A Welcoming Breakfast Table
The first table of the day sets a tone that lingers well past the washing-up. A breakfast laid with a little care tells everyone sitting down that they were expected, and that nobody is being hurried out of the door.
ReadThe Table
Setting a table, serving simply and small touches that make a meal.
Everyday Bowls and How to Use Them
A good bowl quietly does more work than any other thing in the cupboard. Learn to lean on it, and you can feed friends, hold a centrepiece and set a warm table without a shelf of specialist china.
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Serving Soup and Bread to Friends
Soup and bread is the meal that asks least of a host and gives the most to a guest. Serve it with a little thought and a pot in the middle of the table, and an ordinary evening turns into one people remember.
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A Jug of Water, Done Nicely
A jug of water is the easiest thing to get right and the easiest to forget. Set one out with a little care and every guest at your table is looked after before they have even asked.
ReadNapkins Worth Keeping
A good cloth napkin is one of the small, lasting pleasures of a table, and it need not be precious to be worth keeping. Choose well, care for them simply, and use them on ordinary days, not only the grand ones.
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Candle Height and Glow
Candlelight can make a table feel warm and intimate, or it can leave your guests squinting past a flame at eye level. A little thought about height and glow is the difference between a table that softens and one that dazzles.
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A Fruit Bowl as a Centrepiece
A bowl of fruit is the friendliest centrepiece there is: it looks generous, it costs little, and unlike flowers, your guests can eat it. Built with a little care, it earns its place in the middle of the table and asks almost nothing of you.
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Second Helpings and How to Offer Them
Offering seconds well is a quiet art. Done right, it makes a guest feel looked after and free to eat; done clumsily, it leaves them either pressed or hungry. A little thought turns the second helping into one of the warmest moments of a meal.
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