How to Lay the Perfect Summer Table

How to Lay the Perfect Summer Table

Indoors or outdoors, there’s something about putting on a spread during summertime. Maybe it’s that sense of slowed time that comes with early sunrises and late sunsets – maybe it’s the heat and the slow tempo that comes with it – but mealtimes tend to take on a special feel in the summer months.

Late mornings spent over fresh fruit and croissants, late evening pastas and warm salads – even those spreads of fresh bread, soft butter, olives, and cheese that so often make their appearance in late May – we’ll take it all.

Most importantly, we’ll take the delicious mood that comes with a well-laid table looking out over the back garden, or totally al fresco and flecked by the shade of a pagoda. 

Laying a table is an art, not an exact science. It takes a certain amount of prior planning, but also a healthy dose of spontaneity and that ‘let the chips fall where they may’ attitude that plays a background role in any great design project. Remember that you’re not dressing the dining room on board the Titanic; you’re preparing a table for friends and family to gather round, and have a good old time.

Tell a Story…

There’s plenty to love about a matching set of dinner plates, side plates, bowls, serving bowls, serving plates…the list goes on. They have been a mainstay of any good wedding list for decades, and most of us have a matching set tucked away somewhere.

Then again, it’s hard to deny the colourful, joyful, unique appeal of a mismatched table, bursting with different prints and styles which, together, offer a completely different narrative. Contrasting pieces can be used to create a more relaxed, bohemian feel worthy of summer – a very welcoming sense of pulling every plate and bowl you own from the cupboards to create a fantastic spread of dishes.

They can also tell stories from around the world, much like the food you’re serving. Think ‘vivid blues’ of Portuguese ceramics, or quintessentially British floral designs, all thrown (not literally) together.

This is particularly true of hand-painted ceramics, where each piece carries a very unique, personal feel.

The same goes for your linens. The tablecloth, napkins and place settings don’t all need to be cut from the same cloth – pun intended – in order to create a well-ordered table. Let your table linen express your personal tastes, rather than your ability to match everything together.

…Embellish it with Non-Essential Details…

One of the biggest challenges to laying the table? Everything is roughly the same height. Plates of bread, cheese, meats, nibbles, fruit – virtually anything else – all exist on the same plane, and that can limit the table’s impact.

This is where the added extras, there for no other reason than to look good, can be so useful.

Tall pillar candles not only help to create a more dynamic scene, but they can help with bugs. Basil, peppermint, lavender, bay or, of course, the ever-useful citronella all repel flies, and create a sense of transitioning from day to evening long before the sun actually goes down. Use them to compliment your lighting and, unless it’s a very intimate dinner, avoid relying solely on your candles.

Flowers are a classic – not a cliché – for the summer table but, now that we’re shoulders-deep in 2022’s trends, why not try some dried lavender stalks or pampas grass instead? The soft pastel colours are almost as versatile as neutrals, and decidedly on trend.

…And Let it Stay a Little Wild

Overthinking and over-fussing are two of the most common downfalls for any creative project, and particularly in interior design. When something has been overworked, it’s very quickly apparent, and that sort of vibe isn’t often ideal when you’re trying to create a welcoming and festive environment for guests or family.

For that reason, it’s best not to ‘grip too hard’ to every little detail. Letting things feel organic and natural necessitates some degree of letting go — of letting the vase of flowers tangle with one another rather than standing in a perfect bunch, or of letting the candle wax drip down unevenly, or of being happy with mis-matched napkins and ceramics rather than perfectly matching everything to everything else. Enjoy pulling up every available chair in the house, rather than having 20 identical pieces, and appreciate the feeling of squeezing five extra place settings onto the table. It’s all part of the charm.

The wilder aspects of a table setting are what make things feel relaxed, happy, and as though things are unfolding just as they should be.