Feminine Table Setting Ideas for Holidays, Occasions & Events

I went for my first high tea a few weeks back here in Melbourne. I can’t believe it took me so long to do it, but I always thought of high tea as a bit of snooze-fest activity. That is, until the waitstaff told me there was an option for BOTTOMLESS CHAMPAGNE.

It’s fair to say things improved dramatically from that moment onward and now I’m hooked on the idea of throwing a high tea scenario for myself at home.

If you love a feminine table setting, you’re going to lose your mind over one I’m showing you today. It’s very high tea inspired, actually, which I fully appreciate. And it’s full of soft, shimmery decor moments that I know you’ll want to nab for your own home.

The good news; all the stuff you see on the tabletop here is from Salt & Pepper. It’s from their Amelie range. So you can easily grab it for yourself if you have a shindig on the horizon.

Feminine Table Setting Inspo for your Next Event

This setting was created with the team from Metricon in one of their stunning Vantage display homes. The table was created with Mother’s Day in mind, but I love the versatility here. You could easily rock this look for a baby shower, engagement party, wedding, birthday, hens night… the light goes on!

The floral styling you see here is from the amazing Violet and the Fox, and further down in the post you can watch the video of how it all came together. Or just read on for my tips on pulling off this glorious feminine table setting. It really is a favourite of mine when it comes to styling with an occasion in mind. It’s just so chic, and yet playful at the same time.

Drop me a comment further down and lemme know what you think of it all. I need to know there are people out there other than me who get giddy and gush over table setting and styling!

Lock in your Colour Palette First

A feminine table setting all starts with locking in your colour palette. And to ensure the look feels soft and feminine, it’s wise to keep the setting to just a few colours.

Here, we drew inspiration from the Salt & Pepper plates and bowls you see above. They feature gorgeous pink, blue and yellow tones – sprawled across a white base. I actually love the watercolour trend that’s going on in interiors right now. And these pieces tap right into that beautifully.

You’ll notice that instead of yellow, we went with gold across the table to elevate the look and make it feel quite luxe. You’ll also notice that the table setting is rolled out across a heavy brown timber dining table. It just goes to show that you can use this look with any base palette – even a more masculine one!

Be Inspired by Your Decor: Look around your home and see what colour palette is already at play. You might be able to create a feminine look using some of those already-there tones!

Then Ensure there’s Decor at Varying Heights

You wanna create a visual story on your tabletop. I know, it sounds so wanky, but it’s a real thing. When I say ‘visual story’ I mean that when you sit down, your eye should travel down the table on a journey. It should see different visual highs and lows.

The high might be something vibrant like a big bunch of flowers that demands attention. The low might be a white cake stand or a glass jug; it’s the negative space your eye gets to rest on.

A feminine table setting – even though it’s packed with colour – still needs visual highs and lows. And it should still tell a story. Why bother going to all the effort of styling up the tabletop if it’s not telling an awesome story? Just make sure you have the highs and lows in there and you can’t go wrong.

Elevate the Edible: Use things like cake stands or platters on legs to get food off of the tabletop. It not only makes it easier to eat, but gives the scene more height. That equals a more impressive visual story!

Gold and Glass are Essential too!

This feminine look is created through florals, without a doubt. But it’s also achieved through gold moments and glassware too. So you gotta make sure you have loads of both.

For gold moments, you can’t go past some gold cutlery, a gold wine bucket, or even gold napkin rings. Anything you can find with a little bling on it is going to do this look a world of good.

And when it comes to glassware, it’s easy. Look to affordable water jugs, water glasses, wine glasses and champagne flutes. And a few smaller vases on top of the table are nice in glass too. They’ll support the major flower moment you have going on in the centre of the table.

Match Food to your Decor: This will sound a little OCD, but it’s nice to match some of the food in the scene to the colour palette you’re going for. In this setting, scones with jam and cream are the perfect edible moment and they speak to the colour of the flowers.

Pack in Florals Everywhere you can

I’m sure it goes without saying but I’ll tell you anyway; flowers are essential here. There’s no way around it. But not just any flowers. For example, we don’t want natives, and we don’t want palm leaves. You’ve gotta have an impressively large vase of bright flowers in the centre or the table of we can’t be friends.

The colours of your flowers should reflect the colours in your dinnerware or napkins. Ensure you repeat colours across the table a few times so that all the pieces make sense together.

You’ll see in the glorious bouquets above and below that there is a variety of pink tones. You don’t want to do just one soft pink. The same goes for flower varieties; you wanna keep it varied. Don’t just rock a bunch of roses. You need variety. And a bit of greenery in your vase too.

Go Beyond One Vase: Have a main vase in the middle of the table and some smaller posies throughout the tabletop. Also look to a nearby sideboard and deck it out too. It’ll make the room feel more resolved.

Make Individual Place Settings feel Special

If you’re putting this feminine table setting together for a special occasion, I think it’s nice to make a special moment out of your place settings. It doesn’t take a lot of effort, but consider doing something DIY that attaches the place card to a small gift.

Above the team at Metricon went with an affordable little canvas bag filled with chocolates. It’s such a nice touch and give your guests a cute gift to take home with them. It costs next to nothing, of course, and I always say it’s the smallest, no-spend moments that can be the most memorable.

You could also pop a flower stem on top of the bowl or beside it if you wanted to. It’s a nice way to (once again) tie the different areas of the table together. The flowers in the middle will speak to the flowers on the place setting, and it all makes sense.

See the Tips in Action in the Video Above

Press play on the video above to see the scene come to life, or follow these quick-fire tips to make your own feminine table setting work at home:

• Lock in a soft colour palette for the tabletop with three mains colours
• Soften the table top if you need to with a tablecloth in a subdued shade
• Bring in some glassware and metallic to make the scene feel luxe
• Ensure you have lots of pieces on the table at varying heights
• Pack in loads of pink flowers in varying tones – on the table and around it!
• Create something cute to make individual place settings feel memorable
• Let food decorate the table too – and elevate it on platters and stands

Drop me a comment below if you need any more advice on pulling this feminine table setting off. Or share what you love most about this look too.

This post includes images and/or videos of Metricon display homes and events, reproduced with permission. © Metricon Homes Pty Ltd 2016.