Table setting should be special. It is necessary to take into account all the rules for the location of cutlery, so that guests are convinced of your tact and knowledge of etiquette. Festive table setting is not only beautiful, but also the most functional.
Features
The first item in the organization of any celebration is the choice of dishes for guests. I would like to note the festive event in a beautiful design. That is why the main object of attention of a good housewife will be not so much a thorough approach to the selection of dishes, but the kind in which these dishes will be presented to the eyes of the audience. You can add aesthetics and specifics to the festive process through table setting.
Even a person who does not have experience in organizing feasts will certainly come up with the idea that it is still more pleasant to celebrate a significant event in a cozy atmosphere.
To make guests really feel at home or in an elegant cafe, the hostess should be creative in resolving this issue.
A tablecloth is the basis of serving any festive table. In order to mark an important event, in no case can you use oilcloth, against which even the most luxurious dishes will not look sophisticated, but just the opposite. When choosing the tone of the tablecloth, you need to start from the interior and the occasion of the celebration. The fabric must necessarily harmoniously fit into the design of the room.
A win-win color option will be traditional white, suitable for almost any situation and emphasizing the importance of the occasion, according to which today everyone gathered at the table. But pastel colors, which are not conspicuous and give a feast of light atmosphere, can also serve as an excellent alternative. The use of bright and picturesque colors on the fabric is also acceptable.
The monophonic fabric will become universal, however, there are festive occasions for which a patterned tablecloth is also suitable. The drawing on it can be done unobtrusively, it can also be, on the contrary, bright and contrast.
It is worth remembering that the tablecloth is the basis, but the main attention of the guests will not be riveted to it. The edge of the tablecloth should hang from the table on all sides by 20-25 cm.
Crockery is the second important element of table setting. It can be made of any material, but china is a classic. From more budget materials, but with similar qualities, earthenware is suitable. Each person at the table should have dishes from one set or from several, but necessarily matching the style. Its color can be either contrasting or matching the color of the tablecloth, but the contrasting combination will look more advantageous.
The more chromatic colors are used for table setting, the more difficult it is to choose them correctly.
If the tablecloth and dishes are the main colors, then the role of accents falls on napkins. Their use is necessary for the basic maintenance of hygiene. Also, cutlery is wrapped in them. White will be a classic for them, but depending on the nature of the celebration, the color of dishes and tablecloths can be chosen and others. Do not exclude napkins with a pattern.
It is important that the color scheme of the picture overlap with them. Having shown imagination, napkins can be placed on the table in an original way, giving them a certain image that fits into the style of the feast.
For a thematic celebration, you can use various decorative elements. Usually these are bouquets of plants or candles in beautiful candlesticks. Again, do not forget about the combination of color with a tablecloth, dishes, napkins. The main rule of decor is its moderation, because overdoing it on the table with the decoration is very simple.
Submission Rules
Having devices, utensils and glasses, it is worth taking into account the place for jewelry. Decoration will take place after their arrangement, and this should not be forgotten.
The number of plates for food should correspond to the number of guests. The arrangement of plates occurs around the perimeter of the table at an equal distance from each other.
The very first place a serving plate, which will play the role of a wildcard. It should not be on the edge of the table. When installing it, it is necessary to yield 2-5 cm from it. There are smaller plates on it, for example, for salad, soup or snacks. To prevent the plates from slipping in between, you can put one napkin.
On the left, in relation to them, a pie plate is placed at a distance of 5-12 cm - mainly bread is placed on it, but sometimes croutons and butter. Both plates - serving and pie, should be in such places to form together one line.
Then cutlery is placed on the plates. It is better to use made of stainless steel. When choosing them, you should pay attention to the list of dishes expected at the table, and use only those that guests really need.
In relation to the plate, the devices are placed in the order in which certain dishes will be served. On the right, the arrangement occurs in the following order: a bread knife, followed by a fish or knife for the first dish, followed by a meat knife. On the left they follow in this order: a fork for fish or the first dish, after it put a fork for the main dish.
Remember that devices for herring and for sweets should not be next to each other.
For all categories of devices, certain simple rules apply. Firstly, the forks must be placed with the teeth up, the knives should be turned with the blade towards the plate, and the spoons should lie concave side up. Secondly, if there is dessert, the soup spoon is placed above the serving plate, otherwise, if the dessert is planned, then it occupies a position near the first knife.
Dessert devices themselves should be laid out behind a plate and parallel to the edge of the table, the spoon should look with the handle to the right, the fork to the left, the dessert knife should be on the patty plate.
After placing the devices, it is the turn of the arrangement of glassware. For table setting, it must be designed in the same style. Each type of drink implies its own corresponding glass, and this is no coincidence. Glasses, wine glasses, glasses, glasses are placed on the right, above the serving plate. Their order is determined by the order in which a drink is served.
Drinking containers are located in the free space between the rows of plates. Juices and waters are served in large decanters, spirits in smaller decanters, and wine directly in bottles. If there is wine on the table, you must place a corkscrew.
Napkins can be arranged in different ways. You can add originality by folding the napkins figured. They can be placed directly next to each guest or on a serving plate. But extra napkins are most conveniently displayed on the table in special holders, arranged so that they are accessible to everyone sitting at the table.
For each guest, while eating, there should be an opportunity to salt or add pepper, spices to the dish, so serving devices should be correctly placed on the table for them. As a rule, they place toothpicks. It is important that their number is sufficient. Serving utensils for salt, pepper and spices are placed between rows of plates, their number should be such that when placed they should be enough for the number of people at the table and provide everyone with easy access to salt, pepper and spices.
After making sure that everything necessary for eating is already on the table, you can go to the decorative elements. The decorations are evenly distributed between the rows of plates, so as not to interfere with the setting of dishes on the table.
Cold dishes are first served, followed by salads. Hot dishes follow - the first, followed by the second. Empty dirty dishes and glasses must be removed from the table in a timely manner.
How to organize everything?
Shortly before the expected celebration, the hostess should clarify the availability of the right number of devices, plates and glasses. The time spent on serving will depend on the number of invitees. This usually takes an hour, sometimes more, so the owners need to calculate the time before the guests arrive. The tablecloth needs to be ironed before setting the table.
It is necessary to arrange the dishes carefully, slowly, because it is created from fragile material. Places for serving plates should be chosen very carefully and placed on the same line, but so that guests do not interfere with each other during the celebration.
Before serving, cutlery must be grated, this will give them a shine and relieve unwanted browning that appears from time to time. The rubbing material can be a simple cotton towel or paper towel. When serving, they should be touched very carefully, as they are very easy to stick with fingerprints. The presence of such spots will create a false opinion about the accuracy of the mistress of the house.
For greater sophistication of the holiday, appliances can be wrapped in a napkin and served on the table, but this option is suitable for a small number of appliances.
Glass vessels for drinks must also be rubbed in advance, since their surface may be cloudy or dusty from time to time. For this procedure, a special microfiber roll towel or a glass rag is suitable.
If you are unsure that appliances for salt, pepper, spices and napkins will be easily accessible to guests, you just need to imagine yourself in their place in the literal sense of the word.
If you can reach what you theoretically might need, your serving is successful.
Ideas for different occasions
The setting of the festive table depends on its theme and the occasion on which the celebration will take place. However, different types of feasts can be combined into groups and derive certain rules for their design.
New Year or Christmas, mainly celebrated in the family circle. In this case, you can discard the strict brevity and restraint of the decor. The tablecloth can be in bright colors, with Christmas motifs.
As a bouquet of plants for this particular case, you can choose not flowers, but fir branches, in the manner of a Christmas tree, decorated with small balls or toys.
You can arrange one large bouquet both in the middle of the table and evenly place it across the entire area or opposite each of the guests. Directly the surface of the table can be decorated with cones, which can be sprinkled with an artificial silver sheen that simulates snow. The saturated color of napkins, for example, red or green, will add even more positive notes to the New Year's interior, especially if you wrap them in cutlery before serving and decorate with a small sprig of spruce.
The atmosphere of a romantic dinner can be created due to the special table setting. The perfect color scheme can be pastel, delicate shades of red and pink. The bouquet can be set both in the center of the table and near the girl, because the flowers are intended for her. A vase may have a symbolic heart shape. On the surface of the tablecloth you can scatter rose petals, confetti in the form of hearts. Elements of romance can be conveyed even through dishes and cutlery - all this can be decorated with hearts.
The main lighting can be dimmed or completely turned off, and candles in elegant coasters corresponding to the theme of the dinner can serve as a light source.
The design of the children's holiday table includes bright colors that can be used absolutely in any decor elements.
The triumph of this type is the most democratic regarding the colors of the serving details. Peven sets of plates and glasses may differ, there is no need for the same pattern at all. To decorate the table, you can use multi-colored balloons, a bright tablecloth with images of the heroes of your favorite children's cartoons.
To conduct a celebration in a formal setting, strict flower consistency is required. The tablecloth is used in plain, white or some pastel cold color. All sets of dishes should be the same for each guest, napkins - traditionally white and without a pattern. Decor elements are absent or minimal.
Spectacular options for inspiration.
When setting the table, do not forget about the decor. Even if you do not have a very large number of dishes on the table, then beautiful flowers and candles can add solemnity to it. Sometimes you don’t have to lay a tablecloth if you set the table for a holiday in a rustic style.
Decor elements of various heights look beautiful. Just make sure that the guests are comfortable to communicate and the bouquets do not block the faces of the interlocutors.
You can use bright elements as a decor. They will be able to add more festive mood and will certainly raise an appetite.
If you have any difficulties with the design, first draw up a sketch-diagram on which the arrangement of devices and decor elements will be displayed.Also determine the list of products that will be used for cooking. Having carefully prepared, you can not only deliciously feed your guests for an anniversary or other holiday, but also surprise you with a beautiful decor created by your own hands.
You can learn even more features of the table setting by watching the following video.
