Some links on this page are affiliate links (for example Amazon or hotel booking links). If you buy or book through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. How this works.
You do not need a dining room straight out of a magazine to set a lovely table. These seven tables come from home bloggers who host friends and family in their own houses, and each one has a trick you can use with the plates and glasses you already own.
Every photo belongs to the blogger credited under it. Click through to see their full tables and source lists.
How we chose these tables
- Real dinners in real homes.
- A range of seasons, sizes and budgets, from dinner for a few to a table for twelve.
- At least one idea in each you can use without buying new dishes.
1. A step-by-step tablescape from a former party stylist
Nina Hendrick started out as an event planner and party stylist, and this post collects the table-setting process she has refined over years of hosting at home. She works in order: centerpiece, color scheme, linens, then the place settings.
Her tables look styled but rely on pieces you can reuse, like colored glassware and simple white plates, rather than new decorations for every party.
Worth borrowing: decide the color scheme before you buy anything. One accent color in the glasses or napkins is enough to make a white table look finished.
2. A neutral table with herbs at every place
Lauren at Bless’er House admits her family is not a set-the-table household day to day, so she uses one simple formula whenever guests come over: neutral dinnerware, one accent at each place setting, and a centerpiece snipped from whatever is in season.
The accent can be as small as a sprig of herbs on each napkin. Her other trick is leaving the table room to breathe, and letting the food itself be part of the decoration. (Her post was sponsored by a retailer, which she discloses.)
Worth borrowing: put a sprig of rosemary or thyme on each napkin. It smells good, costs pennies and tells guests the table was set with care.
3. A minty garden party with scalloped napkins as placemats
Marianne’s Entertaining Diaries series on The M.A. Times collects her tables, and this minty green garden party is a favorite. A striped tablecloth sets the tone, and large scalloped napkins laid flat under the plates stand in for placemats.
It is a light, fresh look for an outdoor lunch or summer dinner, and the color scheme stays to one or two greens with white.
Worth borrowing: use oversized napkins as placemats. You get the layered look without buying a second set of table linens.
4. An earthy fall table built with a nine-step formula
Lindsey Pedey’s fall table, created in a disclosed partnership with Wayfair, follows a nine-step formula she shares in full. It layers earthy textures and candles, with small gold pumpkins doubling as place cards.
One detail I always pass on: she uses unscented candles on the dinner table, so the candles never compete with the food.
Worth borrowing: keep table candles unscented and save scented ones for the entry or the bathroom.
5. A spring seven-course dinner, including what went wrong
Rufus Dewanou of The Colorful Pantry hosted an ambitious seven-course spring dinner with a white and green table and tulips. What makes this post worth reading is the honesty: he writes about the moments that did not go to plan and how he adjusted on the night.
If you are thinking of a tasting-menu style dinner at home, his notes are a realistic look at the timing and work involved.
Worth borrowing: plan the menu so that at least half the courses can be made ahead or served cold. That leaves room to recover when something goes wrong.
6. A dinner for twelve on a homemade table
Leslie at My 100 Year Old Home hosted twelve friends and family members, which meant her dining table needed to grow. She built a wooden tabletop to extend it, then set it with mercury glass and grocery-store flowers.
Instead of paper place cards, she personalized glass plates with each guest’s name, which guests could take home afterward.
Worth borrowing: a long table for a big group does not need expensive flowers. Several small bunches from the grocery store, spread down the middle in low vases, look generous.
7. A camp-themed dinner by the lake
Lauren Saylor’s Host and Home newsletter follows a year of dinner parties, and number six is a camp theme set at Lake Tahoe. Enamel camp cups did double duty as place cards and favors.
The centerpiece was edible: bowls of tomatoes and cherries that guests could pick at through the evening.
Worth borrowing: make the centerpiece something people can eat. Fruit, tomatoes or a bread board fill the table and nothing goes to waste.
Plan the rest of the dinner
For menus by group size and budget, visit our dinner party ideas hub, and read dinner party etiquette for hosts before the big night.
Credits and sources
Every photo in this roundup belongs to the blogger credited under it and is shown with a link back to the original post. Please visit them for the full story, supply lists and many more photos. If you are one of the featured bloggers and would like a photo changed or removed, email [email protected] and we will take care of it.
- How to Create a Tablescape by Nina Hendrick
- Simple Formula for Dinner Table Setting at Any Occasion by Lauren, Bless’er House
- Entertaining Diaries by Marianne, The M.A. Times
- An Earthy Fall Tablescape by Lindsey Pedey
- How to Host a Spring 7 Course Dinner Party by Rufus Dewanou, The Colorful Pantry
- How to Plan for a Dinner Party with Friends by Leslie, My 100 Year Old Home
- A Year of Dinner Parties No. 6 by Lauren Saylor, Host and Home
