Hey y’all and welcome back to the blog! This week we are going to kick off our series on china, glassware, and silverware by first discussing the different types of place settings. With the holidays right around the corner, use our images and keys as a reference when setting your holiday table. There are three different styles of place settings we work with most at SOHO: basic, informal, formal. Let's get started.
There are a few rules you should know before setting your place settings. First, is that utensils are set in the order they are used from the outside in. Second, is knives are always placed on the right side of your plate with the blade facing the plate. The exception to this is the butter knife which is placed on the butter plate. Spoons are typically placed on the right side of the plate, with the exception of the dessert spoon which is placed above your plate. Be sure to only set the utensils you will use. If you will not have a soup course there is no need to set a soup spoon. As a rule of thumb, your plates and silverware should be set about an inch from the edge of the table. You can use the tip of your thumb to measure the distance
Basic is the most simple place setting and potentially the one you use without realizing it. It is great for casual meals, such as brunches, casual dinner parties, or family gatherings. This place setting does not include dessert utensils and typically has fewer glasses involved. The center of this place setting will feature: your charger, your service plate, and a napkin. Take it up a knotch by adding menu card. The left side of this place setting will have your salad fork and dinner fork. The right side of the place setting will have your soup spoon and dinner knife. Reference the below picture if you ever have questions!
Pictured above: Silver Beaded Charger, White Round Dinner Plate, Nest Salad Plate, and Sentry Flatware Collection.
Second is the informal place setting. This is generally the most widely used for a variety of events. This type of place setting brings a sense of style without being overly formal. The center of this place setting will feature your service plate, napkin, and menu card. The left side of the place setting will have your salad fork and dinner fork. The right side of the place setting will have the soup spoon, salad knife, and dinner knife. The top of the place setting will have a dessert spoon. Again, save this picture as a guide to how to set up an informal place setting.
Pictured above: Cotillion Collection China and Sentry Flatware Collection.
The final type of place setting is the formal place setting. As you could guess, this setting is the most formal option and is used for weddings, fine dining, or any event in which more than three courses will be served. In this style of place setting, a service plate will come with each individual course, so it will not be included in the setting. The center will have your charger plate, napkin, and menu card. The services plates will be placed on the charger at each service. The left side will have your salad fork, fish fork, and dinner fork. The right side of the place setting will have soup spoon, salad knife, and dinner knife. The top of the place setting will house your bread and butter plate, butter knife, dessert teaspoon, and dessert fork. The below image is a great reference for setting up a formal place setting.
Pictured above: Hammered Ice Gold Band Charger, Gold Rim White China, and Arezzo Flatware.
Place settings are a fun way to combine functionality with style. Follow the few rules we mentioned earlier and have fun with it! As always, if you're having any event and are in need of any rentals, reach out to SOHO. We would love to work with you!
Till next time, cheers!