First Things First

This table is a special favorite of mine. I loved it the minute I saw it in an antiques store about 7 years ago, at least. I was, at the time, looking for a table to place in the "family" room so that I could sit and work on papers and also serve dinner while we watched some captivating television. Of course, it didn't work, but the table stayed anyway. Then I had the brilliant idea to truck it down to the store on Magazine Street in New Orleans. It resided there for the duration and at least once a month someone would try to buy it. But, oh no!! That is MY table! And then the ravages of the hurricane got us. Lucky for me the people who broke into the store did overlook my treasure when they ransacked and hauled out what they could. And now this old friend is here with me at the store on Government Street in Baton Rouge. I still love it, and I am still thinking of any way that I can make it work at home. The table in my dining room is so much larger (hmm - I think we have actually had 20 people seated around it at one time and yes, they were really good friends or at least family members!) that I know this little gem can never replace it.

Laying It Down

Now the fun part--putting it all together!! It always seems as if setting the scene is half the fun of the party - that's the time you turn on the music and just let the ideas fly by. Some can create the perfect table in their heads and then just lay it down. I, on the other hand, have to move stuff around and walk around the table a few hundred times just to see "how it looks". Don't know which way is best, but this is by far a lot more fun.

First lets just clear off the old stuff on that table and take a good look at it before we start in building our stage for the great dinner production. I think I'll start on the fruitwood table and see how that one shapes up. Please excuse the background "noise" in all these pictures as the tables are all sitting here with me in the store and it is fairly hard to imagine them in an appropriate room setting. But we will try our best! and I am thinking right here that the best way to handle this is to just take each table as a separate entry and see how that works --- so here goes!

Gather Round the Table

Now that we know we want to deal in black and white as the focal point for our table setting, let's find a table to use as the stage. Two of the tables here at the store are good candidates. A nice fruitwood in a tradional style would be a good choice as would an outdoor picnic type table with iron scrollwork as a base. Both tables are ones that are at home in New Orleans either in the dining room or on the patio.

Let's set both tables just for the fun of creating an exciting scene. We can then decide where we wish to entertain when we know more about the weather for the evening. Dining outdoors lends another magic dimension that lets us be more adventuresome in our settings. There is something about the lights on the patio that make everything seem a little more soft and mysterious. Indoor settings are often more dramatic and "formal" which lends a certain tone to the event. Setting the stage often determines the entire menu plan and seating arrangements. So let us go about setting both our tables and making those decisions before we move on to location and menus!

A Riot of Color

Color on the table makes for an interesting conversation. One of the suggested colors for a dining room wall is red or some variation thereof. It is said to stimulate conversation and excite the palate. If repainting your walls red is out of the question, it is easy enough to introduce the color into the room in other ways. Accessories are one really good way to accomplish the insertion of the excitement factor. One of my favorite things is the napkin ring or napkin holder. They are not much used these days, at least not as they once were. Once upon a time, it was the napkin ring that served as the identifying marker for each persons napkin and place at the table. When napkins were used for more than one meal, a way to determine one napkin from another was essential. Today, the napkin ring has been elevated to a star position when the tone is being set for the meal. Napkin rings can set the stage for the entire table drama. From sterling bands with gracious monograms to bejeweled and glittery ropes of beads, the napkin ring can easily take the ordinary and make it special!