The dinner party never looked so good! Dress up yourself, then dress up your table according to a mood or theme. The key is to have fun. After all, having friends over shouldn’t be a stuffy affair or fraught with anxiety. Nor does a conversation-worthy table setting have to be expensive. So set the mood, crack open a bottle, and get ready to enjoy your company.
Styling by Jonathan Hobin
Photography by Photoluxstudio.com – Christian Lalonde
Flower displays courtesy Blumen Studio
Pewter and slate make for an exotic and masculine table.
The rough-edged pewter bowls and vases on an unadorned, dark wood table create a sophisticated Asian-inspired look. Afraid it’s looking almost too urbane? Add a dash of whimsy with fortune-cookie place-card holders
Pewter-look rough-edged bowls, $37.50 each, Ma Cuisine, 613-789-9225; slate tiles used as chargers, $2.99 each, Rona, www.rona.ca; chopsticks, $4.99 each, EQ3, www.eq3.com; Brad Turner limited-edition whisky glasses, $80 each, Wall Space Gallery and Framing, www.wallspacegallery.ca; metal-hinged fortune cookie place-card holders, $14.95 each, Linen Chest, www.linenchest.com; glass wine carafe with oak stopper, $34.95, EQ3, www.eq3.com; wooden side plates, $17.50 for a set of four, Zone, www.zonemaison.com; salt and pepper shakers, $16 per pair, wooden mortar and pestle, $42, metal salad claws, $19.95 per pair, whisky stone cubes, $25 for a package of nine (put the stones in the freezer and use them instead of ice), all from Zone, www.zonemaison.com; wooden salad bowl with silver base, $34.99, HomeSense, www.homesense.ca; rustic nickel vases, large $54 and small $32, Zone, www.zonemaison.com; floral arrangement courtesy of Blumen Studio, www.blumenstudio.ca; rough-cut large wooden bowl, $144.64, Zone, www.zonemaison.com; large print on the wall by Christian Lalonde is entitled The Venetian. Price is according to size and is available by request, www.photoluxstudio.com.
Feminine flourishes set the mood for an afternoon tea.
Flowers and birds and cupcakes. What’s not to like? A simple white tablecloth, when paired with pretty placemats and floral chair covers, turns this table into a girly setting that will have guests looking forward to intimate conversation — and their fill of cake
Paint-your-own English teapot from Mud Oven, $42, www.mudoven.com; cups and saucers, Sophie Conran for Portmeirion, $14.95, from J.D. Adam, www.jdadam.ca; bird plates in red and green, $8 each, and large green dinner plates, $7.20 each, from Pier 1 Imports, www.pier1.ca; patterned plates, large $4, small $3, from HomeSense, www.homesense.ca; placemats, $2.88 each, Pier 1 Imports, www.pier1.ca; green napkins, $1.88, and yellow napkins, $2.88, from Pier 1 Imports, www.pier1.ca; pink floral napkin rings, $3.99, and yellow floral napkin rings, $3.16, from Pier 1 Imports,www.pier1.ca; bronze and enamel birds by local artist Anna Williams, $500 each, L.A. Pai Gallery, www.lapaigallery.com; tablecloth, $54.95, J.D. Adam, www.jdadam.ca; chair covers, $54.99, Pier 1 Imports, www.pier1.ca; vases, $50 each, Blumen Studio, www.blumenstudio.ca; floral display, Blumen Studio, www.blumenstudio.ca; cupcake tree, $19.99, HomeSense, www.homesense.ca; cupcakes, 12 for $36, from The Cupcake Lounge, www.thecupcakelounge.com.
Set a sophisticated tablescape with dishes and accessories in rich burgundy and gold.
Intimate and refined, this elegant table provides the perfect setting for an evening of fine dining and cultured conversation. The well-dressed table is further accentuated with pillar candles and an opulent red rose floral display
Glass chargers with gold rims, $19.95 each, Linen Chest, www.linenchest.com; black plates in two sizes, $1.99 per plate, Zellers, www.zellers.com; python-print bowls, $9.99 each, HomeSense, www.homesense.ca; gold water glasses, $4.99 each, and black and gold wineglasses, $3.99 each, HomeSense, www.homesense.ca; 84-piece gold and silver utensil set, $169.99, Stokes, www.stokesstores.com; gilded twig wine coaster and stopper, $109.95, Linen Chest, www.linenchest.com; broad-striped napkins, $4.69 each, Bed, Bath & Beyond, www.bedbathandbeyond.com; chain-link napkin rings, $7 each, Beige, www.beigestyle.com; metal and glass candleholders, $9 each, and pillar candles, $4 each, WalMart, www.walmart.ca; gold and glass decorative bowl, $16.99, HomeSense, www.homesense.ca; black pedestal vase, $75, Blumen Studio, www.blumenstudio.ca; floral arrangement, Blumen Studio, www.blumenstudio.ca; chair covers, $29.99, Bed, Bath & Beyond, www.bedbathandbeyond.com; vintage brass rubbings in frames, $60 per pair, St. Vincent de Paul, 613-722-7166.
This pictorial feature appears in the February 2012 Interiors edition.