7 tips for the perfect table I MYHOME BLOG

7 tips for the perfect table

You have invited guests and want to give them an unforgettable evening? An evening to talk about for a long time? Then you should leave nothing to chance. But what begins with the invitation list and the creation of a menu plan should also find its consideration in the design of the table. We have compiled 7 tips for you on how to arrange the table & decor perfectly.

Prepare name cards

Especially for invitations where you have a goal (be it private or professional), it makes sense to deal with who will be seated next to whom in advance. Nothing is worse than a dinner where the Schmäh is running at one end and at the other, as it were, a state of shock. Put people with the same interests next to each other, or to two familiar ones, put one person who is “new.”

By the way: As the host, it is your job to make sure that the guests feel comfortable. By the way, the best handwritten name card is arranged in front of the plates, above dessert or cheese servers.

Cutlery: A question of location

Here is a simple but unbreakable rule: always arrange the cutlery from the outside to the inside and from the bottom to the top. In other words, the fork/spoon for the dish that is served first is on the far right. Next to it is a small appetizer knife and on the very inside, next to the plate, the large menu knife. Knives, by the way, are always covered with the cutting edge facing the plate.

The cutlery for the dessert or cheese platter lies across above the plate. Here, the fork is directly above the plate with the handle to the left, and the spoon is above the fork with the handle to the right.

To the left of the plate are the no salad fork (outside) and the large menu fork (inside). Align the cutlery at the level of the bottom edge of the plate so that everything is nicely parallel along one line. Cutlery and plates should be set about 5-7 cm from the edge of the table.

Arrange plates correctly

Plates are the central point of a laid table and are placed on top of each other. To underline and as an adornment lies the place plate, on which then the menu plate for the main course. An appetizer and/or soup plate is arranged on top. A small bread plate can be placed to the left of the cutlery – including a small butter knife.

Where to put the glasses?

Classically, all the glasses form a line. The water glass remains on the table throughout the meal and has its place at the top right of the plate. Wine glasses are added as needed, slightly offset to the top left of the beverage sequence. The white wine glass is above the knife for the main course, and at a 45-degree angle to it, the red wine glass is above the white wine glass. Will a dessert wine be served? Then the glass is offset to the left to the red wine glass.

Admittedly, this classic way of arranging glasses requires a lot of space on the table. If that is not given, you can also arrange the glasses in a triangle. In this case, the white wine glass is also above the knife, to the right below the water glass and to the right above the red wine glass. A dessert wine glass is positioned to the left of the red wine glass.

The right napkin

Particularly elegant – and also more sustainable than paper napkins – are napkins made of fine cotton or linen. If you want to fold them decoratively, it is best to strengthen the napkins when ironing. Also pretty: roll up the napkins and put them in a napkin ring or tie them with a nice ribbon. The napkins are then placed on the top plate or alternatively next to the left row of cutlery.

Table cloth – yes or no?

A white or light linen tablecloth is still the most elegant way to set a table. If you like it more rustic or even modern, you can also choose individual sets or reach for a tablecloth made of coarser fabric. Alternatively, a table runner can be placed in the center of the table. This usually covers only the middle strip from the table. Important: Nothing is worse than a tablecloth that looks unironed or wrinkles. In an emergency, iron the tablecloth again with plenty of steam if it is already on the table.

The optimal table decoration

It is the be-all and end-all of any table – the right decoration. Here you can choose to use floral arrangements or decorate seasonally (in winter, for example, with nuts, dried oranges or pine cones). Important: Make sure that the colors harmonize with each other and that the flowers are not too high, so that you can still see your counterpart. So the decoration does not steal the show from the food and also from the guests at the table.