How to Set a Table
Impress your friends at your next dinner party by learning the Domestic CEO’s 4 simple steps to a sophisticated table setting.
When I was about 9-years-old, my parents sent me to a children’s cooking class. It was one of my first experiences working in a kitchen and learning to be a “grown-up.” Over 20 years later, there are two things I remember learning in that class: That radishes taste like dirt and how to properly set a table. Since you probably already know that radishes taste like dirt, today I’m going to help you learn how to properly set a table.
First, it’s important to remember that how many pieces you put at each place setting is determined by what you are serving for the meal. In today’s episode, I’m going to give you the 4 steps to create a fairly complex table setting, but when arranging your own table at your next dinner party, only put out the silverware, dishes, and glassware that you need for that particular meal. Putting extra pieces, while may make your table look fancy, will only /house-home/housekeeping/how-to-organize-paperwork-part-2 and confuse your dinner guests.
Step #1: Set Your Base
For most dinner parties, the base of the table setting is going to be your dinner plate. Now, before setting the plates down, I like to make sure that each person is going to have enough space at the table. Plan for each guest to occupy about 2 feet of space, left to right. This will give everyone enough room for their elbows during the meal. If you have placemats, put them down now. There should be a few inches in between each placemat, which is another indicator that your guests will have enough room to eat your delicious meal comfortably.
Put the dinner plates about 1 ½” to 2” away from the edge of your table. If your plates are square, line up the edges of the plate with the edges of the table. If your plate is round, just make sure the plate edges aren’t sticking out over the table edge.
If your meal is going to include multiple courses, you can stack the dishes on top of the base plate. The salad plate would go on top of the dinner plate, with the soup bowl on top of the salad plate. That way, when everyone is finished with soup, the bowls can be easily cleared and your guests can fill their salad plates. After they finish their salads, simply remove the salad plates and your guests are ready for the main course. The only plate that you wouldn’t stack like this would be your bread plate. That little guy goes to the upper left of your dinner plate. You can remember this by making a “thumbs up” sign with your left hand. It makes a lowercase “b” to remind you that your bread plate goes on the left.
Step #2: Add Bling
Now that your base of plates has been set, it’s time to add your bling: the silverware. In general, forks go on the left of the dinner plate and knives and spoons go on the right. Your guests should be able to grab the farthest out utensil to use for each course. That way, as they finish each course and the plates get cleared away, the next utensil is ready for use. For your forks, the salad fork is the farthest out from the plate, then the dinner fork, and finally the dessert fork. On the spoon and knife side, the soup spoon is farthest from the plate, then the teaspoon, and finally the dinner knife.
As with all bling, there are accessories to your flatware. If you have a bread plate, your guests’ bread knives can simply rest on top of the bread plate. If you have a dessert spoon and fork, you can place them above the dinner plate, parallel to the edge of the table.
This is the time when you need to think simplicity. I just named 8 different pieces of flatware. If your meal only consists of one course, you should only put down the minimum number of pieces your guests will need. If it’s just a knife and fork, that’s totally OK. Don’t put down extra pieces to make your table setting look fancier. You will only confuse your guests and create more /house-home/housekeeping/how-fix-dish-soap-fiasco!
Step #3: Drinkware
Now that your table is set with your plates and flatware, it’s time to add the glasses for drinks. Again, I’m going to tell you how all the glasses and cups should line up, but please don’t feel like you need to add them all to your table, only enough to keep your guests hydrated and happy during your meal.
The glasses line up on the right side of the setting, above your spoons and knives. The coffee cup goes above the soup spoon, just slightly to the right. Then, in an upward angle, place your white wine glass, then the red wine glass, and finally the water glass. If you don’t have all the wine glasses, you can line your water glass up above your dinner knife, otherwise it sits slightly to the left above the dinner knife.
Step #4: The Napkins
Finally, after all the settings are in place, it’s time to decide what to do with your napkins. Depending on how you fold the napkins, you can put them to the left of the forks, under the forks, or on top of the plates. If you want to get creative with your napkin folding, check out the website https://www.napkinfoldingguide.com/ for 27 different types of folds. That’s right, 27 ways to fold a napkin!
Now that you know how to set your table, it’s time to wow your friends with your new skills. Invite them over and surprise them with your sophistication!
Do you have a great dinner party story or a question about anything in this episode? Post your questions, comment, or pictures on the https://www.facebook.com/domesticceo wall or on Twitter where I’m https://twitter.com/#!/thedomesticceo.
Until next time, I’m the https://domesticceo.quickanddirtytips.com/, helping you love your home.