DB's July Digest ☀️
5 Tips for the Perfect Summer Table
Setting the table for dinner these days is as important as the food. Everyone loves a great tablescape. Textural layers, colourful patterns and natural flowers are my go-to's for creating something beautiful. And summer lends itself to really having fun with alfresco decor and dining.
Here are 5 tips for creating tables that are a feast for the eyes as well as the other senses too.
IT'S ALL ABOUT LAYERING - Everything starts with a great tablecloth. Choose a colour which will co-ordinate with your scheme. I love using one of my blue linen tablecloths in summer time which brings a waft of the Mediterranean whether I'm in London or Ibiza.
Raffia placemats layered on top are a great way to add texture. Our new placemats which are handwoven in Africa come in teal, burgundy and blue and have been hand dyed using vegetable dyes to perfectly match our tablelinens and signature bubble ceramics.
THINK ABOUT DIFFERENT HEIGHTS - Playing around with items of varying heights can create a visually interesting landscape. You can add long candle-sticks or floral arrangements contrasting with a plethora of vessels, platters and glassware. Here I used one of my cakestands with piled with lemons which works as a great alternative to a floral centre piece.
DO USE LARGE SHARING PLATTERS - You all know how much I love a sharing platter as they add visual drama and colour as well as being practical. And I love the relaxed atmosphere they create when everyone helps themselves.
COMBINE CO-ORDINATING TABLEWARE - Using a mix of tableware in the same colour palette can often look more striking than being matchy matchy. My limited edition Ibiza Eye side plates look wonderful layered over my signature blue bubbles plates.
And my Ibiza Eye pitcher is a show-stopper on the table for summer entertaining and is one of the chicest ways to serve iced water or any beverage for that matter.
DON'T FORGET THE BUD VASES - a collection of bud vases dotted along the table is a must for all of my tablescapes. I tend to use 2 sets of 3 bud vases. And if it's really hot and you're worried about flowers wilting, you can just use greenery or some foliage from the garden which looks equally effective. I often use sprigs of rosemary and mint from the garden mixed in with flowers or just on their own. And of course they smell wonderful on a balmy summer's evening.
Enjoy and Bon Appetit!
Diptyque's Ilio Eau de Toilette is the scent of summer in a bottle. It smells of warm bare skin, suntan lotion and there are notes of crisp green fig trees and prickly pear cacti which I have lots of in my courtyard in Ibiza. It was love at first spritz for me.
I treat myself to a new sunhat every year and I've got my eye on this beauty from Prada. I love the bucket shape and the cut-out woven detail which will look good with all of my floaty summer dresses and summer skirt and shirt co-ords.
The Reimagined Home by Nicole Gray, who is the Interiors Director at You Magazine, is a beautiful new book all about creating a sustainable home that doesn't have to be brown, boring or expensive but can be filled with colour, fun and personality.
Adore my new Sentei gardening scissorswhich are the chicest gardening scissors I've ever seen and I'll be using them for cutting my dahlias later this summer.
The White Company has a great new selection of Hurricane Lamps and I love this one which has a mango wood base and is the perfect size for a dining table.
