Whether it’s an outside dining set primed to welcome the spring (as well as a group of up to six!), or preparing for a more intimate indoor affair with your family or support bubble, there’s never been a better time to indulge in some tabletop styling. Find out how-to tips for creating a perfect spring tablescape below.
Furniture Backdrop
The basis for a table display is, of course, the table. In the spirit of a domestic spring cleaning, you may have decided to bring your outdoor dining set out of winter hibernation, taking a soft brush to it to rid it of cobwebs, and maybe even retaining it with team oil (if its timber, that is) or giving it a hose down. An indoor set might have its hinges oiled if extendable, or its fabric seat upholstery hoovered. Alternatively, you may have been tempted to treat your household to a new dining set, for the garden or the home.
Our top picks for al-fresco dining include the Parsons and Malibu Table and Bench sets, which bring the nostalgia of the picnic bench archetype together with sophisticated design, and the Havana dining set, with a streamlined aesthetic that will let your springtime garden take centre stage.
For extra space and comfort, the Parsons dining set with 8 seats and cushions is sure to provide. Inside, the Dansk extendable dining set is a versatile option to accommodate more guests as lockdown eases, and the Aria glass dining set adds a pop of colour through its options of royal blue, forest green, or lavender velvet upholstered seats.
Colour Palette
Based on the foundation of the textural and colour-based palette of your chosen dining set, you can begin to build your ideal table display, starting with a colour palette. Most of the sets are either cool toned neutral (grey finished metals, for example) or warm toned neutral (timber finished, for example).
Luckily, the most common springtime colours are in harmony with both of these defaults, with green being able to both brighten a cool toned backdrop, and freshen a warm toned backdrop. The same principle goes for yellows, oranges, and pinks. Silver and Gold tones also work well interspersed with the aforementioned block colours, to add a little dimension to potentially flattening tones.
If you’re looking for a bolder visual statement, try keeping variation to a minimum, by using predominantly one colour, with multiple tones within it (such as mixing only spring greens, sage greens, and forest greens, for example).
Use of Foliage
All over the world, springtime hails the arrival of new life in both flora and fauna; and with the abundance of houseplants and cut flowers available to us in garden centres, supermarkets, and florists, it would be a missed opportunity not to appreciate these in a tablescape centrepiece.
Dansk - Extendable Dining Set - 4 Seats - White | Photo courtesy of @taith.ty.ni
Keep it simple with a vase of budding branches which could help to bring the outside into an indoor setting. Simple forms like this could also compliment a more modern designed dining set, which could be equally adorned with seasonal fresh-cut flowers like tulips and daffodils, ensuring you keep to your chosen colour palette (and the gardener’s golden rule: an odd number of stems looks more harmonious than an even number!).
Dansk - Extendable Dining Set - 4 Seats - White | Photo courtesy of @house.no.1
Houseplants could be moved to cluster on and around the table for this occasion from other parts of the house, or you could indulge in a selection of new succulents or leafy plants. For an outdoor display, foliage and flowers from your own garden would be ideal, to have guests feeling well and truly immersed in their surroundings.
Setting the Scene
The final stage is to flesh out and adorn your table, beyond the structure, colourway choice, and use of nature’s decorations. Tablecloths, runners, coasters, placemats, vases, glassware, cutlery, parasols, and chair cushions are all details which seem small, but can make a huge difference when placed together harmoniously in a styling capacity.
This is a good chance to play with texture within your scheme for added dimensionality, with textured glassware, or rattan, cork, or fabric placemats. In between elements, perhaps you include some delicate decorations depicting rabbits, eggs, and other motifs if you’re celebrating Easter, or some tea lights and pillar candles for a more pared-back aesthetic.
In addition to candles, soft accent lighting from the sides of the tables rather than directly above will create a relaxed, fresh ambience for your dining experience.