The Art of Tablescape Design with Stylist Jane Hines
Hosting at home? From lavish dinner parties to elevating your everyday meals, tablescape design can transform your dining experience.
By intentionally curating your linens, tableware and glassware to suit your space and occasion, you’ll be sure to impress your guests and have them talking for all the right reasons.
Not sure where to start when it comes to designing your next tablescape? We sat down with editorial stylist Jane Hines to unpack her top tips and expertise on bringing the perfect tabletop setting to life.
Jane’s top tips for designing unforgettable tablescapes
With over 20 years of experience as a contributing editorial stylist for Gourmet Traveller, delicious., Vogue Living, Inside Out and Elle UK amongst others, Jane Hines is the mastermind behind the tablescapes of In The Roundhouse Experience – and knows a thing or two about curating elegant dining settings.
“There really is nothing more genuine and loving than sharing a meal with loved ones, and a beautiful table is an extension of that passion.” - Jane Hines, Stylist at Chiswick Woollahra.
So, how does she do it? Here are Jane’s top tips and expert strategies for designing showstopping tablescapes:
Set a theme: First, Jane recommends selecting a theme for your tablescape. This can be as simple as a primary colour or more elaborate, such as honing in on a seasonal moment or aesthetic.
Use linen as your base: From a fresh linen tablecloth to a series of linen placemats, use your theme to inspire the colour choice of your table’s base layer. Linen is a light, flowing fabric that adds an elevated edge to any dining room.
Harness contrasting elements: One of the best ways to add visual interest is by experimenting with clashing items, textures and patterns. Jane recommends having fun with mixing stripes and plain block colours and looking for objects with interesting shapes (such as scalloped edges on plates or ribbing on wine glasses).
Layer it up: Rather than sticking to one plate per guest, consider ways you can layer different plate sizes, shapes and colours to keep your tablescape dynamic.
Add a secondary pop of colour: Look for ways to inject a pop of colour into your tablescape. Select a secondary colour that stands out against your main theme, such as using a pop of vibrant yellow against a cool green linen backdrop.
Discover The In The Roundhouse Experience at Chiswick Woollahra
This August, Chiswick Woollahra is joining forces with Bombay Pressé and In The Roundhouse for In The Roundhouse Experience. With an expanded collective menu nodding to the flavours of Euro Summer, you’ll be transported to balmy summer nights with this lavish dining experience.
Jane has played a lead role in designing the tablespaces for this collective dining experience, finding clever ways to add Mediterranean colours (like pops of lemon yellow) to our dining room.
“For Chiswick, with its beautiful kitchen garden and lush lawn setting, green was a natural focus for our tablescapes. It’s a way to bring the outdoors in and a nod to seasonality and the seasonal produce garden. Then, I thought about the ingredients of a Euro Summer: warm, hazy afternoons, ripe red tomatoes splitting at their seams and a table laden with shared dishes honouring perfect ingredients and herbs picked directly from the garden.” - Jane Hines, Stylist at Chiswick Woollahra.
Ready to experience this tablescape for yourself? Gather your nearest and dearest and pull up a seat in our dining room. Welcome to In The Roundhouse Experience at Chiswick Woollahra.