Dining Table Ideas for Everyday | Kitchen Tables Decor Tips

From weeknight dining to a family birthday dinner, the table decor can set the mood for loved ones sharing a meal. Even if you are on a budget, you can set an attractive, elegant table that will have your family wanting to gather around.

With a few simple tips you can have an endless variety of table decor ideas at the ready for when you want to switch things up in your home. Keep a few basic design elements in mind and your table can express simple everyday elegance.

Foundation

Having a foundation for your dining or kitchen table decor brings all the elements together for a more polished look. Mirrors, trays and table runners all serve as bases for whatever centerpiece you choose to use.

Look for unexpected items to give your table an interesting appeal.

• Large cutting boards or antique cookie sheets lend a rustic look in farmhouse designs.
• Thin rugs can be used as textured table runners or table cloths.
• Brown or butcher paper is perfect for a kids birthday party. Add some crayons for a family restaurant feel.
• A mirrored tray is beautiful as a base for candles or a floral arrangement.

For an affordable way to get a coordinated look, buy a yard of pretty, washable fabric and make your own place mats, napkins and table runner.

Flowers

Flowers have been a mainstay of table decor for centuries, and no wonder. Their variety of color, texture and size make them perfect centerpiece elements in formal and informal dining alike.

Fresh flowers are ideal for formal gatherings, but silk flowers serve well as everyday centerpieces.

• Arranged around a floral foam sphere, cube or ring
• Placed in a group of vases of different sizes
• Floating in a bowl of water with tea candles
• Arranged as a wreath around a grouping of large candles

Try to pick colors, sizes and styles that match the rest of your dining room decorations for the most put together look. Keep arrangements low enough to allow a clear sight of vision between diners.

Containers

Containers can serve so many purposes on a kitchen table. They can hold candles, floral arrangements, interesting design elements. They can also be a quick way to clear those small items that create clutter.

The broad range of styles, colors, materials and sizes available make it easy to include containers in your kitchen table decor.

• Glass or mirror boxes
• Baskets of various sizes
• Decorative jewelry boxes
• Bowls (glass, metallic, wooden, ceramic)
• Collanders of different sizes

Before you head out to the store, look around your home for containers you can use in a centerpiece. That trinket box or basket gathering dust on a shelf can add new life re-purposed as a centerpiece.

Color

Nothing livens up the kitchen or dining room like color can. Whether they are bold splashes or understated hints of color, they help to bring in other elements from the room for a coordinated look.

• Cloth napkins and place mats in bold colors are perfect during everyday meals or at a birthday dinner.
• Seasonal and holiday centerpieces let you switch out color combinations throughout the year.
• Glass ornaments and marbles in different shades can compliment the color scheme of your dining room.
• Fresh produce in your desired colors makes for edible design elements.
• Potted plants in various sizes add living color to your table. Succulents, ivy and air plants are low maintenance and small enough not to block the view of diners.
• Glass vases are modern and elegant when lined with craft or colored paper and filled with silk flowers.

A classic design technique is to use all white place settings and save the color for centerpieces, table linen and seasonal features.

When it comes to decor, everyday does not have to mean uninspired. You can have a practical and beautiful kitchen table every day of the year.

More Ideas

YouTuber Forlisa offers beautiful but very easy decor ideas for everyday dining elegance. She uses design elements she already has at home to stage attractive dining table centerpieces.

For even more kitchen table decor ideas, watch the video 25 Glam Dining Table Centerpiece Ideas.