| Are you planning to throw a dinner party at your | | | | fork, guarded by the salad fork. |
| place this evening? Do you have all the necessary | | | | Keeping the dessert fork closest to the plate, |
| dining room table items at your disposal? If not, | | | | place the dessert spoon after this, on the top |
| then here is a brief list of them: | | | | side of the plate, making 90 degrees with the |
| Dinner Table Set Up List | | | | rest of the cutlery around. |
| Dining room table | | | | Position of the Glass |
| Dining plates | | | | If you want to keep things on the formal side, |
| Side plates | | | | provide four glasses for each individual at the |
| Soup bowls | | | | table. Two should provide for the red and white |
| Cutlery (forks, knives and spoons for all | | | | wine, one should hold the sherry, and one should |
| courses) | | | | suffice as a water goblet. All of them should be |
| Glasses (for various types of wine, sherry | | | | on the right top corner of the plate. |
| and water) | | | | Importance of the Napkin |
| Napkins | | | | You may fold the napkin in any way you want |
| Dessert bowls | | | | and place it delicately on the dinner plate or by its |
| Setting up a Dining Room Table: | | | | side. |
| Importance of Chairs | | | | The Bread Plate |
| In order to have a co ordinate to work with, | | | | The bread plate is placed on the dining room table |
| start setting up your dining room table by placing | | | | to the left top corner of the dinner plate. Following |
| chairs at regular intervals of the minimum 24 | | | | it up on its front is the salt and pepper shaker. If |
| inches. Anything less than this between two chairs | | | | possible, make this an individual thing. |
| will result in inadequate space for guests to move | | | | The Bowls |
| around the table. | | | | There are two main bowls required for a formal |
| Make sure that the height of chairs is appropriate | | | | dining room table setting. One should satisfy for |
| for the table itself. Very high chairs will not allow | | | | the soup and one should be kept for dessert. The |
| guests to cross their legs or even pull themselves | | | | soup bowl is usually provided with the soup in it |
| closer to the table. To ensure this you should | | | | by the waiter, since serving soup across the table |
| check if the chair handles can be slid under the | | | | is tedious and potentially risky. The dessert bowl |
| table. | | | | should be kept somewhere cold so that it does |
| Placing the Plate | | | | not result in melting anything cold that is served in |
| Taking cue from the placement of chairs you | | | | it. |
| may proceed further by positioning the plates in | | | | The Table Apron |
| front of them at the same minimum gap. We are | | | | This is the canopy-like lining all around the table |
| talking about the dinner plate first. The side plate | | | | that prevents anyone sitting at the dining room |
| should be on the dinner plate so that it can be | | | | table to see what is underneath. Therefore, one |
| easily removed to its appropriate side by the | | | | should ensure that the table apron does not graze |
| individual. This makes it essential that there is | | | | against the individual's legs. |
| enough space on both sides of a dinner plate. | | | | After the Meal |
| Setting up the Cutlery | | | | Leave the plates and glasses as it is on the dining |
| Starting from the nearest right we have the | | | | room table and place the dinner fork and knife |
| dinner knife, beside which is the soup spoon. | | | | pointing from the left top corner of the dinner |
| Following the soup spoon close at hand is the | | | | plate to the bottom right corner of it. The napkin |
| seafood fork. Following the same inside to outside | | | | can be left on the chair handle. |
| approach on the left of the plate is the dinner | | | | |