A dinner table set right sets everything else alright

It is said that the more satisfied guests are at your home, the more precious you are considered as a hostess. A hostess wins the hearts of her family and guests with a perfect combination of deft and charm. One of the most important duties of the hostess is to oversee a perfect meal setting. With the use of attractive dinnerware, half the deed is done. The other half depends on how well the various pieces of the dinnerware are placed.

A dinner table set right sets everything else alright

A well-cooked meal is only half the fun. The other half lies in how well the food is presented, how convenient are the vessels and cutlery used in serving the food and how attractive the plates and bowls are. Select from any of the premium dinnerware sets online – they may be decorated with beautiful motifs that enchanted the Nizams of Hyderabad or captivated the hearts of Mughal rulers. Taj, the name that symbolizes luxurious art, also graces porcelain, silver or alabaster dinnerware too. Want something that reminds you of beauty closer to home and more in lines with our penchant for color and beauty – then choose the Meenakari dinnerware that brings to life the flora and fauna of the some of the most natural scenes of Northern India.

Tips to set your table

Now that you have chosen the perfect dinnerware for your home, know when to use which.

1. Sets in silver that carry crests and emblems like popular English dinnerware can be used for more formal occasions. Such sets usually have more number of pieces and must be laid out correctly.

2. For example, one setting for a person in such sets will comprise of a glass each for champagne, white and red wines, sherry and water, the last being the closest to the plate. All of these must be placed in the top-right corner of the table.

3. Right before the guest would lay the service plate with a neatly folded napkin lying atop it.

4. The dinner knife, fish knife and soup spoon are placed in exactly this order to the right of the plate. On the left would lay the fish, dinner and salad fork, the latter being closest to the plate.

5. Above the forks and on the remaining portion on the left of the table is kept the spare/butter plate with a butter knife.

6. The more informal setting would see lesser knives and forks, appropriate placement of the tureens containing lentils, curries or dry vegetables wherein they can all be accessed or passed amongst the member with ease, especially when the table and guest list are long. 

7. Fine bone china is another popular choice in dinnerware and their light weight combined with beautiful paintings on the body make them the perfect choice for large dinner sets.

8. Instead of serving water and wine in regular flutes or wines, you can experiment with the flatter goblets of matching materials or with the traditional tumbler-shaped cups. Glass and crystal cups and flutes add a sparkle to the table.

9. Cutlery used to prepare an after-meal coffee or tea will comprise of a large jug containing the decoration, a smaller jug containing milk, cups and saucers and smaller jars containing lemon, cream, sugar, chocolate or other flavors.

10. By using decorative dinnerware that includes all required pieces with matching decorations, whether they are floral or traditional in nature, you add a colorful touch to the whole experience of eating and sharing food.

So, select from traditional English, royal Mughal, dainty Chinese or colorful Meenakari enamelled dinnerware in porcelain, fine bone china, stoneware or glass and let your sense of vision enjoy as much as your taste buds would do at the dinner table.