Getting your dining room ready for Christmas guests
How many guests does my dining table really seat?
Measure the long side of the table and divide by 60 cm. That is how many people sit comfortably along it. A 240 cm table seats four along each side, plus one at each end if the ends are at least 90 cm wide.
Round tables are kinder for conversation. A 120 cm round table seats four to five, 150 cm seats six, and 180 cm seats eight.
How do I add places without crowding the table?
Put the extra chairs at the ends first. A second table of the same height, set end to end and dressed with one long cloth, reads as a single table for a large family meal.
A bench along one side seats more people than chairs in the same length, and children are happy to share it.
Check the floor before you check the table. Every chair needs about 90 cm behind it to pull out and for someone to pass with a dish.
How should a dining room be lit for an evening meal?
Hang the chandelier or pendant 75 to 85 cm above the tabletop and put it on a dimmer. Bright overhead light flattens the room, so turn it down and add candles along the table and a lamp on the sideboard.
Choose warm bulbs, around 2700K. Cool white light makes food and skin look grey.
How do I keep guests cool at a Christmas meal in Accra?
Turn the air conditioning on an hour before guests arrive, so the room and the upholstery are cool when people sit down. If the meal moves outdoors, set the table in shade that will still be shade at the hour you eat.
Linen and cotton tablecloths breathe better than synthetics, and upholstered chairs stay more comfortable than leather in a warm room.
What makes a good Christmas table setting?
Keep the centrepiece below about 30 cm so guests can see across the table, or use tall, slim candlesticks that the eye passes through. Leave room for serving dishes, or serve from the sideboard and keep the table for plates and glasses.
Set one glass for water and one for wine or a soft drink at each place. Too many glasses crowd a table faster than too many guests.
Is it too late to change the dining table before Christmas?
Pieces made to order abroad often take months to arrive, so for this Christmas choose from what is already in the country. Every piece on the Ferri Home floor is in the Spintex showroom now.
