Swish dinner at home

This photograph shows a workable setting for a “formal” dinner party at home. Because the table is beautiful and in excellent condition we omitted the table cloth, but a table runner could have worked well and also shown off the lovely wood. The crockery and cutlery have been set to show two possible progressions of courses — soup, salad, main course (as shown by the crockery); or entrée main course and dessert (as shown by cutlery) — but you would of course choose just one. (If you were going soup-salad-main, you’d put the spoon to the right of the forks.) This being a relatively compact table for the number of seats, the floral centrepiece has been kept simple and low.

Make your own napkins

Cut muslin into squares, using another napkin as a template. Iron flat, then iron seams of 1cm, the fold. This kind of napkin works well with a “rough” fabric such as muslin or linen because you don’t have to be precious about neatness.

Intimate dinner for two

For a romantic meal together, this setting is easy to organise. White anchors the look, and there’s a subtle touch of green in the rose stems, a fine pattern on the napkins and a beautiful etched glass ice bucket. And let’s not forget those striking Adriatic-blue glass plates. The setting itself is actually quite casual — napkin to the left of the plate with cutlery placed simply on top — but the inclusion of an unusual candlestick/candle and gorgeous roses makes it seem extra special. You wouldn’t be turning on the overhead lights for this, and make sure you arrange the seating so you’re able to gaze into each other’s eyes and feed each other seductive morsels.

Morning or afternoon tea

Here you could be forgiven for thinking that Doris Day is just out of the frame. The setting couldn’t be simple, but it still manages to look special by virtue of its lovely, dusty retro colours and use of wooden cutlery (unusual but fun). It’s nice to sit low to the floor on cushions at a casual affair, and there’s plenty of eye-candy in the form of cute cupcakes, glass cake dome and inexpensive lanterns.

Make a tablecloth

Buy a piece of pretty fabric from the haberdasherer. Cut to size. You can hem if you like, but remember, sheer fabric can often be left unhemmed so long as you have cut it neatly.

Guests at a moment’s notice

This setting could be put together in a matter of minutes and is a great way to make even a takeaway Asian meal seem special. Cutlery makes way for chopsticks (the forks and spoons in the large tumbler are for the non-chopstick-users), and everyone can help themselves to soft drinks from the communal bowl. The large yellow plates (really dinner plates) here serve the same functions as placemats would. Again, we’ve used a simple piece of print fabric for the tablecloth.

For more great ideas and practical solutions for your home see http://www.reallivingmag.com.au/