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Stylish Table Settings for Every Occasion

Here's our guide to help you navigate the complicated world of table setting etiquette.

A casual dinner place setting with a bamboo mat.

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Erik Rank

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Casual Dinner

A casual dinner calls for less formal china and stemware, and stainless steel flatware is fitting for the relaxed setting. Here, the formality of a mahogany dining table is softened with a bamboo place mat. The salad fork is omitted, but dessert flatware does lie in its usual place above the plate. To remember which way these face, imagine them “driving up” from their customary places to the left and the right of the plate, and “parking” in the direction they’re facing.

• Download the Casual Dinner Cheat Sheet

Placemat: Gracious Home, Find Similar at Amazon
Flatware: Pottery Barn
China: Lesesne, Find Similar at Gracious Home
Candlesticks: Lesesne, Find Similar at Gracious Home
Vase: Lesesne, Find Similar at Gracious Home
Salt & Pepper: Pottery Barn
Glasses: Pottery Barn