Keep everything on a dining table below chin height so people can see each other: a linen runner, one lidded soy candle and a low bowl for every day, two or three candles in the same scent in a line down the centre for a dinner, lit an hour before anyone sits down, and the overhead light off.
Dining table decor ideas usually start with a centrepiece and end with nobody being able to see the person opposite. The tables that look best, and eat best, are the ones with less on them: a runner, a few low objects, light from candles rather than from the ceiling, and room for the food. This guide is dining table decor ideas for the everyday table and for when people are coming over, for the six-seaters and the small round tables that fit in a Dubai apartment, with a rule that makes all of them easier.
The rule: nothing above chin height
Everything on a dining table should be low enough that two people sitting opposite each other can see each other's faces. Tall vases, tall candlesticks and tall arrangements all fail this test. Low bowls, lidded candles, short stems in short vases all pass. Once you apply it, half the "ideas" in the magazines go away and the table gets simpler.
Dining table decor ideas for every day
The everyday table, when nobody is coming over, should have almost nothing on it, so it can be a desk, a homework table and a place to fold laundry, and then be a dining table again in thirty seconds. Keep three things on it, in the centre:
- A linen runner, which hides the table and catches the crumbs.
- One lidded candle. The Bloom candle, white ceramic with a flower lid, sits on a table unlit all day and looks like an object rather than a candle.
- One low bowl, with fruit or nothing in it.
That is it. Our guide to coffee table decor uses the same three-object rule for the same reason.
Dining table decor ideas for a dinner
When people are coming, the runner stays and the candle count goes up, but only to two or three, and they go in a line down the centre. Two scents fight; choose one and light them all. The Golden Hour candle, cinnamon and bergamot in amber frosted glass, is warm enough to feel like a dinner and light enough not to argue with the food. Lids off, wicks trimmed, lit an hour before anyone sits down so the scent has settled. Cloth napkins, matte plates, and a low bowl of something seasonal: pomegranates in winter, lemons in spring.
Dining table decor ideas for a small round table
A round table for four has no room for a runner. Use one candle in the centre, on a small plate or a folded napkin, and nothing else. When the food arrives, move the candle to the windowsill. The Nocturne candle in blush frosted glass is the one for a small table: it is short, it has a lid, and it looks finished on its own. Our guide to small living room ideas covers the rest of the room.
Dining table decor ideas for Ramadan, Eid and the holidays
The same rules, with more light. Three candles rather than two, a little green from the supermarket, and one thing that marks the occasion: dates in a bowl for iftar, clementines in December. Our guides to a calmer Ramadan at home and Christmas decoration ideas for an apartment take each season further.
Dining table decor ideas without candles
If you would rather not burn anything at the table, use lidded candles unlit. They read as ceramic objects, they smell faintly when the lid comes off, and they cost less than a vase. Or a low wooden board with three small bowls on it. Or a single stem in a bud vase, which is the one tall thing that passes the chin rule because it is thin enough to see round.
What to keep off the dining table
- Anything taller than a wine glass.
- Strongly scented flowers, which fight the food.
- Placemats and a runner together. Choose one.
- Fake fruit and fake flowers. The real ones cost AED 15.
- Post, keys and laptops, which is why the everyday table needs somewhere else for those to go. A small woven basket on the sideboard solves it.
The lighting above the table
Decor on the table is undone by a bright downlight above it. If the pendant has a dimmer, use it. If it does not, turn it off for dinner and let the candles and a lamp in the corner do the work. Our guide to the hour before evening is about this exact switch.
Dining table decor questions
What should I put in the centre of my dining table?
Something low: a lidded candle, a low bowl of fruit, or a short stem in a bud vase, on a linen runner. Nothing that stops people seeing each other.
How do you decorate a dining table when it is not in use?
A runner, one candle and one bowl. Three things, so the table can be cleared in seconds and still looks finished when it is empty.
How many candles should be on a dining table?
One for every day, two or three for a dinner, all in the same scent, in a line down the centre. Lit an hour before people sit down.
Should you use a runner or placemats?
One or the other. A runner suits a rectangular table and hides more; placemats suit a round table or a table with a top worth seeing.
