Just a few simple alterations to a regular table setting can create an absolutely new look and add a touch of glamour and celebration to the occasion. Spontaneous touches like
hand-made placemats, nametags or napkin rings can foster an ambience charged with that special je-ne-sais-quoi

Whether you’re planning soup or sandwiches, or pull out all stops with a five-course meal, you can make it special with just a few thoughtful touches using things around the house or at the corner shop. So, identify the mood you want to create and let your imagination take over!

To enhance the traditional, Indian table setting of silverware (thalis and katoris), take an old brocade sari from your personal archives and spread it out as a table cover. Pieces of gold brocade border can be used for napkin rings. You can strew rose or marigold petals (whichever complements your table cover), over the setting to enhance the festive mood. Or if you prefer a more structured look, you could place a few flowers in individual glasses or lotas, besides each thali. This will also bring an exotic touch to the overall setting. A few incense sticks tucked into a banana (hidden from view in an ornate silver box) will ensure a sub-continental aura.

 

For a classic, post-modern, festive mood, or a formal, festive occasion, you can easily create some table props. Take some semi-transparent curtain fabric and spread over the table. Then, get creative with name and place tags. In our setting, you see shiny, homemade firecrackers, made of gold foil and gold net with faux pearls and paper flowers pasted on, used as tags. Some have curly ribbons while others have old, cameo broaches on them. Gold-tinted dry twigs add glitter to the understated elegance of crystal. Combined, there is a gold and white theme running through the spread. There are no stereotypical candles in this arrangement, but if you are very fond of candlelight, try scented candles.

You needn’t go shopping for innovative table settings. Just get into the habit of finding new uses for objects already in your house. The same crockery can be used to create new and different ambiences. After the two formal settings, we have some casual ones, which lend the occasion an entirely spontaneous flavour.

Cold wintry Sundays are perfect for an outdoor brunch - a chance to soak up some sunshine. It is easy to capture that mood with a sunny, garden-like setting. Use disposable leaf plates and bowls, for convenience, and to give it a rustic feel. Take asparagus ferns (or any other creeper that grows in your garden) and use them as napkin rings. No-nonsense banana leafs make nice tablemats, and the cutlery can be tied with rough-hewn rassi. Bright coloured flowers in an old pickle jar will lend a dramatic touch to the picnic atmosphere. The floral, hand-painted crockery carries the outdoor theme a notch further, albeit bringing an elegant fragility to the spread. The nametags are an impromptu addition, attached with clothes pegs that match with the pastel plates! An old mosquito net used as tablecloth adds the final touch.

For an impromptu dinner, you can put together a citrus arrangement. Here we have put together a centerpiece arrangement of oranges and lemons, highlighting the crockery. You can create your own centerpiece using a combination of fruits and vegetables, tinted grains, pulses, or any other objects that will enhance the motifs on your tableware. Crepe paper, in two contrasting colours, infuses energy and pizzazz.

With all these ideas, you can lend a fresh and spontaneous flavour to your parties this season. You will also probably hit upon your own permutations and combinations of things put together. Believe us, with imagination, anything’s possible!