Table decorating tips to impress dinner guests

Don't fear tablescaping at your next party – here, Eleanor Fazan lays down some rules for sitting your guests down to dinner

Q: I heard someone say the word ‘tablescaping’ the other day and ended up lost in an alien land of table decorating that had completely passed me by. Turns out it's an art form. Cutlery, glasses and a wine bottle are about all that make it onto my table. Perhaps a sheet of kitchen roll if my dinner party guests are lucky. Having discovered this beautiful new world I want to become a theatrical tablescaper (although I probably won't call myself that in public). How do I do it?

A: I’m not afraid to admit that I had to google ‘tablescaping’ – and what do I discover? Much like wild swimming, which in my youth was simply called swimming, or lovely old Holborn rebranded by estate agents as Midtown to lure in millennials, what used to be known as laying the table has a new name: tablescaping. Presumably rebranded to get people off their sofas and back to civilisation, aka the dining table.

As my mother used to say, a dining table is a reflection of who you are. If, as you say, your guests should count themselves lucky if you remember the kitchen roll, consider for a moment what you are saying about yourself: nothing good. Even when eating alone I like to do things with a bit of flourish and flair. Dining, after all, should be a feast for all the senses.

Luckily, when it comes to decorating, there are no rules other than taste. Although, if my brief scroll through Instagram is anything to go by, even good taste seems to frequently not be met. As you’re just beginning, may I suggest you stick to the basics: start with a simple tablecloth, crockery, cutlery and wine glasses, and then add colour in the form of accents and accessories.

For summer, I love a light linen, but a bright colour or bold pattern will do much better at hiding the inevitable splash of red wine. You can mix, match and layer any patterns, as long as you have a good basic colour palette with several matching colours. First, pick a theme to set the mood – ask yourself, are you hosting a rustic lunch in the garden where guests help themselves family-style and wine is served in carafes, or a sophisticated supper with multiple courses and wine pairing? This will inform the type of table you lay.

Next find some inspiration – if dining outside it might be from the colour of roses blooming in your garden. Pink is a failsafe choice for summer entertaining and makes alfresco dining feel celebratory and fresh. Plus it looks great with rosé. Or for a formal supper it may come from the blue-and-white pattern on Granny's vintage china you want to use. Either way, a good rule for beginners is to keep things tonal. Your key colour should tie into napkins, crockery, candles and flowers. When it comes to adding a centrepiece, they should be low enough that diners can see each other across the table. And remember – one of something is good, but repetition creates drama.

It's my view that a successful lunch should linger into the evening, so prepare for a long afternoon by loading your table with glasses so that once eating is over, you can relax and let your guests help themselves. Glasses should be lined up on the right above the knife – a tumbler for water and two glasses for wine should be enough (with the larger glass for red). But if pudding wine or champagne is being served you’ll need a third, smaller wine glass. Add lots of candles in glass tea-light holders for a little extra sparkle as dusk gathers around you. If you’re serving red wine, you might want to decant it.

But no matter how beautiful the table, it's still only the thing you sit around. Assuming you’ve put as much effort into what you’re serving – perhaps a butterflied leg of lamb with honey and lavender served with a delightfully light pinot noir (or dare I say it, even a buttery, summery chardonnay) – show off to your guests by giving the room a bistro feel and write up your menu on a big chalkboard. An enticing description of the food you’re going to serve will really whet your guests’ appetites, and add to that details of the wines you’ll be serving. It's these personal touches that will linger long in their memories.

Make sure there are no awkward silences by doing a table plan in advance and have fun with the place settings. I favour hand-written luggage tags, with individual messages, tied to wine glasses, but you could try wooden Scrabble pieces spelling out each guest's name. Encourage conversation by filling storage jars and frames with objects that mean something to you or your guests. It's a sure way to get a conversation started. You could even centre the whole dinner around wine, with little pads for tasting notes.

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