Through most of 2018 and 2019, Wayne and I would have at least one Friday night every month where we’d put on our glad rags and head into town for dinner and drinks. 

Date night was born for two reasons, really. First, because we’d moved to a new town (Shrewsbury in Shropshire for those who weren’t aware) and with so much on offer, we wanted to experience all the lovely bars and eateries in town. Second, because we felt it was just good for our relationship to break up the routine of vegging in front of the telly on an evening and spend some quality time together.

Obviously, this year has put the breaks on all that. While we’re currently on Tier 1 in Shrewsbury and there are some eateries open, we’ve felt less inclined to head out in face masks or take any unnecessary risks if we didn’t have to. So we’ve been eating at home a whole lot more these days. This is fine, mind you. We both enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes but the ‘date night’ aspect has kind of gone out the window a little.

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In order to recreate the ‘special occasion’ feel of these nights, I decided to try and create a ‘restaurant at home’ atmosphere which I wanted to share with you today. Of course, since this is my house and I could have a bit more fun with the styling, I figured I’d create a tablescape that reflects my personal style. And I think this is the beauty of setting a lovely table at home – you can use the bits you probably already own to make the look blend in with your own personal aesthetic.

The nice thing about this tablescape is that whilst I created a setting for only two people (great for date nights!), it’s easy enough to add a few more place settings if you were entertaining at home or if you wanted to invite the kids! ;) Aside from the dinner set which was part of an Instagram collaboration I did with George Home (although this blog post falls outside of that contract, I just wanted to share!), everything else on the table I already owned.

I have, for the last year or so, fallen for the look of dried flowers and grasses. Whilst I’m a big fan of faux flowers for the warmer months, come the colder seasons of Autumn and Winter, these faux styles lend themselves really well to something that’s a bit more appropriate for the seasons. And what I mean by that is that while the gorgeous fluffy faux pink peonies will still look pretty on your sideboard, if anyone has any bit of horticultural knowledge, they’ll likely guess they are fake. So I like to show off seasonally-appropriate blooms depending on the time of year (I just swap what I already have by season) and dried flowers are pretty much seasonally-appropriate at any time of year but more so in Autumn when nature is sporting a similar look outdoors.

For the plate settings, I used woven placemats. I’ve had these for years but these ones are similar and they add that all-important texture to your styling. On top of this, a linen embroidered napkin with a tassel accent – these were from Anthropologie a few years ago so sadly they no longer carry them but these fringed ones will give you a similar look.

I’m rather obsessed with gold cutlery and have a couple of sets knocking about and the set you see here I’ve had for nearly 10 years but you can find both high-quality as well as affordable options just about everywhere these days. I’ve banged on for years about how much gold will add warmth and glamour and a table setting is no exception. For a home table setting, you don’t have to go too crazy with cutlery unless you really want to go very formal. I find a fork, knife and spoon if you’ll be serving dessert or soup is plenty for a more casual look.

The pink candles I purchased last year from a little shop in town and the Vera Wang Love Knot candle holders I got years and years ago. If you love the look of these but don’t want to spend that much on designer brands, these candlesticks from H&M are a pretty good alternative. Pair with pink taper dinner candles and it’s the same look for a lot less.

Speaking of pink, I scoured my home for small vessels for the dried flowers in the centre of the table. The thing about a table setting is that while really tall floral arrangements look great, you kind of want to be able to talk to the person across from you and ya know, be able to see their face. So keep the florals low to enable free-flowing conversation. I purchased the pink terrazzo ones last year from Att Pynta (they don’t seem to carry them any longer) but you certainly don’t have to buy new. Look out for small bottles, jars or even tiny plant pots in similar colour palettes but I’ve also linked to a very cute set below if you’re in the market to add to your collection.

The actual dried flowers are from all over. I purchased a bouquet of dried flowers last year but some were starting to look a little worse for wear and so I broke up the arrangement, saving the ones which still looked their best and made multiple small arrangements from them. I particularly like the Dried Ruscus but you can use whatever you like! I’ve linked to some options at the bottom of the post.

Finally, the glasses are once again, ones I already had. The wine glasses are just your standard kind you can pick up anywhere but the pink tumblers are a little more special. I do love the look of coloured glass on a table, they just add another layer and if you’re looking for something similar to these, check out these ones from Habitat. The coasters are lovely and solid marble with gold edges – great quality that I purchased recently from Amazon.

Autumn Table Setting Get the Look

Fringed Napkins / Woven Place Mats / Natural Stone Speckled Dinner Set / Gold Cutlery / Glass Pink Tumblers / Marble & Gold Coasters / Pink Taper Dinner Candles / Gold Candle Sticks / Dried Flower Arrangement / Dried Ruscus / Set of 4 Pink Vases

It’s been such a long time since I’ve done a table setting so I hope you enjoyed this one and got some great ideas for your own Autumn tablescape for date nights or just to make mealtimes a little more special. Have you been enjoying eating more from home these days? Would you try recreating a restaurant look at home? Let me know in the comments!