When it comes to decorating a dining room, the scheme will depend on several factors, such as whether it is a separate room or part of another, the existing furniture, the available light and the mood you are trying to create. Your choice of colour or theme could be inspired by your china or curtains - or maybe you need a neutral backdrop for stronger accent colours or interesting furniture. Red is a traditional colour for dining rooms and it does promote an intimate atmosphere, but it can be difficult to live with all the time and is best reserved for separate dining rooms.
Whatever colour combination or theme you choose, stick to it as closely as possible - too many styles and colours can create a cluttered look and will feel claustrophobic.
Seating
It is difficult to estimate how many people you can seat around a table. For a start, it depends on how friendly they want to get, but as a rule 60 cm per person is a good guide. If your chairs have arms, about the width of a pair of crossed arms - or 70 cm by a depth of 35 cm - is adequate for each place setting. Something else to bear in mind when seating people is the position of the table legs. Most of us have spent at least one uncomfortable meal with our legs straddling the table leg.
If you are trying to find chairs for a table you already own, take the height of the table with you when you go shopping. Chairs with arms should fit underneath the table for comfort and to save space. Try to allow 30 cm between the chair seat and the tabletop.
Setting a table
- Most dining is fairly casual these days and when it comes to setting a table for dinner there are no strict rules.
- Set places so that guests are evenly spaced around the table, trying to give them a minimum of 60 cm each.
- Lay cutlery according to the order of eating. The first cutlery to be used should be on the outside of the setting, so that you start at the outside and work your way in. Knives (with the blade facing the plate) and spoons go on the right of each place setting; forks on the left.
Glasses stand on the right above the knives and spoons. Use a wide goblet for red wine or water, a small wine glass for white wine and a smaller version yet for sherry or liqueurs. If you are only using one glass, a stemmed goblet will suffice.
The side plate should be on the left of the place setting and to the left of the cutlery, with the napkin on top of it.
Special Occasions
Decorating a table for dinner is the icing on the cake. Take time to plan what you are going to do and match it to the occasion.
Keep to a theme and follow it through to the china, cutlery, napkins and candles. Be creative: outline each place in ivy; put a fresh flower on each plate; tie up cutlery with ribbon; write out the menu and place cards on handmade paper.
Your theme could be a colour or a birthday. Try painting glasses either to match china or with the name or favourite thing of the birthday person. Use cotton sheeting instead of a tablecloth and dye or paint it. It is cheap enough to use for one special occasion.
A centrepiece can be matched to the occasion. Keep it simple and effective: floating candles and flower heads in a decorative bowl of water; a small group of flowers displayed in tin cans; an arrangement of candles of different heights; a pile of presents; a bowl of fruit to be eaten for dessert. Keep the centre-piece low so that guests can talk easily to each other over the top of it.
For a children's party buy a block of sugar paper and use the sheets as table mats; cover the table with a paper table-cloth, give them crayons and let them draw; tie brightly coloured balloons to the backs of chairs and let them take them home afterwards.
Tablecloths and napkins
Unless you want it to be floor length, a tablecloth should have an all-round drop of 25-30 cm so that it falls a little below lap level and your guests do not get tangled up in it. To a certain degree, a cloth will protect the table, but a felt table pad underneath allows you to put warmed plates and dishes safely on the cloth without marking the table.
Table felt is available from department stores, or look through the classified ads in home magazines for mail-order companies who will cut it to size to fit your table.
With so many pretty paper napkins available why bother with the fabric variety? They provide an opportunity to dress the table and create a little theme on a plate. Be imaginative and use twisted ivy, ribbon, parcel tags, dried flower heads, raffia, beads, copper garden tags and handwritten cards. Personalize each napkin for your guests.
For birthday meals, a little present attached to the napkin with ribbon is a nice touch; at Christmas, tie baubles with curling ribbon. There are loads of things you can do...
Fabric napkins do not need to be expensive. Cut them from remnants to match colour schemes, or make each one different. Scour the remnant bins in shops for unusual fabrics at bargain prices. Dress fabrics are ideal for making napkins as they are designed to with stand regular washing. If you use furnishing fabrics, wash them first to remove any dressing or special finish.
Tips: The simplest decorations are the most effective. Floating candles and a cut flower head in a bowl of coloured water look stunning in the centre of the table.
Dining areas as part of another room
Most dining areas are borrowed from another room, usually the kitchen or living room, but a dining area in a large hall or conservatory is not unusual. New houses are often built with just one room downstairs which has to double as both the living and dining area. So how do you decorate a room that has to serve more than one purpose?
- Create different moods by using lighting and furniture to highlight separate areas of the room while keeping the same colour throughout. Freestanding open shelves can divide a dining area from a sitting area without blocking any light and will provide useful storage space for both rooms. Two large rugs on a wooden floor can contain dining and sitting space within their boundaries.
- Another way to create a separate dining area is by using a moveable physical barrier such as a suspended screen to isolate a kitchen from its storage area or muslin on a curtain track. A re-standing screen will partially separate the table to give the dining area an intimate feel, and can be folded back against the wall when not in use.
- The space under the stairs is often under-used, yet this alcove can make a cosy dining area in a small house. Shelved, it will also provide valuable storage space for crockery and glassware. Another often-forgotten space for eating is the hall. Some older houses and flats have enormous hallways that will easily accommodate a large dining table and chairs. Such an arrangement could create a wonderful entrance to any property.
Many people decide to build a conservatory to give themselves an extra room, but if there is not a separate dining room this would be an ideal opportunity to create one. Conservatories are lovely to eat in and by their very nature have views over the garden and an intimate atmosphere when the sun goes down.
