An original scheme for a dining-room was recently carried out in a country house in England by a woman whose hobby is illuminating. It will appeal to experts in the advance guard of interior decoration. If you have furnished your dining-room to accord not only with your taste, but the scale upon which you intend living, be careful that the dining-table never strikes a false note. For the young and inexperienced I will state a few rules for table decoration. Your decoration, flowers, fruit, character of bowl or dish which holds them; linen or lace, china,glass and silver,–each and all must be in keeping. The money value has nothing whatever to do with this question of appropriateness, when considered by an artist decorator. Remember that in decorating, things are classified according to their color value, their lines and the purpose for which they are intended. The dining-table is to eat at, therefore it should primarily hold only such things as are required for the serving of the meal. So your real decoration should be your silver, glass and china, with its background of linen or lace. The central decoration, if of flowers or fruit, must be in a bowl or dish decorative in the same sense that the rest of the tableware is. Flowers should be kept in the same key as your room. One may do this and yet have infinite variety. Tall stately lilies, American Beauty roses, great bowls of gardenias and orchids are for stately rooms. As there are many kinds of dining-rooms, each good if planned and worked out with an art instinct, so there are many kinds of tables. The usual sort is the round, or square, extension table, laid with fine damask and set with conventional china, glass and silver, rare in quality and distinguished in design. In attempting the decoration of your dining-room table avoid anything inappropriate to the particular meal to be served and the scale of service. Do not have too many flowers on your table, or flowers not in harmony with the rest of the setting, in variety or color.
Posts Tagged ‘table’
Table decoration
December 30th, 2009Choosing the Right Dinisng Table for You
December 30th, 2009Dining room part of the home where we not only eat food but for many families where we connect after a long day at work or school. I associate it with socializing, potluck dinners and it has a deeper, spiritual meaning for me especially during Thanksgiving and other special occasions. For many people the dining table is more than just a piece of furniture where meals are served; often homework is hurriedly finished before children are allowed their TV time and home-based business owners use it as their ‘home office’ too, since laptops are not bound to a dial up.
So what should you keep in mind while shopping for your dining room set? Here are some of my tips that I jotted down in a hurry while shopping for one myself and wanted to share with readers online:
1. Style: For me, the first step would be to determine what style I want: round, oval, square or rectabgulkar. Once that is out of the way, we can figure out other factors.
2. Budget. I dread that topic but we have to be reasonable and not spend two month’s salary on a dining room table. So find out what your limits are.
3. Size: Calculate the size table you will need, add the chair width plus eight inches and then multiply by the number of chairs you will need. This will give you the size you need to find.
4. Space: If you have a small dining area, then consider a pedestal style table. It will allow more chairs to be placed around.
5. Finsih: Remember that high-polish surfaces take more upkeep, whereas a distressed style won’t show scratches that much. If you have kids that factor matters a lot.
6. Glass top: They look great, but are more appropriate for light use because they can be easily chipped, or damaged.
This is not a comprehensive list of factors to keep in mind but I am sure you will find them helpful in choosing your dining room furniture.
Danah Yousuf is a freelance writer and a full-time mom. Her work and poems have been published in periodicals overseas and has written extensively for women and children.
