“To lay, or not to lay?” A question frequently asked when shooting a dining room. In my experience, designers and developers usually like their tables formally laid with the finest cutlery, crockery and glassware, while magazines often prefer something more casual, a few objects artfully arranged, which I quite enjoy doing myself. It’s fun creating a little landscape of crystal, china and silver, usually with something floral thrown in. At the opposite extreme, are the shoots for architects, who as a rule, prefer as little on a table as possible.
They don’t get much more flamboyant. Table setting in the penthouse apartment at the Pan Peninsula, designed by Casa Forma.
Unusual black table-cloth which worked beautifully. From a shoot in Wiltshire for The English Home
Hand painted table in South London, needed no further ornamentation.
Architectural dining room by MAP Projects.
Cream tea in Bristol. This shot featured on the cover of The English Home.
A modern country house in France, by Sarah Ross.
Chelsea dining room by Juliette Byrne.
An ornitholgically themed dining room in Surrey by Stephen Ryan.
A North London dining room by MAP Projects.
In a Georgian rectory in Sussex.
Sophie Paterson’s Surrey dining room, shot for The English Home.
A simpler set-up in Sophie’s kitchen.
A Fulham home designed by Jess Lavers.
Table setting detail in an apartment on the King’s Road designed by Rachel Winham.
A blue dining room in Bristol.
Floral abundance in StJohns Wood. Project by Studio Indigo.
A table by Based Upon which pulls apart.
Simple country dining room by Frances Horn.
Glass and mahogany table in a Chelsea dining room by Juliette Byrne.
Designers and Architects Links: