SUMMER ENTERTAINING, Part I: Setting The Table
S U M M E R E N T E R T A I N I N G
Part I: Setting The Table
I love summer entertaining.
To be fair, I love any get together centered around food and good company in any season of the year. But, Summer! It’s just so dreamy. So casual and relaxing. The days are long, warm and comforting, cares melt away, the to do list gets ignored. The markets are bursting with fresh produce in every color and shape. Summer dinner parties feel leisurely in a way that winter ones don’t. Like the sun may never go down, like this evening might last forever.
A couple of weeks ago I hosted some friends for a garden dinner. (Not, by the way, in my garden but the beautiful garden of photographer George Barberis. He has the greenest of thumbs and has created a magical space in his backyard.) In a future, much longer, post I’ll share the menu and how that came together. In this one I’d like to talk simply about setting the table.
I have always loved to set the table, to cook, to show love through food, to surprise and delight loved ones with a special experience. To come together around a beautiful table. When I encountered styling as a career path it felt like a perfect fit, a place where I could put this passion into professional practice. Over the years styling has indeed given me plenty of practice and reinforced my passion for hosting and my belief in the ability of the environments we create to shape our experience.
A few of my thoughts on setting tables below.
-Kira
\
OUTDOORS
First of all, it’s summer… let’s go outside and enjoy it. We’ll be indoors all winter long.
No need for melamine or paper or other ‘non breakables.’ Use the good stuff. It’s unlikely that you’ll break anything and you only live once.
AUTHENTICITY & EASE
I am a fan of keeping things simple. Setting the table sets the tone for your guests and for yourself. Like getting yourself dressed for the evening, the care you put into it shapes your own experience of how the night will go. That said, it shouldn’t stress you out or be too complicated. Because that too sets a tone.
A dinner party is primarily about great food and great company. But, yes, everyone benefits when the table is gorgeous. Approach it with authenticity and ease using dishes that you love and have collected. Do you need to have more formal china? Goodness no. Does everything need to match? Not at all. As long as it is set with intention it will be felt. It’s like cooking with love- people know.
Additional tip: I do think it’s a nice to limit the color of the dishes and serving pieces on the table to two or three colors. Make a color story.
BASE LAYER
I like to use my Philo Tablecloths because the un-ironed, rumpled linen (Who has time to iron?!) swaying gently in the breeze feels relaxed and yet simultaneously a bit fancy and presentational, the table dressed up for a nice night and wanting to look its best for your friends.
I always do linen napkins (no disposables!) and love that the ones from my collection are a smaller size and don’t become an overwhelming blanket on your lap.
ACCENTS
A touch of colorful, poetically shaped floral is always lovely. Search your yard, farmers market, or find an independent local florist for sourcing. My only word of caution is to be careful with scale. I do love a dramatic floral moment, but a too large arrangement can make it so that you can’t see each other at the table, defeating the purpose of the get together. Several bud vases or a not too tall central bouquet work well. A larger arrangement could be set on a buffet table nearby instead of on the main table.
Do be sure to include some sort of candle light. Tapers, tea lights, pillars… you have options. It’s always flattering, softening, and romantic and it really sets the mood.
