How to style your tabletop for modern dining

JOURNAL

STYLE YOUR TABLE FOR MODERN DINING

Clean lines, timeless accessories and richly layered textures are key to creating a contemporary tabletop which elevates everyday dining. Taking time to curate a tabletop that is elegant, minimal and feels effortlessly refined takes just minutes – and makes even everyday, midweek meals feel as thoughtful and special as a formal dinner.


Radford Bright Cutlery

LET’S TALK TABLES

Wood, marble, sleek metallics, and contemporary glass are the backdrop to modern dining. Paired with mirror-polished stainless steel pieces, the pared-back, timeless beauty of natural materials is elegant and grounding.

ADD TEXTURE

Linen napkins and woven placemats add texture and interest to the contemporary dining table, without being fussy or formal. A simple runner anchors your scheme and allows you to hide heat-proof mats to protect your tabletop from hot serving dishes or spills. Our Drift Double-Walled Wine Cooler keeps wine cooler for longer and won’t transfer condensation to the table. The Drift Wine Coaster is sculptural and practical, even for modern, everyday dinner times.

CREATE A CENTREPIECE

This might be an arrangement of flowers, or – depending on the time of day – a decorative Drift Bread Basket or Cascade Dish to catch and reflect the light. Odd numbers of Drift Bud Vases filled with contemporary blooms add height and interest grouped in the centre of the table or placed in a line down the middle.

CUTLERY CALLING

With more than 40 cutlery designs you’ll find the perfect pattern and finish to suit your contemporary tablescape. While modern mealtimes might not require soup, fish, dessert cutlery and cheese knives, even a simple one-course kitchen supper will be elevated with the right cutlery. A bright or textured finish will reflect the light source at your table. Vintage and satin finishes are relaxed and contemporary. From the organic curves of best-selling Radford to the Art Deco detailing of Fairford, the soft, square bases of Malvern and Warwick to the sleekness of Arden and slender Bud, each of these contemporary patterns are designed to enhance the modern dining table.

A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING

With a dinner plate or pasta bowl and napkin in the centre of each place setting, set out your cutlery in order of courses: starter cutlery – if you’re having one – on the outside, main course cutlery on the inside. Dessert cutlery goes above the dining plate. Discover how to set the perfect dining table in our Edit.

HEIGHT AND LIGHT

Once your place settings are neatly arranged, add height, light and interest with the organic curves of Windrush candlesticks or create drama with flickering pillar candles in a Drift Hurricane Lamp or Helix Hurricane Lamp. Everyone looks better in candlelight, and the soft light will reflect off your stainless-steel cutlery, mills and vases to create a touch of theatre even at the most mundane of mealtimes.

PRACTICAL MAKES PERFECT

Finishing touches add the final flourish to a modern tabletop. Our collection of salt and pepper mills is decorative and practical. Choose from sleek Signature mills in three sizes and three finishes or introduce a glamorous flourish with the tropical fonds of Palm Bright or Palm Satin Mills. Matching trays keep tabletops free from grounds, and the CrushGrind mechanism ensures perfect seasoning, every time.

MODERN MEALTIME INSPIRATION

Modern living calls for easy-to-prepare, full-of-flavour dishes. From family-friendly fakeaways to punchy pasta sauces, speedy sandwiches and soups to warming curries, cakes and bakes, our Edit is full of delicious recipes from our expert chefs.

LET’S TALK TABLES

Wood, marble, sleek metallics, and contemporary glass are the backdrop to modern dining. Paired with mirror-polished stainless steel pieces, the pared-back, timeless beauty of natural materials is elegant and grounding.

Radford Bright Cutlery

ADD TEXTURE

Linen napkins and woven placemats add texture and interest to the contemporary dining table, without being fussy or formal. A simple runner anchors your scheme and allows you to hide heat-proof mats to protect your tabletop from hot serving dishes or spills. Our Drift Double-Walled Wine Cooler keeps wine cooler for longer and won’t transfer condensation to the table. The Drift Wine Coaster is sculptural and practical, even for modern, everyday dinner times.

CREATE A CENTREPIECE

This might be an arrangement of flowers, or – depending on the time of day – a decorative Drift Bread Basket or Cascade Dish to catch and reflect the light. Odd numbers of Drift Bud Vases filled with contemporary blooms add height and interest grouped in the centre of the table or placed in a line down the middle.

CUTLERY CALLING

With more than 40 cutlery designs you’ll find the perfect pattern and finish to suit your contemporary tablescape. While modern mealtimes might not require soup, fish, dessert cutlery and cheese knives, even a simple one-course kitchen supper will be elevated with the right cutlery. A bright or textured finish will reflect the light source at your table. Vintage and satin finishes are relaxed and contemporary. From the organic curves of best-selling Radford to the Art Deco detailing of Fairford, the soft, square bases of Malvern and Warwick to the sleekness of Arden and slender Bud, each of these contemporary patterns are designed to enhance the modern dining table.

A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING

With a dinner plate or pasta bowl and napkin in the centre of each place setting, set out your cutlery in order of courses: starter cutlery – if you’re having one – on the outside, main course cutlery on the inside. Dessert cutlery goes above the dining plate. Discover how to set the perfect dining table in our Edit.

HEIGHT AND LIGHT

Once your place settings are neatly arranged, add height, light and interest with the organic curves of Windrush candlesticks or create drama with flickering pillar candles in a Drift Hurricane Lamp or Helix Hurricane Lamp. Everyone looks better in candlelight, and the soft light will reflect off your stainless-steel cutlery, mills and vases to create a touch of theatre even at the most mundane of mealtimes.

PRACTICAL MAKES PERFECT

Finishing touches add the final flourish to a modern tabletop. Our collection of salt and pepper mills is decorative and practical. Choose from sleek Signature mills in three sizes and three finishes or introduce a glamorous flourish with the tropical fonds of Palm Bright or Palm Satin Mills. Matching trays keep tabletops free from grounds, and the CrushGrind mechanism ensures perfect seasoning, every time.

MODERN MEALTIME INSPIRATION

Modern living calls for easy-to-prepare, full-of-flavour dishes. From family-friendly fakeaways to punchy pasta sauces, speedy sandwiches and soups to warming curries, cakes and bakes, our Edit is full of delicious recipes from our expert chefs.