A Weeknight Table You Can Set in Five Minutes

Setting a table on a weeknight should take less time than boiling water. It does not need a theme.

The Three Things

A surface, a light and something living. That is the whole formula.

The surface is a runner, a few placemats or nothing at all if your table is beautiful. Bare wood with good plates is a completely legitimate choice.

The light is one or two candles, lit before anyone sits down. This does more for the mood of a meal than any centerpiece, and it costs nothing.

Something living is a small bunch of whatever is around. Herbs from the windowsill in a juice glass. A branch. Three stems, not an arrangement.

Skip the Centerpiece

Anything taller than eye level when seated is in the way. If you cannot see the person across from you, the table is decorated for a photograph, not for dinner.

Serve Family Style

Put the food on the table in the dish it was cooked in and let people reach. It fills the table naturally, keeps food hot, and means nobody is plating in the kitchen while everyone waits.

One Nice Thing

Use the good linen napkins on a Tuesday. Cloth napkins take one extra load of laundry a month and change the way a meal feels every single time. The pieces you save for special occasions mostly just sit in a cupboard.