Dining Etiquette A Dining Table Creative Correct Table Setting and Seating Arrangements

Over the Counter Etiquette
by Harold Almon
baesoe.com

A dining table is to be used to extend hospitality. It can be used to repay hospitality. It may allow for the sharing of drink, atmosphere, food and honor. It could be used to reflect your consideration for others, and to showcase your convictions of acceptable behavior and taste.

A dining table can be made of any hard material attached to a sturdy base. It may have legs that fold, or that are removable.

It could be portable and storable: stacked or on its side. A lopsided table might be corrected temporarily by placing a piece of cork under the short leg/side to level it. You may wish to have corrections done professionally. A table is to be aligned and balanced with adjacent tables and with tables placed end to end. Each is to be large enough to allow for your desired number of place settings, table top accessories, and serving pieces, as required.

A dining table may be placed twenty four inches away from any wall when people are to be seated and food is to be passed and thirty-six inches away from any wall when food is to be served. It could be placed thirty-six to fifty four inches away from any parallel table. These measurements are minimums. It can be placed flush to a wall, or at an angle to a corner. It may be placed in only one half of a room, equal distance from a given wall to the center of the room. It could be placed under that light, but there are better options. You might move the light.

A dining table could have a side table or credenza to be used with it in the dining room. It may have a matching hutch. This was once part of a butler's pantry: a space between the dining room and the kitchen. A hutch is to be taken out of the dining room. It can be stored in the hallway, kitchen, garage, or in a dish room.

A dining table is to be maintained. It is to be polished and cleaned regularly. One teaspoon of a good wood oil or polish on a linen applicator, rubbed in for ten minutes, or until dry, every day, for several months, will allow an enviable high luster finish to be developed. Doing this will help the table to be resistant to water spots, white spots, and heat marks. It can be maintained by dry rubbing twice a week. A dab of oil will even work on a glass tabletop. Anything that a cloth and oil will not remove, usually plain water and a paper cloth will take out.

A table, which has white spots, can be corrected by being rubbed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt then let to dry. Alternate remedies can be found with a search engine. A table, which has heat marks, can be corrected by being rubbed in the direction of the grain with a brass polish, or by using a mixture of olive oil and denatured alcohol, (mentholated spirits) on a cloth applicator. You may elect to have this done professionally.

A damaged table or one made with bad wood can still be kept and covered.

When a larger table is wanted, the table may have a custom top cut for it which can fold down, or be placed on top of the table, (and taken off later and placed in storage.)

A dining table may be supplemented by a guest book table, a reception table, a table for gifts, a table for a portable bar or a beverage table, a food serving table, a dessert table, a coffee service table, and by a head table or a Dais.

A Table Pad

A table pad can be made for each table, and each leaf. It may be used to protect the table, and to silence sounds associated with eating. It could be used to provide a degree of comfort for resting arms in between courses. The table pad might be a commercial one, a cut piece of felt, a beach towel, or a blanket taken out of bedroom service. It can be placed under all tablecloths, except lace, and on all tables unless you want the bare look.