It’s here. The time I’ve been dreaming about for over a year now, the time when I can safely see friends and family. We moved at the start of the pandemic and, with a few exceptions, we haven’t had people over to see the place in person. This is a perfect excuse to host an honest-to-goodness party at our house.

I love hosting parties—creating a menu, making a playlist, crafting signature drinks, all of it—but my favorite part is creating a tablescape. The table is where I linger long into the night, eating, laughing, and connecting with friends.

Creating a tablescape doesn’t have to be complicated, fussy, or follow any specific set of rules. Here are the building blocks I use to create a tablescape. (I’m linking to the pieces I used from Terrain!)

• Placemat (Fringe Cotton Placemats in Coral)
• Charger (Bakla Palm Leaf Charger)
• Dinner plate (Ceramic Cabbage Plate in Green)
• Salad plate (Ceramic Cabbage Plate in Pink)
• 4-piece cutlery set (Laguiole Ivory Handle Flatware Set)
• Napkin and napkin ring (My own vintage napkins held with Italian Herb Napkin Rings)
• If appropriate, a soup bowl (Ceramic Cabbage Bowl in Green)
• Drinkware (Bee Wine Glasses)

That’s it.

Now that you know the fundamentals, the fun can begin: creating your own expressive tablescape.

Much like art, design, and interiors, I like creating tablescapes to not only reflect the event I’m hosting but also take into consideration my personality and those of my guests.

Here are a few things I consider when creating a tablescape for my parties.

Setting

Where are you hosting your party? We’ve got a bonkers backyard, big enough for friends, their kids, and their dogs to roam around. Right now, the yard is incredibly lush and in bloom, and I wanted to incorporate this feeling into all aspects of the party. To reflect the nature surrounding us, I used pink ceramic cabbage salad plates and green ceramic cabbage dinner plates (both from Terrain). The pièce de résistance? Buttercream and lemon cakes with edible flowers.

Patterns, colors, and textures

Much like interior design, I think about a focal color. Once I have that, I choose my accent colors, which allow me to play with textures, colors, and patterns while still maintaining an overall cohesion to the space or, in this case, the party.

For this party, I wanted to use my green cabbage plates to reflect the natural setting of the party (see above!). The green of the plates acted as my focal color and I built upon that. Loving how the pink plates looked with the green, I used pink as a secondary color, and then incorporated natural and golden tones to round it out. Voila. By grounding and solidifying my color choices, I was free to play with pattern (striped vintage napkins), textures (I used the Preserved Bakla Palm Leaf Bunch from Terrain to dress up the settings), and scale (I incorporated Conical Wood Serving Stands in white into the scene).

That je ne sais quoi

Some things just defy explanation (but I’ll try). When I’m putting together a tablescape, I always want to incorporate a little fun twist—the small detail that maybe no one else can put their finger on but that adds just a little bit of sparkle to the table. The little something that makes me smile and makes me happy to use.

Take for instance the cabbage plates. Over the years, I’ve been slowly snatching them up when I find them at vintage stores. I was OVER THE MOON when I discovered Terrain was producing them. They aren’t your average dinner plate but they make me smile, and that is the secret ingredient to a personalized, expressive tablescape: something that makes you happy. The tiny little bees on the wineglass, the napkin rings with a replica of a fresh herb on them. This is why I love Terrain. All of their flatware and dinnerware have personality.

I genuinely love playing around and experimenting with different place settings, presentations, and overall party concepts. In my opinion, the only way to do it “wrong” is to put something together that doesn’t reflect you or your guests. And with that as the only caveat, you’re left with a whole world of possibilities.

Editor’s Note: This post was sponsored by Terrain. The compensation we receive in exchange for placement on Wit & Delight is used to purchase props, hire a photographer, write/edit the blog post, and support the larger team behind Wit & Delight.

While compensation was received in exchange for coverage, all thoughts and opinions are always my own. Sponsored posts like these allow us to continue to develop dynamic unsponsored content. Thank you for supporting our partners!

Kate Arends

Kate is the founder of Wit & Delight. She is currently learning how to play tennis and is forever testing the boundaries of her creative muscle. Follow her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.