How to Set the Table For a Dinner Party

A mix of old and new elements on the table creates feelings of comfort and joy.

Photo by Jared Sych.

As co-owner and general manager of DaDe Art & Design Lab, Greg Fraser composed tablescapes for a series of monthly supper clubs he and his partner, home designer Darcy Lundgren, hosted in their former loft. Intended as a way to build community — the guest lists were composed of individuals who did not know each other prior — the supper clubs were also an opportunity for Fraser to showcase his home-entertaining chops. “It’s the experience of it; I love to plan and set the table and do the flowers and co-ordinate the whole thing,” he says. For this seasonal table, Fraser mixed vintage and contemporary items to create a sense of warmth and conviviality. “A dinner party table shouldn’t be so precious that your guests are scared of it,” he says. “If you have a beautiful flower arrangement and candles on the table, it doesn’t mean it has to be uptight.”

 

The Tartan

The traditional tartan tablecloth was the starting point for Fraser’s overall design. “A big part of my family is Scottish, but my own family tartan I don’t really like, so this one is not my family tartan,” he says.

 

The Heirlooms

Photo by Jared Sych.

The silver tea set, candleholders and cutlery are items Fraser and Lundgren inherited from Lundgren’s late mother, and were deliberately left unpolished. “I actually really enjoy the look of tarnished silver,” Fraser says.

 

The Botanicals

For his floral centrepieces, Fraser starts with whatever is fresh at his flower wholesaler. Here, he combined helleborus, cedar, eucalyptus, kangaroo paws (dyed red) and placed some magnolia blooms for dramatic effect.

 

The Dishes

Photo by Jared Sych.

The dinner plates are from the 1948 line (a reference to the temperature at which gold melts) by designer Jonathan Adler, pulled from the DaDe inventory and placed atop mismatched vintage cut-glass charger plates.

 

The Glassware

Fraser and Lundgren started buying stemware en masse from second-hand sellers for the DaDe launch party in 2007. The mismatched glasses add “charm and warmth,” Fraser says.

 

The Little Guy

The reclining man on the edge of the side table off to the right is from DaDe’s inventory of quirky objets d’art. “They’re these little people who are just these charming, whimsical sculptures,” Fraser says.

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This article appears in the November 2024 issue of Avenue Calgary.

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