Start where you are. Use what you have.
Do what you can. – Arthur Ashe
Holidays are coming. Better yet, there’s always some holiday coming, special occasion or just friends and family gathering for no “special” reason but love, which is the most special reason of all, right?
And then there are all the commercials and all the “best buys” and all the stuff that was “in and now is out” telling you to go out and buy some more stuff.
I’m not cheap, I don’t consider myself frugal neither, even though I do try to live as zero waste as I can. Do you know about zero waste thing? Teaching us to leave the minimum “residue” (ok, let’s use the right word, unrecycled, landfilled waste) behind us.
In that spirit, I decided to go zero waste on my Easter table decor this year too. I’m saying Easter because I’m writing this post in February but these guides can be applyed in any time of the year, in any occasion.
So let’s not buy anything this time.
Let’s use what we have and let’s make the best of it.
Since my first “table-decor-wise” decision was to use what I already have (and I DO have stuff being a food photographer) I had to set up a theme first to narrow my choices down. A theme, general tone, colour palette, feeling, that “thing” you want to achieve at your festive table.
How to start if you are not a pro designer?
Well, nor am I but here are the guidelines I used and that can help you:
Occasion. Whether it’s a lunch, brunch, breakfast, dinner. Time of the day, people who will attend. I chose Easter brunch with my closest peeps. Nothing too formal but relaxed. Also, I have kids at the table so I don’t want them to be “affraid” of all the expensive glass and plateware and napkins that “mustn’t” get dirty. I’d like them to learn manners but not fret of broken plates.
Menu you’ll serve. I had homemade bagels in mind, spreads, warm drink. Food that you touch with your fingers, eat out of your hands. Colours and textures of food and drinks. Rustic feeling to it. Wood, old stuff, missmatched plates and glasses. See how it paints itself already? Look at the image above – one decision goes to another, from pastry texture to raw edges of the napkins.
Napkins and tablecloths. I chose grandma’s old embroided tablewear. It surely has lived a little, as they say, and has couple of “scars” but they are hidden under the plates. Also, it’s not perfectly white, rather creamy and warm tone to it. Napkins I made myself from an old cotton shirt I found on my father in law’s attic. This nice, muted green came nicely with the flowerpot and a smooth contrast to everything else on the table. Cotton can be washed in high temperatures and if someone smudges it beyond washability (which I really doubt) no fuss about an old piece of cloth! Just eat in peace, peeps!
Cutlery. See how these wintage forks and knives fit nicely both in colour and the atmosphere? I don’t say you need to have cutlery in matching colours, it’s just a nice coincidence here but anything you see fit to your vision, use it! And no, not every piece has to be from the same set.
Plateware. I kind of started from here, to be honest. From the yellow flower and a light blue colour that came to me associating with Easter.
So I chose thrifted plates I bought for food blogging years ago.
At this point, think about serving plates and bowls too.
What I’m trying to say is, not everyone will seek inspo the way I did, nor there’s the right way or wrong. I’m saying that if you have an idea that guides you, like a colour, a bagel or a grandma’s old cup, if you follow the idea, develop it, try new things, match and mismatch and all in that “pool of things” you already have, you’ll be surprised how many combinations you can actually pull off.
Glassware. Nothing too much, nothing too fancy going with my already formed, rustic, zero waste table my Grandma would like 🙂 also, don’t forget pitchers, carafes, jugs, decanters and other containers you might need. Water, wine, juices, tea, coffee…
Other bits and bobs. Like flowers, candles, other whatevers you want to put on your table.
On the image above, you have my finished table in all of it’s thrifted, zero waste and “hand me down” glory. Do you like it? I do have to say one thing: I did set everything in very formal way (one of many, so don’t go after me saying I did it wrong 😉 ), in case you have a very serious aunt that likes everything by the book and will complain about the missing second fork. Or you just love to have things all nice and put together even on unformal gatherings where you can pull off missmatched plates and napkins made of old shirts.
So here’s everything explained, from left to the right:
Salad fork, main course fork. Napkin that can be under the forks or placed on the left from the forks.
The bottom, biggest plate is called “the carger” or serving plate and you don’t eat anything from it.
Then, there’s a dinner plate.
On the image, there’s also one plate that can be used for salads if there’s one in the menu before main course, but otherwise it can be omitted.
If there is a soup, there’ll be a bowl.
On the right from the plates, there is a knife with sharp side facing the plates, teaspoon (if needed, usually not) and soup spoon, if there is a soup on the menu.
If there’s a coffee, there’ll be a cup and the saucer. Or it can be brought afterwards.
Above the plate, from the left to the right:
little bread plate and knife for spreading butter or so, if needed,
dessert fork, if there’s a cake, dessert spoon too.
Glasses, from the left to the right: water glass, red wine glass, white wine glass. Usually, there’s only water and one wine glass. Wine glass is put just above the knife tip.
And now that I have picked your brain and bored you with all the rules, please do go and break them, making your own, beautiful festive set up, opening your imagination more and your vallet less, using more of what you already have and making it completely new… you’ll see the happiness that comes out of it!
And it will certainly show on the final result and be aprecciated by the people at your table.
Because, what is food, what is table setting in the first place?
Love, I think. In beautiful food made with love and its table presentation multiplies is, for sure.
