Elegant & Simple Ways to Decorate a Table

Transform your dining room table from a place where your kids might usually be slurping their lunches to an elegant place for adult friends to share sophisticated conversation over a meal for your next dinner party. Decorate your table in a way that is simple and sleek without much fuss by utilizing table linens and placing items in the center of the table that give it visual appeal.

Table Linens

One of the most effortless ways to transform a table from a wooden construction into an elegant place to eat is with table linens. Cover your table with a nice cloth tablecloth, a table runner or place mats. Use cloth napkins gathered in the center with decorative napkin rings at each place setting. Make sure that the color of your table linens coordinates with the colors of the rest of the items that will be on the table such as dishes and the centerpiece.

Predictable, Yet Elegant

A classic is a classic for a reason. Flowers and candles are a predictable choice for assembling centerpieces, but there is a reason these two elements are popular choices--they are elegant. Fill a glass bowl with some water. Add a couple floating candles and flower petals and you have a simple and classy centerpiece that fits almost any occasion. Add large vases full of flowers on either side of the bowl to make a larger statement. Use several small vases with small bundles of flowers in them along the length of a banquet table. Just keep in mind that your guests need to be able to see over the tops of the centerpieces if you are having a sit down dinner so that conversation can flow freely. So, large vases still need to be short, as do all the flowers.

Sprinkle

Rather than decorate your table with one central centerpiece or a few smaller centerpieces, use a sprinkling of different items to dress up a banquet-style table. Dress up a fall table with a random arrangement of pine cones, sprigs of pine needles and a few tea candles. Sprinkle flower petals down the length of the table for a spring or summer dinner party. Choose flower petals in colors that match the rest of the decor.

Crisp Clean White

One color that screams elegance all on its own is a crisp clean white. Set your table with plain white dishes, nice silverware and use white items to decorate the center of the table. Place white pillar candles on glass pillar candle holders of varying height. Fill a large glass urn with with white glass ball Christmas ornaments. Arrange small bouquets of white flowers in small vases down the length of a long table. Stark white will look especially elegant when set against a bare dark wood table.