inviting - How Many Can Sit at a Table?

Summer brings challenging which brings guests which brings seating issues. It is never fun to sit packed together at a table with no room to eat. No matter how great the food, people will come away with a bad experience.

People often ask me how many can sit at a singular table, bar or counter. Let me offer some quick tips to keep you out of trouble and your guests comfortable.

• Place settings are about 18" wide.
• Dining chairs commonly run in the middle of 16"-20" wide for side chairs. Bar stools can be narrower and armchairs (often outdoor chairs too) can be 22"-24" wide.
• A safe estimate of space (width on table) to reconsider for each diner is 24". This takes into account arms and movement while eating. Larger men with big brawny arms might need 30" of space.

Contemporary Dining Room Sets

Here are some general rules for table sizes:

• 60" long rectangular or oval table will seat up to 6 people comfortably.
• 84" long rectangular or oval table will seat up to 8 comfortably.
• 36" round will seat 4 people.
• 60" round will seat 8 people.
• 54" quadrilateral will seat 8 people.

inviting - How Many Can Sit at a Table?

What about benches or picnic tables?

True, you can squeeze people together a small easier because you don't need room for challenging chairs but 24" per adult is still recommended. For small children you can get away with a bit less.

Asking people to sit without back support, works for short period meals only. If you are planning a many policy patio dinner hoping your guests linger for hours challenging copious amounts of food and wine, give them a chair.

Always take into account the above measurements for diner space, your chairs and your family.

This table is 72" long and 44" wide. Following the above for 24" for each person would mean 3 x 24 = 72". There are websites selling tables who indicate this is fine. It should seat three people on each side and maybe one on each end. Doesn't work in the real world.

These chairs are 19" wide at the seat and 21" at the chair back. Can I squeeze three chairs along a side? Not and give anything room to move. What works best for this table is two on each side and one on each end for six total.

Remember, your guest should be comfortable. One needs room to eat, drink and pass food. More room is always best than less.

inviting - How Many Can Sit at a Table?

How to Decorate a China Cabinet

There are as many ways to decorate a china cabinet as there are china patterns. So how to decorate a china cabinet can be a tricky inquire to ask. It all depends on what the cabinet is used for. China cabinets aren't just used for dinnerware anymore. You can also use a china cabinet to store curios and just normal knickknacks. Let's look at the former china cabinet first.

If you're displaying china then you need a background to show off the design. This means you'll want to use some shelf paper on the back of the china cabinet.

Contemporary Dining Room Sets

All you need to do is grab a utility knife and a roll of decorative shelf paper.

How to Decorate a China Cabinet

Unroll the shelf paper and stick it to the back of the cabinet. Use a plastic squeegee to remove any bubbles from the shelf paper. You can also use the tip of the utility knife to pop any stubborn bubbles that won't press out.

Now that you have a background color it's time to start stacking up the plates.

You'll need a few display racks so that you can stand the plates up on end with the face of the plate positioned towards the front of the cabinet.

There are abundance of distinct designs out there that will allow you to stack whether a particular row or do a cascade pattern along the back.

You can now build send in the cabinet. Stack your heaviest items on the lowest shelves.

This will give a nice balanced look to the cabinets.

Another good idea is to stack like items together. Stack any plates that aren't displayed on top of one another, same with salad plates, saucers etc.

A good trick to preclude scratching the plate covering is to place a piece of tissue paper in between each plate.

If your cabinet has cup hooks in it then hang the tea and coffee cups from them. If not stack them up along the sides of the cabinet.

By stacking them along the sides you avoid creating a optical distraction in the middle of the cabinet.

Moving into the china cabinet drawers you'll want to keep all your silverware sorted.

This is a pretty easy task, just head to a agency store and buy a silverware holder.

You'll want to keep all things separated from each other to avoid tarnishing.

Be sure to buy a silverware drawer that has a lid on it. This means less dust when you go to use it for Thanksgiving dinner.

Finally move to the lowest drawer of the cabinet. This is typically where all the weird shaped pieces go such as the gravy boat, carving boards, serving trays etc.

The best way to arrange all the odds and ends are based on usage.

Stack the least used items at the lowest of the cabinet and work your way up to the most often used.

These are just a few tips for figuring out how to decorate a china cabinet. Well displayed china can accent any dining room décor. A few straightforward tricks are all you need to set up a gorgeous china cabinet.

How to Decorate a China Cabinet