Tag Setting

If you love hosting as much as we do, you’ve felt that familiar excitement that comes with setting the table for a big event, holiday, or celebration. It’s a joy that combines seasonal elements, the latest trends, and your personal design touch to create a gorgeous table that makes your guests feel welcome. The only question is, where do you start? Ahead, we’re sharing some of our favorite table-setting ideas for every celebratory occasion. From basic settings for a casual baby shower to formal ideas for a holiday meal, consider this your one-stop shop for table-setting inspo that you can use to elevate any celebration.

Table Setting Ideas for Every Occasion

Let’s be honest: as fun as it is, setting the table can also be a challenge. Personally, I find myself going back and forth between the smallest details that I know my guests probably won’t even notice. Does this linen napkin work? Will a pop of color liven things up? Are these candles totally ugly, or have I just been looking at them for too long? You know the drill. I think I speak for all of us when I say that having a couple of guiding principles is never a bad thing when it comes to setting the table. There’s inspiration everywhere, and we’ve taken it upon ourselves to cull the best of it together in this handy guide for your musing.

While trends are constantly changing (as are your personal tastes), these tablescape ideas are the perfect springboard for sparking creativity. And whether you’ve got an occasion coming up or you’re just looking for eye candy to swoon over, we’ve got you covered with ideas for any celebration in your life that require an equally-joyous tablescape.

Basic Table Setting Ideas

1. Incorporate Handmade Ceramics

Weaving wabi-sabi beauty into your table is a wonderful way to spark conversation and make your table stand out. It can also lean more on the more casual side, which is a plus when you’re not wanting a perfectly uniform look.

2. Let Nature Lead the Way

Filling your table with branches from the garden is a simple and beautiful way to add a natural element to your table. Olive branches, birch branches, eucalyptus branches, you name it. On that same note, greenery of all shapes and sizes are always welcome at the table.

More inspiration: Athena Calderone shares tips for styling decorative branches

3. Embrace Neutrals

Neutral colors combined with textural elements make for a simple-yet-welcoming table that’s lovingly full of life. It’s natural, simple, and full of timeless beauty.

4. Take It Outside

This may seem obvious, but setting your table outside is a lovely way to embrace nature’s beauty. Setting a table al fresco is one of the easiest ways to keep it simple while reaping the benefits of mother nature’s charming allure.

More inspiration: How Camille is styling her table for Mother’s Day

5. Mix and Match

Just because you’re going for simple doesn’t mean your table can’t be special. If you’re low on dinnerware or don’t have enough matching glasses, thrift for coordinating pieces that each bring their own character to the table (literally). The key is to be intentional—found objects shine when the tablescape feels cohesive.

6. Family-Style Dining

Everyone has their own style, but I’ve always preferred family-style dining for a celebratory occasion. If there’s not too much dishware to include, scatter your culinary offerings around and allow the food to naturally flow around the table right alongside the conversation.

7. Add Touches of Green

Pops of nature scattered throughout your table will evoke immediate garden party vibes. Opt for florals, small plants, or echo the color in your linens or dinnerware. It’s an easy way to make a basic table setting special.

8. Carafe Your Beverages

To save you time and effort in the long run, using carafes for the beverages you’re serving is a true savior. Whether it’s water, wine, or a fun cocktail, pouring your offerings into a carafe will keep you from worrying about refilling glasses throughout the meal. Plus, chic pitchers add shape and dimension to your table setting.

Casual Table Setting Ideas

9. Start With Linen

Laying the groundwork with a simple linen tablecloth is a casual-yet-elevated way to infuse natural elements into your table. Toss it over your table, bunch it up in places, and let nature take the reins.

10. Keep Place Settings Simple

Just because you have it in your inventory, each setting doesn’t need all the fanfare of a formal place setting. Keep it minimal to allow your pieces to showcase their beauty. This could be as simple as a salad and dinner plate, flatware, napkin, and a goblet that works equally well for water and wine.

11. Lean Into Scandi Vibes

If minimal-yet-cozy sounds up your alley, you can always turn to Scandinavian design inspo to lead the way. The key here is to think simple. Start with a simple linen tablecloth, neutral colors, and handmade ceramics, then let nature come through on its own. You’ll be amazed by the shining beauty inherent in a few simple wildflowers.

More inspiration: A Barcelona dinner party with Devon Liedtke

12. Keep It Earthy

Earthy elements are a soul-soothing way to infuse nature’s beauty into your table. Incorporating organic materials like rattan, wood, and other natural fibers can help balance your table with an easygoing feel. A natural and neutral placemat means you don’t have to waste a lot of time color-matching your table elements.

13. Utilize Recycled Glassware

Handmade recycled glassware is all the rage right now—both a win for the planet and your table’s look and feel. Its natural beauty and handmade touch is truly timeless and just plain gorgeous.

14. Don’t Leave Dessert Behind

For all the dedication you poured into them, you bet the desserts will be on display! Showcasing your desserts on the actual table is an appetizing preview of what’s to come later in the meal. We love creating varying heights with cake platters and display stands.

15. Keep It Light With Mezze

While you might not want to create a full-blown grazing board for a casual gathering, having something on the table—however small—for your guests to graze on is crucial. Try laying out some olives, sea salt, nuts, sliced fruit, cornichons, you name it. A little bite of something goes a long way.

16. Give Your Napkin a Twist

Twisting each napkin adds something interesting to the table that catches the eye much more than a flat, lifeless napkin that’s been pressed and folded. This isn’t your mother’s tabletop—we create our own rules here.

Formal Table Setting Ideas

17. Add An Edible Centerpiece

Cheese boards are not going anywhere anytime soon, which we can all agree is a blessing. Arranging a grazing board for your guests to snack on before/during the meal is a pro move that everyone will be thankful for. This is also a great opportunity to have your guests help out while having fun in the process! Once it’s done, you can place it smack dab in the center of the table. Cue the “oohs” and “aahs”.

18. Use Place Cards

Adding a personal touch to your table is something your guests will undoubtedly appreciate—not to mention how nice it is for them to know where to sit! These simple place cards made of rosemary sprigs are absolute stunners.

More inspiration: Camille’s modern holiday table

19. Find Your Favorite Flowers

Floral arrangements don’t have to be extravagant. Instead, why not gather a few of your favorite stems and place them in a vase you’re loving? It’s a simple way to elevate your table and make it feel more formal.

20. Layer Your Lights

Utilizing candles at different heights can elevate your table by adding a layering element and some simple variety. Height is huge here! While you should still be wary of placing candles that will obstruct the table view, a few different heights can make your table seem bigger and more inviting.

21. Play With Fruit

Weave a pop of color into your table with clementines, persimmons, tiny pumpkins, you name it. Each of these is a simple way to give your table some vibrancy.

More inspiration: An LA brunch with Sweet Laurel Bakery

22. Give Flameless Candles a Go

No one wants their tablecloth to walk away from a gathering covered in wax. The good thing is, thanks to modern technology and design, realistic flameless candles are out there! And they’re the real deal—trust me.

23. Weave In Dried Flowers

Dried flowers are still all the rage, and it’s no wonder why. They’re budget-friendly (as you can use them for multiple years), modern, and elevated. Mix them in with your fresh flowers, add them to their own vase, or simply scatter them about the table.

24. Keep Your Colors Cohesive

When it comes to coloring, creating a complementary scheme can help ensure you don’t have any clashing going on. Plus, intentionally mapping the color palette out beforehand makes the biggest difference in the end. It’s much more pleasing to the eye, and even makes things simpler for you to set up.

25. Have Fun With It!

At the end of the day, this is your table for your gathering in your home. There’s no strict rulebook you should be following other than your own intuition. A little extra something here or a pop of that there is just what you should be itching to include. These table-setting ideas are your starting point for igniting (or reigniting) an endless supply of decorative creativity. Use these as a guide to your very own tablescape and get to gathering!

Whether you’re a mom or a daughter, a grandmother, aunt, sister, or friend—Mother’s Day is a beautiful opportunity to celebrate the women in your life. It’s a day when I feel celebrated as a mother–but it’s also a time to show gratitude to my own mom and mother-in-law. And I can’t think of a better way to show my appreciation than by hosting a Mother’s Day brunch to celebrate—all of us!

Let’s be honest: moms are usually the ones that actually care about a beautifully set table, so it’s a perfect opportunity to be a bit more intentional with some simple Mother’s Day table decorations that will make her feel special. Scroll on for the all the inspiration from the table I set in my own backyard this year, along with simple Mother’s Day table ideas that will make your favorite women feel celebrated.

Here’s how to set a table for a simple and special Mother’s Day gathering:

Choose a decor theme

Hear me out: I’m definitely not a fan of cheesy party themes. But it can really help your decor process if you come up with a simple concept to tie the elements together. Here are a few ideas for Mother’s Day table themes that are chic, not corny:

Farmer’s market-inspired

Use fresh spring produce to decorate the table. An overflowing bowl of spring veggies, simple and sculptural artichoke hearts, or even cut citrus fruit can be a beautiful theme that ties it together.

Vintage vibes

Get inspired by her favorite decade and let it guide each element of your table design.

Pick a palette

A “theme” can be as simple as choosing a color combination and letting it guide every element of your table design, from food to flowers to place settings. I typically choose just two colors and use them throughout, for max impact with minimal effort.

Her favorite travel destination

Whether it’s Santa Fe, Paris, or anywhere with sun and sand, let her favorite getaway inspire the menu and decor.

Lay the foundation with linen and beautiful dinnerware

The quickest way to elevate any Mother’s Day table is to lay down a beautiful linen tablecloth and set the table with your prettiest dishes.

Here are my favorite products for setting the Mother’s Day table:

Blanco Stoneware Pitcher

Every table needs a simple white pitcher, and this one is sized perfectly for water, cocktails, lemonade—it’s the versatile pitcher you’ll reach for all the time. I love the handcrafted nature of this pitcher, as the unique variations make it feel really special.

Recycled Glass Tumbler

These handblown recycled glasses elevate anything you drink from them. Made in Oaxaca, these tumblers are dishwasher safe and super durable, and lend a relaxed, organic vibe to the Mother’s Day table. Sized perfectly for water, wine, or cocktails, I also love to fill them with votive candles or small blooms as a simple centerpiece.

Canyon Dinner Plates

These oversized stoneware dinner plates are made in Mexico, and their neutral palette and organic shape make them feel versatile enough for any occasion, but are especially perfect for setting the Mother’s Day table. Made of high-temperature glazed ceramic, this is dinnerware that you’ll keep forever—and I love that it’s dishwasher-safe.

Linen Table Throw

This casual 100% linen tablecloth adds texture and warmth to the Mother’s Day table. These are made in Lithuania, and the square size makes it versatile enough to use on square, round, or rectangular-shaped tables. It’s machine-washable, and I tend to embrace the linen’s natural wrinkles for a look that’s (perfectly) imperfect.

Creative Mother’s Day centerpiece ideas

When it comes to Mother’s Day table decorations, a beautiful centerpiece is usually in the mix—but it doesn’t have to be pricey or elaborate. Here are a few of my favorite simple centerpiece ideas for any spring gathering:

Fill a vase with daisies or chamomile flowers.

These inexpensive blooms can be found at just about any grocery store—I usually grab them in Trader Joe’s floral section. They’re happy, timeless, and instantly make any table feel bright and spring-y.

Decorate with seasonal produce.

I love this alternative to a traditional floral centerpiece. It’s simple, affordable, and takes zero floral arranging skills. Plus, you can eat the produce when it’s done serving its decor purpose, making it a zero-waste solution.

Fill a bowl with lemons

This easy breezy centerpiece is created from ingredients you probably have from the grocery store! Just fill a pretty bowl with lemons, limes, or any other citrus fruit. Tuck in a few herb sprigs for a pretty touch of green.

Add a few votives for sparkle.

Nothing beats the magical glow and flattering light of candles, so even for a daytime gathering, I love to scatter a few votive candles down the center of the table as a final touch.

Unique ideas for Mother’s Day place settings

Now that you’ve got the tablecloth on and the centerpiece set, it’s time to add a special touch to each place setting. Here are some simple and budget-friendly ideas to add a decorative twist to each place.

Tie a knot with your linen napkin

Elaborate napkin folds are a “no” for me, but I love the carefree look of a simple linen napkin, knotted and placed loosely on top of each plate.

Tuck in some fresh herbs or flowers

It doesn’t get simpler than adding a sprig or a small bunch of fresh herbs to each place setting. I like to use the woodier herbs for this, like rosemary, thyme, oregano, and sage. Bonus points for making the table smell delicious!

Add a potted succulent

This cute idea for setting the Mother’s Day table provides a place setting and party favor in one. Just pickup some tiny succulent plants from your local nursery, add them to a small terra cotta pot or a teacup, and place on top of each napkin. Guests can take them home at the end of the gathering as a lovely reminder of the day.

Take a walk down memory lane

Print out a few favorite photos of your mom (or any women of honor in attendance) and scatter them around the table, or place on top of each napkin. It feels so personal, and is a great conversation starter to inspire walks down memory lane.

Add place cards

Although by no means required, a simple handwritten place card is a simple way to add a thoughtful touch to each setting. I especially love a place card for larger gatherings, as it removes any confusion about where to sit, and allows me to be intentional with who I sit next to one another.

Leave a sweet memento

Stock up on inexpensive muslin or linen bags from Etsy, then tuck in something special for each guest. I filled these with herb-infused bath salts, to inspire a moment of self-care.

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Hope you loved these Mother’s Day table decoration ideas—be sure to tag us on Instagram to show how you set the table for Mother’s Day this year!