Event & Tent

At Diamond Event & Tent, it’s our goal to make event planning easier, whether you’re throwing an intimate dinner party or a large family reunion. With our vast inventory of table linens, china, flatware, glassware and other tabletop accessories, you can create a tablescape that’s truly special.

Shop our collection of rental table linens and tabletop accessories for your next event in Utah.