12 Stunning Table Décor Ideas to Elevate Any Meal
Bryan Gardner
When having guests over for a meal, few things set the tone quite like your tablescape. Whether you're hosting a formal dinner party or a casual brunch, laying out a few beautiful place settings and an equally attractive centerpiece will elevate any dining experience. It doesn't take much to set up an attractive tablescape—and how big you go is entirely up to you.
From personalizing your table with simple handwritten place cards to creating a cascading centerpiece with houseplants, your guests will feel extra special when they see the effort you put into decorating your dining room table.
Johnny Miller
Play With Greenery
Bring nature indoors by utilizing greenery when setting up your tablescape. Use vases in various shapes and sizes to display a dramatic mix of greenery and simple blooms. Drive the earthy aesthetic home by displaying dinner plates printed with leaves.
Martyna Szczesna
Go Mismatched
Set a playful tone by opting for a centerpiece made of colorful glassware. To create this look, choose several vessels in mismatched but complementary colors, and place them along your table. Complete the look by staging each vase with single-stemmed flowers or tea lights.
Natural Materials
Whether you're dining on the back patio or inside your home, using natural materials as the focal point of your tablescape is as simple as visiting your backyard or local garden center. Lay moss down the center of your table interspersed with a few stones and votive candles. Go simple with your place settings to really let the centerpiece shine.
Lennart Weibull
Leather-Bound Details
When it comes to creating beautiful place settings, zoning in on the little details is key. Focus on one common thread you can weave throughout your display, like this setting does with leather. The napkins are enclosed in leather rings, which match the placemats and leather-bound utensils.
Johnny Miller
Foraged Setting
You needn't go far to find materials that will look great on your tablescape. Take this display, for example, which evokes a foraged aesthetic with lichen-covered blueberry branches and spikes of staghorn sumac. Use mismatched plates and napkins to play up the outdoors-in vibe. (Mother Nature isn't perfect, and your tablescape doesn't have to be either.)
Roland Bello
Botanicals Everywhere
Keep your tablescape cohesive by matching every component—from your linens to your glassware to your dinner plates. Here, botanical plates serve as the inspiration for the table's centerpiece; a display of plants with maroon and green leaves. The botanical theme continues with the place cards, which are adorned with single dried flowers in shades that match the plates.
Addie Juell
Terracotta Tableware
Terracotta is more than just a vessel for potted plants—it's also beautiful as tableware. From plates and tumblers to salad bowls and centerpieces the sun-kissed clay material quickly brightens any tablescape. What's more, terracotta is perfect for outdoor dining because it can withstand the weather. Pair your terracotta serveware with a peach colored tablecloth for a monochromatic look.
Johnny Miller
Dramatic Hues
For an intimate dinner party, opt for darker colors that add drama to your tablescape. Take notes from this display, which uses an eye-catching, structural centerpiece and warm votive candles in rustic tins to evoke a cozy atmosphere. Burlap placemats, block-printed napkins, and a leather-bound carafe complete the look.
Kirsten Francis
Vegetable Centerpiece
Are you known for having a green thumb? Then this is the tablescape for you. Skip the florist and venture into your garden (or local grocery store) and pick some colorful root vegetables and bulbs to display in clear vessels filled with water as a centerpiece. They won't go to waste, either—once your guests have said their goodbyes, place the vegetables in your fridge to keep them fresh.
Don Freeman
Monochromatic
Rather than opting for a theme, let your favorite color be your guide. In this display, purple takes centerstage. In various shades—from the dark purple liner of the bread baskets to the lavender linens—the color weaves its way into the tablescape. The centerpiece also nods to the hue by incorporating mums and kale leaves, both featuring subtle hints of purple.
Ryan Liebe
Potted Herbs
Borrow small potted herbs from your windowsill and use them to line your tablescape, as displayed here. We opted for gray striped tea towels that subtly match the stoneware pots, and then took a few liberties with the rest of the setup. The beige-and-blue placements give a layered, textured look to the table, while a water carafe wrapped in wicker completes the fuss-free display.
Simple Display
Simplicity goes the distance when it comes to your tablescape. The all-white place settings in this display feel understated but elegant, thanks to the green detailing on the starter plates and feathered lining on the napkins. This paves the way for an eye-catching centerpiece. The height and visual impact of this arrangement is boosted by displaying the flowers in a serving bowl topped with a vase holding more flowers.
