My Favorite Tablecloths and Setting a Formal Dinner Table

I have a few favorite tablecloths that I just can't get enough of. My go-to is a simple linen tablecloth with some beautiful drawn work. We've seen it before, but that's part of its charm. In the corners, there are intricate embroidery designs that add a touch of elegance to any setting. And let's be real, who doesn't love a good stain? I mean, many people use tablecloths for formal dinners, and one common practice is to put down an underpad under the white tablecloth. This pad has felt underneath a plastic layer, which protects the wood from hot plates and also helps to quiet down any clattering or noise on the table.

Living in a small apartment, I don't have a lot of room for fancy silencing cloths, so my tablecloth simply goes straight onto the table, centered and ironed. It's just a nice little touch that adds to the overall ambiance of the dinner party. Typically, the next plate is about an inch from the edge of the table, and this is where the standard placement of dinnerware comes in. The knife goes on the right-hand side of the plate with the blade facing inward – not like this! – but rather with the bottom of the knife lining up with the bottom of the plate.

Next comes the spoon and fork. If you're having soup, there might be a separate bowl on the plate for that, and the spoon goes beside it, lined up at the bottom just like the knife. And then, of course, there's the fork. Whether you're eating a salad or something more substantial, the fork is essential for most meals. I always put both forks on the table – one above the other, with the larger fork to the left and the smaller fork to the right.

Now, about napkins. I'm a big fan of cloth napkins – they get stained, they get washed, and they're just more... human, you know? Don't be afraid to iron your napkin; it's not just a chore, but an opportunity to spend some quality time with yourself. When you're ironing, you're alone with your thoughts, processing your problems and finding solutions. It's a rare luxury in today's fast-paced world.

When setting the table for a formal dinner, there are a few key items to keep in mind. The glassware is usually arranged first – water on the inside of wine glasses (or, if you're feeling fancy, tumblers) and wine on the outside. And while some people might put a separate plate for bread and butter, I like to do it the old-fashioned way: right next to the dinner plate.

Desserts are another story altogether. Most restaurants serve dessert with a spoon, but I'm not convinced that's always the best approach. There's just something about eating pie or pudding with a fork – the sensation of the tines on your tongue is hard to beat. So, if you're having a sweet treat, I recommend putting both a fork and a spoon on the table.

Finally, it's all about atmosphere. A few well-placed candlesticks can make any room feel more intimate, and a small flower arrangement adds just the right touch of elegance. Don't overdo it – you don't want to be able to see your dinner companion from across the table without having to look around! With these simple touches, you'll be hosting dinner parties like a pro in no time.

And that's it for my take on setting a formal dinner table. I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my favorite tablecloths and dinner etiquette – if you did, give it a thumbs up! If not, well... subscribe to my channel for more videos just like this one.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enit can be many months before the rain comes Sabu just love a rainstorm Heavenly this is the perfect weather to be cozy inside my own apartment having dinner right here in the bedroom with the windows open with the rain with the storm setting a table this is how we do it properly this little table has um seen a lot I do all kinds of arts and crafts on here to cutting wood cutting leather painting and it's the perfect size for four people to have a nice cozy dinner when I want to do that and all I need to do to elevate this to a dinner table is cover it with a tablecloth this is one of my favorite tablecloths to use it's just a linen tablecloth with some drawn work which we have seen before there is some Embroidery in the corners and you know what little stains like this stains on the tablecloth that's gonna happen um many people if they're setting a table for a formal dinner will put down like an underpad under the white tablecloth that has has like a felt underneath a plastic layer and that goes on the table first and then the cloth goes on top of that it protects the wood from any hot plates that are being laid on the table but it also acts to kind of quiet in the sound of like things on the table I live in a small apartment I don't have a lot of room I don't use or have a silencing cloth so the tablecloth just goes right on the table centered and it has been ironed it's just a nice little touch next plate usually about an inch from the edge of the table that's standard next cutlery so the knife goes on the right hand side of the plate with the blade facing inwards so not like this it goes like this the bottom of the knife lines up with the bottom of the plate so everything lines up with the bottom of the plate if you have a spoon and you're going to have soup maybe you'll have a soup bowl on the plate the spoon goes beside the knife again lined up at the bottom and the fork goes over here so if I had a salad fork I would put that on this side of the dinner Fork this is the Big Fork so that's the basics knife spoon fork now you might have a napkin the napkin should go this is not it's not pretty enough for camera the standards are slipping if you have a napkin I like to use cloth napkins again use them let them get stained throw them into the the rag bag when they're done and get some more they're nice you do have to iron them don't be afraid of ironing I want to talk about ironing a little bit because I get I get a lot of pushback about ironing like who has the time to Iron why would you iron some I would never iron something when you're ironing you're not just ironing you are alone with your thoughts which is a very rare thing in this day and age to actually be alone that's not this is not being alone this is somebody else's ideas that you're looking at not your own so I want you guys to ask yourselves how often and how long and every day are you actually completely alone with your own thoughts when do you have time to sit and think about your problems and how you're going to solve them you can't run away from them that doesn't work and when I'm ironing I'm alone with my thoughts and I'm processing things so two things happen you achieve something that you can see and touch and hold but you've spent quality time with yourself so if you don't want to do it that's fine I love doing it and I will always do it I earned napkin goes beside the fork like that and the next thing the glasses so usually when I'm having people over for dinner we have wine there's a wine glass and we have water now the water glass is supposed to be on the inside of the wine glass like this but very often a water glass will be something on a stem as well I like these glasses for water these tumblers and I just don't I don't like the look of this so I break the rules and I put the water glass on the outside and the wine glass on the inside like that if you're gonna have a separate plate for bread and butter the bread and butter plate goes right there if you're having dessert I like to always have a fork I go to a restaurant and they give me a spoon lots of people eat pie with a spoon and I think it's just wrong there's a different mouth feel like the bottom of the spoon is coming in contact with your tongue when you're having pie and you sh I feel like you should be able to feel the pie on your tongue the fork is essential for most desserts this is like for ice cream or pudding so I usually put both on the table Fork goes this way with the handle going that way and the spoon goes this way with the spoon handle going that way just above the plate okay final touches some candlesticks for our atmosphere I would never have overhead lights like this if I was having people over turn the lights off light the candles and a little flower arrangement that's small it's a small table you also don't want something so big that you can't see the person across from you without having to look around it so there we go done if you liked this video give it a thumbs up if you didn't subscribe for more videos just like this oneit can be many months before the rain comes Sabu just love a rainstorm Heavenly this is the perfect weather to be cozy inside my own apartment having dinner right here in the bedroom with the windows open with the rain with the storm setting a table this is how we do it properly this little table has um seen a lot I do all kinds of arts and crafts on here to cutting wood cutting leather painting and it's the perfect size for four people to have a nice cozy dinner when I want to do that and all I need to do to elevate this to a dinner table is cover it with a tablecloth this is one of my favorite tablecloths to use it's just a linen tablecloth with some drawn work which we have seen before there is some Embroidery in the corners and you know what little stains like this stains on the tablecloth that's gonna happen um many people if they're setting a table for a formal dinner will put down like an underpad under the white tablecloth that has has like a felt underneath a plastic layer and that goes on the table first and then the cloth goes on top of that it protects the wood from any hot plates that are being laid on the table but it also acts to kind of quiet in the sound of like things on the table I live in a small apartment I don't have a lot of room I don't use or have a silencing cloth so the tablecloth just goes right on the table centered and it has been ironed it's just a nice little touch next plate usually about an inch from the edge of the table that's standard next cutlery so the knife goes on the right hand side of the plate with the blade facing inwards so not like this it goes like this the bottom of the knife lines up with the bottom of the plate so everything lines up with the bottom of the plate if you have a spoon and you're going to have soup maybe you'll have a soup bowl on the plate the spoon goes beside the knife again lined up at the bottom and the fork goes over here so if I had a salad fork I would put that on this side of the dinner Fork this is the Big Fork so that's the basics knife spoon fork now you might have a napkin the napkin should go this is not it's not pretty enough for camera the standards are slipping if you have a napkin I like to use cloth napkins again use them let them get stained throw them into the the rag bag when they're done and get some more they're nice you do have to iron them don't be afraid of ironing I want to talk about ironing a little bit because I get I get a lot of pushback about ironing like who has the time to Iron why would you iron some I would never iron something when you're ironing you're not just ironing you are alone with your thoughts which is a very rare thing in this day and age to actually be alone that's not this is not being alone this is somebody else's ideas that you're looking at not your own so I want you guys to ask yourselves how often and how long and every day are you actually completely alone with your own thoughts when do you have time to sit and think about your problems and how you're going to solve them you can't run away from them that doesn't work and when I'm ironing I'm alone with my thoughts and I'm processing things so two things happen you achieve something that you can see and touch and hold but you've spent quality time with yourself so if you don't want to do it that's fine I love doing it and I will always do it I earned napkin goes beside the fork like that and the next thing the glasses so usually when I'm having people over for dinner we have wine there's a wine glass and we have water now the water glass is supposed to be on the inside of the wine glass like this but very often a water glass will be something on a stem as well I like these glasses for water these tumblers and I just don't I don't like the look of this so I break the rules and I put the water glass on the outside and the wine glass on the inside like that if you're gonna have a separate plate for bread and butter the bread and butter plate goes right there if you're having dessert I like to always have a fork I go to a restaurant and they give me a spoon lots of people eat pie with a spoon and I think it's just wrong there's a different mouth feel like the bottom of the spoon is coming in contact with your tongue when you're having pie and you sh I feel like you should be able to feel the pie on your tongue the fork is essential for most desserts this is like for ice cream or pudding so I usually put both on the table Fork goes this way with the handle going that way and the spoon goes this way with the spoon handle going that way just above the plate okay final touches some candlesticks for our atmosphere I would never have overhead lights like this if I was having people over turn the lights off light the candles and a little flower arrangement that's small it's a small table you also don't want something so big that you can't see the person across from you without having to look around it so there we go done if you liked this video give it a thumbs up if you didn't subscribe for more videos just like this one\n"