Great Table Setting Ideas From The Great Chefs Dinner
“Paradise meets Paris,” is designer Kelly Andres’ immediate response when asked to describe her azure leather and cream rose clad setting, designed for Select Event Rentals. “The inspiration was couture and relaxation, a French country collage,” she says. “The leather table tops with grommet chair backs helped with the couture look, while using blue-turquoise chairs created balance with beach-like softness.” The gauze table fabric tucked into the corseted chair backs suggests “Moulin Rouge,” while counteracting the stern wooden candle holders and lamp-stand at the center of the piece. Mosaic chargers and seashells arranged around the table add a final touch of whimsy. —Emma Brodie
Flowers by Capital Décor, 301-595-9009, http://www.capitaldecorandevents.com . Table linens and chargers by Select Event Rentals, 410-653-6851, http://www.weparty.com .
With all-natural French toile linens, wooden ladder-back chairs and a cream and red color scheme, this table setting is all about “country gentrified elegance.” “It’s summer, late afternoon on a Sunday, when you’re just sitting and relaxing,” says Taliya Adelstein, who designed the table for Linwoods. To conjure images of a French vineyard, Adelstein created a Lazy Susan centerpiece with bottles of wine, clusters of grapes, olives, plates filled with pâtés and cheeses, and small wooden bowls of baguette slices nestled among moss and clusters of heather and lilac. Adding to the provincial elegance, white napkins gathered with red beaded rings are arranged in fans over red glass chargers. Lanterns lit by candles add to the “al fresco” feeling of sitting on a terrace, gazing out at a vineyard. —Lauren Seibert
Linwoods, 410-581-4920, http://www.linwoods.com . Table linens and chargers by Party Rentals, 866-634-4776.
“Orchids and roses. This table is about orchids and roses,” Laurie Myers states simply in reference to her striking display designed for Ann’s Garden. Purple and red embossed linens, deep saffron draping and wrought-gold chargers inspire thoughts of exotic Bombay under a blazing sun. The sun is represented by the orchid bouquet erupting at the center of the table, a burst of blossoms and sprigs. Cropped crimson roses join the orchids at the base of this display, with amber droplet crystals dangling just above adding an element of enchantment. —E.B.
Flowers by Ann’s Garden, 410-803-0227, http://www.nns-garden.com . Table linens by Gala Cloths, 888-747-1144, http://www.galacloths.com . Chargers by Select Event Rentals, 410-653-6851, http://www.weparty.com .
Brilliant colors and fountains of flowers burst from this table, created by Dulany Noble of Gala Cloths. To evoke the fresh, summery feel of a Paris garden, Noble arranged a delightful flower cart as the table’s centerpiece. “My husband gave me the flower cart for Valentine’s Day,” says Noble, and she knew it had come from Paris. Her inspiration bloomed from there. On the garden cart, blossoms of pink, blue, gold and purple nestle among sprigs of green in galvanized tins. A floral-print tablecloth mirrors these colors, matched by menu cards of the same pattern. “My inspiration was the artist Monet and his watercolors, a French Impressionist style,” says Noble. “Monet had beautiful gardens.” Tea lights in green holders twinkle around the centerpiece, and tiny frogs peer out from behind the glasses. Placed against white napkins, pretty green and white garden-themed plates complete the table. —L.S.
Gala Cloths, 410-803-0227, http://www.galacloths.com . Chargers by Party Rentals, 866-634-4776. Flower tins by Flowers and Fancies, 877-653-0600. Menu Cards by Write Style, 877-363-6668.
The ethereal and the material converge as designers Caroline Meredith and Kurt Foster Smith for bluehouse take this classic French garden party setting to a new level, punctuating luxuriant bouquets with safari elements. “We wanted the eco-friendly design of the products at bluehouse to translate into the table, thus we used flowering branches, potted flowers, things like that,” says Smith. The napkins, handmade in Africa, juxtaposed with the lime-green chargers, give the table a “tropical paradise feel.” This arrangement is perfect for an evening in the garden, though it’s hard to imagine that with such a display at hand the garden would receive much attention. —E.B.
Flowers by Whole Foods, http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com , and Marlow, McCrystal & Jones Florist, 410-825-4900, http://www.marlowmccrystleandjones.com . Table setting by bluehouse, 410-276-1180, http://www.bluehouselife.com . Table linens and chairs by Select Event Rentals, 410- 653-6851, http://www.weparty.com .
