4 Coastal Table Elements That Make Any Dinner Feel Like a Beachside Escape

A coastal color palette is timeless. Even if you don’t live on a coast, you can bring that calming coastal feeling into your home. For your next dinner party, set the scene with a gorgeous coastal table that feels beachy while using mostly neutral hosting essentials that can be used for any gathering. These tablescape tips were learned at Montage Palmetto Bluff in South Carolina, where this gorgeous table was set up in one of the property’s rentable residences. Use and customize each takeaway in your own space. 

The Table

The foundation of this table was a white and blue fabric tablecloth in a floral motif. It could be used again and again for spring and summer gatherings or holidays like the Fourth of July. If floral designs are not for you, you could look for patterns of shells, stripes, or nautical icons. 

Alternatively, you could opt for a table runner using similar motifs. Think netting, burlap, or blue gauze—reminiscent of water—stretched down the center of the table. If you have a wooden table, you could skip the table runner or table cloth and just play up the place settings more while saving yourself a step.

Votives and candle sticks in shades of blue and white were also placed across the table to add dimension and ambient light throughout the evening. Depending on your table space, these could be omitted. 

The Dishes

In the midst of such a stunning table, you almost don’t notice that the plates and silverware are basic, everyday staples. If your usual dinner plates aren't plain white, ivory, or a similar neutral, consider buying a set that is for your hosting closet (aka bins of hosting supplies in storage). They can be used for literally every gathering you ever host.

Now, the glasses on this table absolutely must be remarked upon. Look at them! A mix of wine glasses (stemmed and stemless), coupe glasses, and lowball glasses were all placed about for whichever beverages the guests chose. 

What really makes the glassware stand out though, is the beautiful color. The colored glassware trend is on full display. This drinkware is from Estelle Colored Glass in some of their blue hues. But, notice not all coupe glasses or wine glasses are the same shade of blue. You can freely mix-and-match within your color scheme to set a more playful table.

The Extras

In this tablescape, it’s four little extras that really wrapped up the coastal table theme and made the dinner experience the most memorable. Working from the bottom up, they are: placemats, printed menu, napkin ring, and keepsake place card holders.

The rattan placemats and napkin rings give a nautical feel. Plus, they tie-in perfectly with the blues, whites, and tans of a coastal palette. Rattan is a lovely neutral to include in your hosting supplies as it can weave into many themes and color combinations throughout the year.

A printed menu adds a sense of formality to the meal, so it could easily be skipped, if your gathering is more casual. But with so many online templates, it’s easy to create a professional-looking menu you can print for guests to offer a preview of the meal ahead.

Finally, the adorable place card holders that serve as a memento of the evening. Because this meal took place in South Carolina where oysters abound, an oyster shell makes a cute keepsake. These ones were customized with “Montage Palmetto Bluff” written on them to remember the trip. You could easily use another type of shell or other coastal item customized for your occasion.

The Flowers

The flowers in the centerpieces were chosen as an accent to the blue hues in the other elements of the table. "Blues and whites lend to a very clean and crisp look," says Katie Ford, the owner and lead designer of Flowers by Katie Ford.

When choosing stems for your own coastal floral arrangements, Ford advises to choose flowers that are textural, airy, and not too stuffy or formal. She suggests options such as palm fronds, sword ferns, pampas grass, dried bunny tails, dusty miller, olive branches, scabiosa, Queen Anne's lace, and ranunculus.

If you'd like to be able to easily converse with others at the dinner table, Ford says arrangements should be kept under 14 inches or above 24 to 30 inches. Arrangements between 14 to 24 inches usually block the ability to look at people across the table.

These tips for setting a coastal table can be mixed and matched and customized for your specific gathering. Make it your own and don't forget to sit down and enjoy the moment you created.