The Mousetrap: Dining Room Morsels

Peak entertaining season is upon us and, alas, I find myself in dire need of tablecloths. Read on for my dining room design scheme, top 10 linens wishlist, and a look at one of my pattern crushes.

Hello holidays! It's that magical time of year where I remember just how desperately I need tablecloths. At the primo age of 40, I’ve moved around my fair share and finally purchased a home. What’s more, I’ve made a long-term commitment to a dining table. Given the size and shape of my table, I am left with one, maybe two tablecloths from my existing collection that fit.

I’ve kept this search very personal. Once I have your feedback on my options, I want to invest in at least one more tablecloth to take me through the season. I hope you’ll weigh in and help me decide in the comments. All of these pieces not only work with my table (a long oval), but also the space. I do not believe in tablescaping in a vacuum. I see the table as a surface for color, pattern, and texture to sing with the room. With that said, let’s start with the scene of the crime.

MR. GREEN IN THE DINING ROOM WITH THE CANDLESTICK

My husband and I hired my dear friend and seasoned interiors vet (having spent over a decade at S. R. Gambrel before spinning out on her own) Sarah Lyons to design our apartment. This space was built to be a library; the prior owners converted it into a den and we decided to take it back to its original use in addition to creating a formal dining room, which the home lacked. We added built-in shelves (for our too-many books) over cabinetry (for our too-many sets of china and glassware). Here are some snapshots of our room for your consideration with the linen options:

Top left: our dog Nonna lounging on our dining room rug in front of a spare dining chair. Top right: a view toward the kitchen of our ‘naked’ table. Bottom left: the dining room set for Thanksgiving 2023 with one of our only usable tablecloths (though this is a large round and we really need rectangles to avoid excessive drape on the width). Bottom right: the bar as seen in my last post on how to style a bar, where you can find more photos and videos of this end of the room.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the walls and millwork are Farrow & Ball’s Inchyra Blue, with subtle millwork detail highlights in Oval Room Blue. The area rug is an antique Oushak piece that has thus far withstood both a Nonna accident and an herbal tea spill with flying (aka steadfast) colors. The table is a vintage Maison Jansen style oval mahogany number (France, mid-century) topped with a wave chandelier by early modernist designer, Hugo Gorge (Austria, 1936). The dining chairs are Queen Anne style antiques repurposed from my childhood home and recovered in Rule of Three’s hand-marbled Stone Plume silk fabric in the Dark Iris colorway. The window treatments are The Rosa Bernal Collections’ Sevilla fabric in the Azul Ocre colorway (more on this fabric in the footnoote below).

THE SUSPECTS

These tablecloths are not listed in any particular order of preference; I’ve numbered them for your voting ease. As you can see, I’ve leaned towards pieces that can be used year round, not just for the holiday season. All photos are as pictured by seller except where noted.

1. Cabana’s Tingere Natural Striped Tablecloth offers a bold pattern to juxtapose the more delicate textiles in the room while playing up the existing orange and green/blue palette. I love how unexpected this feels in a formal setting.

   

2. Œuvres Sensibles’ Hommage à Daniel Spoerri Tablecloth is hand-embroidered and custom-made for your table in an eco-responsible workshop on antique fabric. I have long been eyeing the poetic pieces by artist Sarah Espeute, including this particularly whimsical work.

   

3. Vintage Central Asian Suzani Embroidery is a decadent show of handwork that — despite the presence of pastels — feels quite festive to me! (I embrace a multicolored approach to Christmas decor and in fact pulled the trigger on the vintage suzani stockings I previously referenced from Francesca Gentilli.) I assume this textile is fairly delicate and may not wear well with regular trips to the dry cleaner.

   

4. La Double J’s Lacey Large Tablecloth is giving old school Milanese style [chef’s kiss]. I swoon for the romance of Italian lace. It’s a versatile foundation upon which to build a table of any palette. I would probably need to line it (with something like this pop of color) to protect my table. The look is a nod to our lace-covered wedding table and would sit well with our wedding china.

   

5. The House of Lyria’s Sollievo Linen Rectangular Tablecloth reads so dressy and lush. Yet, at the same time it’s wabi-sabi, as each piece has its own unique variations. I’m drawn to the rich mustard and purple colors along with the wandering motif, but am left wondering if it reads too similar to my drapery.

   

6. Johanna Ortiz’s Gems of the Tropics Rectangular Tablecloth in Acaii introduces a shade of burgundy/purple that should style well with my dining room. I appreciate the red tones for this time of year and also appreciate that they don’t feel too Christmassy. More, it offers that hit of mushroom you know I need (TBD if I will get through a single newsletter without referencing fungi!).

   

7. Summerill & Bishop’s Marble “Fan” Linen Tablecloth embraces color (particularly rust) that ties nicely with my window treatments. I’m a sucker for anything marbled, though arguably this is too much with my marbled dining room seats. I love the warm tones and almost turkey-feather-like quality of this pattern.

   

   These images are from the brand itself because I liked the Astier styling (shocker), but I’ve linked above to a US-based boutique — from what I could tell, pricing, shipping, and stock are better here. The store, House of Cardoon in Carmel, also happens to be owned by a dear college friend of mine. She has a great Christmas ornament assortment to boot!

8. Antoinette Poisson’s Tablecloth “Grenades” is a black and white version of the fabric I used on our guest room window treatments and bed. I like the subtle tie-back of the tablecloth to another room in the house. I also appreciate the larger scale print combined with the neutral color palette. My hesitation here is that the length of the textile is only barely longer than that of my table, so there would be no real draping length-wise — dealbreaker?

   

9. Anut Cairo’s Art Deco Hand-Embroidered Linen Tablecloth feels timeless and seasonless. It’s ethically made by Egyptian craftswomen. I’ve long been eyeing the work of this artisan group, including this tablecloth which I think could be pulled off at the holidays in a more tropical location than New York City. (PS — these scarab cocktail napkins would make a great gift!)

   

10. Chamois’ Linen Tablecloth with Oriental Print in Black is a dressed-up traditional block print. The moody hues are unexpected in this application. The black ties to my dining chair cushions and the ocre, to the window treatments.

    

ORANGE YOU IN THE MOOD FOR A MURDER MYSTERY DINNER PARTY? A FOOTNOTE

While I have your attention, I want to take a minute to spotlight a current pattern obsession of mine: Sevilla by The Rosa Bernal Collections as seen on my dining room curtains. You can find it at Claremont. I love this pattern — comprised of oranges and vines — so much so that I kind of wish I had also used it as my bedroom wallpaper. It is available in two colorways and in wallpaper as well as fabric. Here are three stunning interiors featuring the print in statement-making ways for your decorating inspo.

Left: dining room as seen in Architectural Digest designed by Heidi Caillier, photographed by Harris Kenjar. Middle: children’s room as seen on 1stDibs designed by David Netto, photographed by Ken Kochey. Right: primary bedroom as seen on Veranda designed by Caroline Rafferty, photographed by Carmel Brantley.

Now, dear reader, I will bid you goodnight with a reminder to please chime in with your pick and help me conclude this investigation. Cheers!