How to Style Your Dining Table Like Ina Garten

If you want to put together a wow-worthy tablescape for an upcoming event, who better to take notes from than Ina Garten? Known by many for her Food Network show, Barefoot Contessa, Garten is a pro when it comes to entertaining. She sets her dining table in a way that’s beautiful but not overly complicated.

Here’s how to style a dining table like Ina Garten, from the tableware to the decorative finishes. If you really want to impress your dinner guests, serve up a few Ina Garten recipes, too!

How to Style a Dining Room Table

If you want to host a dinner party that would make the Barefoot Contessa proud, here are a few key elements to include on your table.

White plates

There’s one thing you’ll find on every one of Garten’s tablescapes: white plates. Over the years, she’s said in many interviews that she prefers to serve on white dishes, which she believes “shows the food best.” Even when you scroll through her social media pages, the majority of her culinary creations are plated on white serveware, which helps to make the ingredients pop!

Garten has a whole pantry full of white dishes, including both plain options and more decorative designs. Round dinner plates are always a classic choice.

Cloth napkins

Skip the paper napkins at your next dinner party and elevate the ambiance with cloth napkins. Garten sets her table with colorful cloth napkins, which are generally folded into simple rectangles. (If you want to get fancy, here are a few of our favorite napkin-folding options.) You can change out the napkin design to match the season—orange for fall, red for the holidays and so on—and because they’re made from fabric, napkins can be washed and reused year after year, making them an eco-friendly pick.

When placing napkins on the table, Garten says that the loose edges should be arranged facing toward the plate, and she actually prefers to put silverware beside the napkin, not on top of it. This makes it easier to grab your napkin when needed, and you don’t have to move all your flatware to do so.

Fresh flowers

Fresh flowers are another staple on Ina Garten’s dining table. Who can blame her? She often matches her flowers to the napkins or another element of the tablescape for a cohesive design. When she has a big crowd, she splits the flowers up into several vases and spreads them all along the table.

If you’re not confident in your flower arranging skills, here’s another tip from Garten: Put a few flowers into several small vases, then arrange them in a group on your table. Or, if you don’t have vases, she recommends putting flowers in water glasses instead.

Fresh fruit

Add a pop of color with a bowl or plate of fresh fruit in the center. Garten recommends using lemons for a bright, cheery aesthetic, but you could use any number of options, depending on the season and the color of your decor. Clementines or mini pumpkins would be perfect in the fall, and pomegranates could be used during the holidays to match other red decor. Plus, when your party is done, you’ll have all the ingredients you need to make a tasty fruit tart.

White votive candles

The finishing touch on the Barefoot Contessa’s table setting is almost always glass votive jars with white candles inside. It adds a little bit of sparkle to the room, especially at night. Just be sure to use unscented candles so they don’t interfere with the delicious aromas of your meal.

Going to someone else’s house for dinner? Here’s what Garten recommends bringing as a hostess gift!