Fancy napkins dress up table
One of the simplest ways to dress up a table is just by folding the napkins up fancy. Easy-to-do ideas for pleats, rolls and a flower come from Carol Haidze, decorator for the 12 area Altmeyer Home Stores, one of which is in Point Plaza on New Castle Road:
• A fancy setup that utilizes napkin rings in an unconventional way starts with simply folding a square napkin corner to corner to make a triangle. From one of the two side points, pleat all the way across, grab the center of the bottom and pop the base in the napkin ring to hold the pleats. "This kind of thing looks great standing up on a plate or beside a plate," Haidze said.
• Without napkin rings, a fancy napkin takes shape when one napkin is pleated from the horizontal side while another napkin is rolled from a pointed side. Fold each in half, placing the rolled one in the middle of the pleated one. Use a water or wine glass as a holder.
• One of Haidze's favorite napkin folds she called "the flower," noting it's simple yet versatile. Using a square napkin, fold each pointed corner to the center of the napkin, then turn the whole thing over and do the same again. Reach underneath and pull each true corner of the napkin out, thus standing up the four inner corners. This napkin setup is good for holding a coffee or tea cup in the middle, or maybe a little gift, Haidze said.
• Silverware wraps also look stylish. Just fold a square napkin in half horizontally and then in half that way again, Haidze said. Fold down three of the pointed corners, leaving one up as the backdrop for the pouch. Fold left and right side points to rear. Insert the silverware in the pouch.
For napkin folding, polyester napkins, the kind meant to not wrinkle, don't take every fold, Haidze said. She ironed one to get the pleats to take. "It's nice to have a little cotton or other blend," she noted.
The folding would work with paper napkins, Haidze added, the heavy dinner size working best. "The bigger the napkin the nicer the look," she noted.
The folding doesn't take long, but can be done in advance. "You can set them up maybe a day ahead of time. You wouldn't want them to get dusty or dirty," Haidze said. "If you want to wipe them off, you can do it as far ahead as you want, or just set them aside where they'll stay fresh."
