How to Set a Table: Basic, Informal and Formal Place Settings, Drawn

How to set a table, step by step

These steps set a table for a dinner party or a holiday meal. Check the menu first: it decides which forks, spoons and glasses go on the table, and where.

1. Tablecloth or place mats. A tablecloth should hang evenly at the ends and the sides, usually 12 to 18 inches. Place mats go in front of each chair, 1 to 2 inches from the edge of the table.
2. Dinner plate. It goes first, in the middle of each place, and everything else is set around it.
3. Forks to the left of the plate. A salad fork goes outside the dinner fork if salad comes first, and inside it, next to the plate, if salad comes after the main course.
4. Knife to the right of the plate, cutting edge facing the plate, then spoons to the right of the knife. A soup spoon for a first-course soup goes on the outside.
5. Glasses at the top right: the water glass just above the knife, and a wine glass or two to its right.
6. Bread plate, if you’re serving bread, above the forks, with the butter knife laid across it, handle to the right.
7. Dessert spoon and fork across the top of the plate, or bring them out with dessert.
8. Napkin to the left of the forks or in the middle of the plate. If space is tight, it can go under the forks.

Those are the Emily Post Institute’s rules, and three of them do most of the work: utensils go in the order of use, from the outside in; forks go on the left and knives and spoons on the right; and only set what the meal needs, so no soup spoon without soup.

Basic table setting

For everyday meals: a plate, a fork, a knife, a spoon if the meal needs one, a water glass and a napkin.

The napkin goes to the left of the plate with the fork on top of it. The knife goes right of the plate, blade facing in, with the spoon to its right. The water glass sits above the knife, or at a 45° angle to the right of it. For an even more casual table, Emily Post lays the fork, knife and spoon on the napkin, in that order, to the left of the plate.

Informal table setting

The informal setting, also called semi-formal, is the one for a dinner party or a family holiday meal like Thanksgiving dinner at home. The drawing is set for four courses: soup, salad, the main course and dessert.

• Forks: two, the salad fork on the outside because salad comes before the main course. If you serve salad after it, swap them.
• Knife and spoons: the dinner knife next to the plate and the soup spoon to its right, since soup comes first. At an informal meal, the dinner knife can do for every course, and a steak knife can replace it if you’re serving meat.
• Bread plate above the forks, with the butter knife across it, handle pointing right and blade toward the diner.
• Dessert spoon and fork across the top of the plate, with the spoon above the fork. The spoon’s handle points right and the fork’s left. You can also bring them out with dessert.
• Glasses: water above the knife, with one or two wine glasses to its right.
• Napkin: left of the forks, or in the middle of the plate.

A salad plate, if you use one, goes to the left of the forks. If you’re serving coffee with the meal, the cup and saucer go above and to the right of the knife and spoons. At home, most people bring the cups out after the meal and put them in the same place. When you clear for dessert, take away the unused utensils, the bread plate and the butter knife.

Formal table setting

A formal setting is for a meal of more than three courses. The drawing follows Emily Post’s example menu: shellfish, soup, fish, the main course, then salad.

• Charger, also called a service plate: a large plate that stays under the early courses. When the main course arrives, the charger is swapped for the dinner plate. Until the meal starts, the napkin sits on the charger.
• Forks: the fish fork outside the dinner fork, since fish comes first. The salad fork goes inside, because salad comes after the main course.
• Knives: the salad knife next to the plate, then the dinner knife, then the fish knife.
• Soup spoon to the right of the knives, and the oyster fork to the right of the spoon, the only fork ever placed on the right.
• Butter plate above the forks, with the butter knife across it.
• Glasses in the order they’re used, up to five: the water goblet straight above the knives, wine glasses to its right, then a sherry glass or champagne flute. With more than three, set the smaller glasses in front.

No more than three of any utensil goes on the table, except an oyster fork as a fourth fork. Utensils for any extra courses come out with the food. The dessert spoon and fork arrive on the dessert plate.

How much room each place setting needs

Furniture makers plan on about 24″ of table edge per person (West Elm, IKEA, Pottery Barn, Bassett). In our drawings, using typical plate and utensil sizes, a basic setting takes about 21″. That leaves a little elbow room even when the table is full.

The informal setting takes about 25″ with the napkin beside the forks, and about 19″ with the napkin on the plate. At a crowded table, put the napkins on the plates. The formal setting runs about 25″ from the fish fork to the oyster fork, with its glasses reaching out further, so a formal dinner needs a little more than 24″ a person, or one guest fewer.

For how many people your table seats at 24″ each, see how many people fit at a 6-foot table (six to eight) and how many fit at a 60-inch round table (six to eight). The chairs need room too: our guide to the space around a dining table gives the clearance behind them.

Questions people ask

Which side does the fork go on?

The left of the plate. The only fork that goes on the right is the oyster fork, at a formal meal with shellfish.

Which way does the knife blade face?

Toward the plate, on every knife at the setting. The butter knife on the bread plate faces the diner.

Where does the napkin go?

To the left of the forks, or in the middle of the plate; at a formal dinner, on the charger. If space is tight, it can go under the forks.

Where do the glasses go?

At the top right of the setting, above the knife. The water glass goes just above the knife, and wine glasses go to its right.

Where does the bread plate go?

At the top left, above the forks, with the butter knife across it and its handle to the right.

Where do the dessert spoon and fork go?

Across the top of the plate, with the spoon above the fork, its handle to the right, and the fork’s handle to the left. Or bring them out with dessert. At a formal dinner, they come in on the dessert plate.

How do you set a table for Thanksgiving?

Count the courses. A dinner of up to three courses takes the informal setting above; for more, use the formal one. Then work out how much turkey you need for everyone at the table.

Sources

• Proper Table Setting 101 (Emily Post Institute): utensils from the outside in; forks left and knives and spoons right, except the oyster fork; set only what you’ll use; the basic, informal and formal settings; dessert utensils and the butter knife; clearing for dessert
• Basic Table Setting (Emily Post Institute): the two casual settings; water glass above the knife or at 45°; FORKS; b and d
• Informal Table Setting (Emily Post Institute): the plate first; forks by when the salad is served; napkin; one knife for all courses; spoons; glasses; salad and bread plates; dessert spoon and fork; coffee cups
• The Formal Place Setting (Emily Post Institute): more than three courses; no more than three of a utensil; charger; forks, knives, soup spoon and oyster fork; up to five glasses; napkin; place mats 1–2″ from the edge; a 12–18″ tablecloth drop
• Dining Room Rules of Thumb (West Elm): about 2′ per person
• 3 tips for buying a dining table (IKEA): about 24″ of eating space per person
• How to Choose Dining Room Chairs (Pottery Barn): at least 24″ for each guest
• Complete Guide to Table Sizes (Bassett Furniture): 24″ per seat