Hosting friends for dinner is about much more than preparing a good meal. A beautiful table immediately sets the tone for the evening and helps create a warm atmosphere that makes you want to linger.
Good news: there’s no need to bring out a perfectly matching fine china set or follow the rules of French table setting to the letter. For a dinner with friends, a beautiful table should above all be lively, personal, and convivial.
Crockery, glassware, table linens, colors, candles… Here are our tips for setting an elegant table without ever making it feel too formal.
1. Start by choosing the mood for your table
Before you even put out the plates, imagine the atmosphere you want to create.
A Mediterranean table with blue and white accents? A very colorful setting? A more classic table punctuated by a few statement pieces? Natural tones enhanced by beautiful glasses?
Choosing a common thread helps you avoid accumulating beautiful objects that, once brought together, no longer really tell the same story.
Color can be an excellent starting point. A patterned plate, a printed tablecloth, or colored glassware is sometimes enough to define the entire color palette of the table.
The Maison Maizon selection
The Les Ottomans Blue Lemon Dinner Plate is perfect for creating a fresh, Mediterranean table. Hand-painted in Italy, it combines a lemon motif with different shades of blue.
2. Dare to mix and match your tableware
A beautiful table doesn’t need to be perfectly matched. Quite the contrary.
Mixing colors, patterns, or even collections can create a much more personal table. The trick is simply to keep one common element: a color, material, or style.
For example, you can pair a fairly understated dinner plate with a very graphic dessert plate, or use small plates to add the color you haven’t used elsewhere.
At Maison Maizon, we particularly enjoy creating a dialogue between pieces: a beautiful table is built like a composition, not necessarily like a matching set.
For a more understated look, the Maison Maizon PALMA Dinner Plate can serve as a base, while a patterned piece livens up the whole setting. The Maison Maizon collection also features SUNSET plates, as well as many models by Les Ottomans, Vista Alegre, Bordallo Pinheiro, and La Double J.
3. Never overlook the glasses
We instinctively think of plates when setting a table. Yet, glassware is one of the simplest ways to transform its look.
And here again, nothing dictates that they must be clear.
Colored glasses can add depth and create beautiful plays of light, especially in the evening when the candles are lit.
For a dinner with friends, plan for at least one water glass and one wine glass per person. If you are serving several wines or champagne, add the corresponding glasses without overloading the table when your guests arrive.
Discover at Maison Maizon: the Bamboo Anna Von Lipa Water Glasses, sold in sets of six, or the Sensa glasses by Costa Nova. To add more color, Maison Maizon also offers blue and green glasses, turquoise glasses, and various pieces of crafted glassware.
4. Dress the table with beautiful linens
The tablecloth is the backdrop for your table.
A white or natural linen tablecloth leaves plenty of room for colorful tableware. Conversely, a striped or floral tablecloth can become the starting point for the entire décor.
For a less formal table, you can also leave the tabletop exposed and simply use placemats and beautiful cloth napkins.
At Maison Maizon, we particularly enjoy playing with combinations rather than seeking a total look: a printed tablecloth can perfectly complement tableware with a different motif as long as the colors complement each other.
The L'Orangerie linen tablecloth can, for example, instantly set the scene. For a more graphic table, the collection also includes the Stripe Avocado, Bamboo Blue, and Bamboo Green tablecloths, as well as various linen napkins.
5. Add details that make all the difference
Once the plates, glasses, and linens are in place, it’s time for accessories.
A pretty napkin ring, an elegant carafe, a spectacular serving dish, or a few small objects can be enough to give a table a lot of personality.
But there’s no need to use everything at once.
Instead, choose two or three statement details. The eye should be able to move freely, and above all, your guests must still have enough room to dine comfortably.
A beautiful carafe can, for example, become a real decorative object. The Maison Maizon Paris Hobnail Era Carafe combines smoky dark blue and amber and can become one of the central pieces of the table.
6. Multiply the small sources of light
If there were only one tip to remember for transforming a table in a few seconds, it would be this: light candles.
Candlelight instantly warms the atmosphere and highlights the colors of the tableware and glasses.
Rather than a single large candelabra, try to spread several candle holders of different heights along the length of the table. This creates rhythm without creating a visual barrier between guests.
Just be sure not to place candles or overly tall arrangements in the center: everyone should be able to see and talk to each other easily.
For an Art Deco touch, the Maison Pechavy Folies 1925 Candle Holder is made of solid brass and manufactured in France. Its geometric lines were inspired by the 1920s.
7. Also think about serving dishes
This is a detail that is often forgotten when setting the table: what will you serve dinner in?
Platters, salad bowls, baskets, and trays are also part of the décor.
Rather than placing a purely functional container on the table at the last minute, choose your serving dishes at the same time as your tableware. A large colorful salad bowl or a sculptural platter can even become the centerpiece of the table.
Maison Maizon actually considers the serving dish one of the centerpiece pieces of a beautiful table and dedicates a specific selection to it.
The Maison Maizon Pomegranate Salad Bowl, for example, allows you to introduce a statement piece among more understated tableware. Maison Maizon
8. And what about table setting rules?
For a dinner with friends, there’s no need to bring out the etiquette manual. A few guidelines are enough.
The plate is placed in front of each guest, the cutlery is arranged in the order of use, from the outside in. The fork is traditionally placed on the left and the knife on the right, blade facing the plate. The glasses are placed at the top right of the plate.
And then?
Allow yourself to forget the rules a little.
Add a colorful bread plate. Tie the napkin. Place it on the plate. Mix two sets. Change the glasses. Add a flower next to each place setting.
A successful table is above all a table that reflects you.
9. The most important rule: leave room for conviviality
You may want to add another vase, three more candles, and one last object to the center of the table. But before your guests arrive, do one final test: sit down.
Can you comfortably see the person sitting across from you? Is there still room to put down the dishes? Are the glasses easily accessible?
If the answer is no, remove a few elements.
Because the most beautiful table is still the one around which you feel good.
At Maison Maizon, we love the art of the table precisely when it is not rigid: pieces chosen with care, unexpected combinations, color, and above all, the pleasure of hosting.
To go further
Want to design your next table?
Discover the Maison Maizon Tableware, Glassware, and Table Linens online, or visit the boutique at 129 rue de la Faisanderie, Paris 16e to design your table with Sophie and Esther.