Setting the scene for entertaining – from a beautiful dinner party to a casual lunch gathering – begins with a welcoming table, laden with love.
Speaking with Home Beautiful‘s Editor-in-Chief Elle Lovelock on The Edit, interior designer Lisa Burdus, shares that entertaining is a love language, one that she’s sure if she wasn’t an interior designer she’d be “hostessing fabulous parties all over the place”. Between her love for cooking, impeccable taste at table setting and perchance for a dining set we can see why her next career move might see her earning the title ‘hostess with the mostest’.
Listen to Lisa Burdus on The Edit podcast:
Inviting friends and family over to share a meal is just the ticket to get your home in order and present it at its best. Setting the table for a bountiful meal plays a big part in bringing the focus where it should be – on the meal itself and those who gather around it.
Here are a collection of tips and tricks to put your best foot – and food – forward.
1. Something unexpected
A matching dinner set adds elegance to a table setting but for a touch of interest add mismatched pieces to the table to enchant guests and inspire a conversation. Mix up your colours and patterns but stick to a theme to keep it cohesive eg. Florals, neutrals or a specific colour.
2. Something fresh
Without doubt, one of the most special touches you can dress a table with is something from nature – fresh flowers, sculptural foliage from your garden or a collection of small potted plants are just the thing for a burst of beauty. At the end of the evening, tie bunches of flowers together with twine for your guests to take home.
3. Something tactile
“Contrast your formal table setting with soft linen to keep things relaxed,” says Maxwell and Williams stylist Vicki Valsamis.
“Neutral shades like beige, grey and white are a great starting point,” she suggests, “But keep in mind that the beauty of white is that it gives you free reign to accessorise with anything that your heart desires!”
4. Something moody
Bring warmth to your table with candles or lanterns. Work on a lighting story using your fixed lighting – avoid cool-toned lighting that can wash out all-white table settings.
If you don’t have dimmers bring in lamps for corners and adjacent areas to provide a referred, softer look than overhead lighting and use candles here and there to add ambience.
“If I love you, I wanna cook for you. It’s a love language for me, cooking and sharing and entertaining. And what’s the point in having this lovely house with nobody in it?”
Lisa Burdus
5. Something with colour
Lisa is a fan of bringing colour into your life, so it makes sense to see her table settings also drenched in colourful appeal. Adding a little colour goes a long way, use linens, crockery or decorative accents to bring a colourful touch your place settings.
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