Build a Place Setting in 5 Easy Steps with Juliska Founder, Capucine De Wulf

Building a registry filled with items you’ll love for the rest of your life can feel like a heavy task—but it doesn’t have to. The good news is that we’ve tapped expert, Capucine De Wulf, founder of Juliska, to guide you on how to build a place setting that mixes patterns so that you can register for more than just the basics. You can build a story — from your wedding colors to your dining room table — or simply just follow your proclivity for pastels into your new life as a married couple. If you’re looking for a unique table that reflects every facet of your personal style, look no further.

We’ve put you in very good hands with Capucine, who will take it from here…

Team Zola: Let’s start with the big question: why invest in your tabletop?

Capucine: The table is a place of gathering, storytelling, and everyday connection. That’s why my team and I design pieces meant to be lived with, loved, and layered, not tucked away for rare occasions.

Think of your table as your ‘tableau’ – your canvas. Think of mixing your patterns, like an artist mixes their paints. Pattern mixing is super fun and brings out your personality. At Juliska, we design all of our collections so that the shapes, colors and patterns are easily able to mix, un-match and coordinate amongst each other. And that gives you hundreds of different ways to express your own unique style.

Team Zola: Walk us through the basics. What are all the pieces you’ll need to create your own unique place setting?

Capucine:

Dinner Plate: This is the most important item on the table, Choose a dinner plate you adore and will never tire of. If you’re not sure of what you like best, a solid white plate is a safe choice and can be accented with an endless array of tabletop accessories to make it look special for different occasions. Textured or embossed white patterns are especially lovely because they are classic and interesting.

Napkins: Always invest in a classic white napkin as it works for all occasions. If your dinner plate is a pattern, select a solid color napkin that compliments one of the colors in it.

Salad/Dessert Plate: This plate is great for breakfast, lunch or small portions and traditionally used for salads and desserts due to their smaller scale relative to the dinner plate. You will often use it interdependently. When entertaining, you can set your table with the salad plate on top of your dinner plate to welcome your guests to the table with a little extra flair. It’s the most fun part of your setting because your salad/dessert plate layers color and pattern into your setting. You can collect different sets of these to re-style your setting as often as you like. I have a few sets of these as well.

Side/Cocktail plate: Smallest plate that is used for bread and butter placed at the left side of your dinner plate. It is also used for cocktails, tidbits, canapes or whatever you prefer to call them. These are pretty useful and I like to use them to serve condiments or snacks.

Flatware Five Piece Setting, also known as Silverware – Eating Utensils: Dinner Fork, Dinner Spoon, Salad Fork, Dessert Spoon, Knife is standard to have on hand.

Water Glass: Traditionally, this is a 6oz capacity and can be a tall or short tumbler, or footed goblet shape. You can choose any shape and size you like! However, if you plan to use a water glass on your elegantly set table, set next to you wine glass, then be sure they pair nicely together. Generally, the wine glass is taller than the water glass. Clear glasses are a great choice as they will go with everything. I also like to use a pretty color or patterned glass from time to time because it adds panache to my settings.

Wine Glass: Traditionally, this is usually a 15-20 oz. capacity clear glass and can be stemmed or stemless. There are lots of great designs with decorative elements and even accents of color. You will use your wine glass often, so choose a fine glass that you will savor sipping from! __ Team Zola:__ So, now we know the basics of what you need. Tell us more about how to style your pieces (and, pretty please…lend your advice on how to mix patterns!).

Capucine: I like to think of pattern mixing as a five step process:

Step 1 - Before you buy, understand the Rules of Pattern Mixing:

Pair one bold, expressive pattern with subtler designs to give the eye a place to rest. Vary the scale of patterns, and repeat at least one element, color, shape, or texture, to create cohesion across collections. Solids and textured neutrals are your friends: they ground the table and let patterned pieces shine.

When setting your table – create a theme and stick to it. Layer into that theme and generally everything balances itself out. For a color theme - these three formulas work best, use any colors you like together. Some classic color combinations I love are:

• Blue and White and pink/yellow or orange
• Green & White/Blue
• Pink/Lavender & Mint
• Yellow & White
• Natural Hues & White

Here’s how to balance based on how many colors you want to incorporate:

2 colors: 1 dominant (the lighter color), 1 supporting (the darker color). Example: Blue & White = white is the dominant color and blue is the accent color.

3 colors: 2 of equal importance Example: blue & white, and a 3rd color for accents, pink.

4+ or multicolor: If you have a patterned tablecloth, use a solid dinner plate, and then a salad plate that complements back to the tablecloth. Then keep your centerpiece or floral element, fairly simple in color.

Step 2 - Layering the plates:

When I build a place setting, I start with a foundational pattern, often something like Villa Seville or Berry & Thread. Then I layer complementary patterns that share a color, motif, or feeling.

I pay attention to scale: one bold pattern, one medium, and one subtle pattern usually feels balanced. Repeating a color or motif across different collections helps the table feel cohesive without being matchy-matchy.

Pro tip: If your dinner plate is solid – choose a pattern that you love. Florals or stripes are super versatile to use for any occasion. For seasonal or special occasions – choose a fancy napkin!

Step 3 - Flatware placement:

I like to keep flatware placement simple: forks on the left (short salad fork goes on the outside), knives (next to the dinner plate with the blade facing the plate) and spoons on the right.

Pro tip: If your dinnerware design is more simple, you can choose a flatware pattern that is more ornate and vice-versa. The overall setting should be visually balanced. Lay it all out together. If you find yourself smiling, then you’ve gotten the balance “juuust” right.

Step 4 - Napkins and styling:

Napkins are one of my favorite finishing touches. Folded beneath the fork or draped casually, they help connect mixed patterns and soften transitions between bold designs. I also love using napkin rings; they add a polished, personal detail that can tie in colors, textures, or metallic accents, making the table feel even more layered and thoughtfully styled.

There are lots of creative ways to fold your napkins and weave them into napkin rings! Have fun experimenting! There is really no wrong way to do it.

Step 5 - Finishing touches and final thoughts:

My favorite way to finish a table? Create a pretty centerpiece!

This can be a vase of flowers, a potted plant, or a themed collection of objects like shells interspersed with low candles.

I highly recommend candles — day OR night — as they seem to slow time down as people glow in their light. It's also a cue that this moment of gathering is elevated.

Using place cards is a lovely way to ensure the right people sit next to each other to ensure good conversation. Great entertainment is all about thoughtfulness and details. No two tables should look the same; they should feel collected, welcoming, and uniquely yours. The table is a powerful thing. After setting thousands of tables in our home, we have found that what’s on a table has a curious effect on what happens around a table.

So over do it a little. Your loved ones will take away a lot.