How to set up a Buffet table

How to set up a buffet table

I always start with the centerpiece – I found this gorgeous weathered looking cloche at Home Goods in St. George Utah…ahhh it just speaks to me. I knew I wanted to fill it with something white and fluffy…I did not have any fresh flowers around so I filled it with white silk flowers to make it look soft and romantic. This set the tone..weathered, white, romantic and just plain pretty.

I added this gold candelabra my mom found at a garage sale for $7.00! She gave it to me and I just love it!!

This tablescape is set up in my kitchen nook….I love this room…the walls are painted yellow and our big round table and six chairs that we found at a thrift store in Durrango Colorado (that my hubby refinsished for me HERE) fits perfectly in here. We also found this amazing crystal chandelier at a thrift store here in Salt Lake city and it just sparkles in here!!
This is a picture before we put all the food on the table..I like to create visual interest with levels,layers, textures and a little sparkle here and there.

I always use white plates when I set up a buffet because the food pops off the plate.

Here are a few fun tricks to use for your next buffet…stack the plates on top of a footed bowl turned upside down! I placed a white plate on top of the upside down bowl and placed my new favorite blue salad plates from Tai Pan on top.
It elevates them and makes them a focal point on the table.

We placed the napkins in a tall glass vase to bring some more color up high. The silverware caddy is white tumbler cups in a silver cup holder from Neiman Marcus…odd I know ..from Neiman Marcus??…. it was a gift.

Aren’t these mini Martini glasses adorable sitting in mini ramekins….

We filled them with a delicious spinach fruit salad drizzled with poppy seed dressing…we call them Spinach Salad-tini’s. Madeline also whipped up some homemade cheese crisps.

The colors of the fruit and green spinach are spectacular!
We also placed nuts in the ramekins for those who wanted to add them to their salads.

We came up with a fun way to serve raw vegetables…..
in mini shot glasses under the glass dome !

This is a close-up of the mini crudite shot glasses…we used thin sliced red and yellow peppers, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, mini yellow tomatoes and a sprig of cilantro for a festive look.

These little crudite shot glasses are sitting atop of a glass cake plate that I covered with green moss with a large glass dome over the top.

These little bite sized appetizers are packed with flavor… Using leftover chicken, cream cheese, apples and some fig jam!

We used a glass cake stand to serve the appetizers with the candelabra on top ….we always stack and lift …it just makes it fun!

We decided we needed to have some cheese, crackers and fruit on the table so we placed some in a tall glass footed dish set on top of a glass cake plate that I covered with some sheet moss ….then we set it on top of some stacked white dinner plates.
This sounds like a Dr. Suess book…
on top of this on top of that…ha ha

Last but not least…Dessert!! I posted the recipe of this delicious so incredibly easy no bake simple dessert HERE

Take a look at my fun serving spoon my son in law made them for me.

Here is the buffet in all its glory…enjoy the eye candy!

We used mini votive candle holders as vases for flowers.

I hope you all enjoyed the Buffet and got some new fun ideas for serving food!

Karins Kottage

Welcome to Karins Kottage! There is always something fun going on! You would think after becoming an empty nester couple that our nest would be very quiet and empty but our Kottage nest is usually more full than what we started out with! You might find me hosting a birthday party or graduation party and a baby shower on the same weekend or a big outdoor get together with 25 of our friends and family in the backyard or maybe I might be in the kitchen trying out a new recipe for my hubby and I to grill on the BBQ for a quiet night for the two of us. I am passionate about entertaining and setting a beautiful table! I may or may not have an addiction to cloth napkins and fun salad plates oh and goblets too! I think I will always have a home decorating DIY project in the works as long as my hubby is on board with me haha. We have painted A LOT in the 6 homes we have owned in the 35 years that we have been married as well as re-done multiple pieces of furniture, added wall and ceiling treatments, replaced lights, bathroom fixtures and even tiled floors! I have sewn what seems like a million window treatments for our home as well as for family, made slipcovers, and duvets and even a formal dress or two!

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Rita C. says:

May 3, 2017 at 11:24 am

Karin, WOW! What a gorgeous buffet! You're so right - those white plates just make the food look beautiful. Oh yeah, and it doesn't hurt one bit that the food IS beautiful! Those chicken crackers with fig jam (note to self to try!), and those little pound cake desserts with those awesome little serving spoons. I love how you used creative ways to stack and vary the heights. And that color yellow - mind my asking what it is? Very pretty!
Rita C at Panoply
- admin says:
  
  May 3, 2017 at 3:10 pm
  
  Hi Rita! You are so kind... we had fun putting this together.. playing with ways to stack plates and serve the appetizers. I love creating something unique in my tablescapes to enjoy dining with friends and family 😊. My wall color is called Lemon Chiffon by Sherwin Williams.. I love this color... it makes me happy 😊