TABLE EQUIPMENT 317

Color Harmony. The coloring of the dining room itself affects
the choice of color schemes in the table settings. Whenever pos-
sible, daring color schemes should be encouraged for the table
since the assemblage is of brief duration. In selecting a color plan
for a table setting all the articles on the table, even the flowers and
food, must be considered. The tablecloth or mats, which may be
dark or light, can be the dominating color in the scheme, with the
chinaware providing the secondary color. The flowers may
match the cloth or dishes or may be a note of the opposition color*
Different colors may be emphasized in dishes and food in different
courses of the meal. It should be noted that some colors affect
certain foods. For example, yellow plates detract from the ap-
pearance of meat.

An adjacent color scheme of a lavender-blue cloth, orchid-pink
glasses, and violets suggests springtime. A complementary or con-
trasting scheme of a brown cloth with pale orange plates, violet-
blue glasses, and an arrangement of chartreuse-colored leaves suits
either an Oriental or a Modern theme.

Texture Harmony. A formal dinner served in a conventional
manner may combine textures such as those of fine damask, thin
china, crystal, and silver, with roses and gardenias to repeat the
polished surfaces of the appointments and of the mahogany table
itself. See page 336. For eating in a corner of the kitchen,
checked gingham doilies, pottery plates, pewter cups, and zinnias
make a delightful combination. See page 104. The table service
for outdoor eating should be in harmony with the texture of the
porch furniture, such as wood, pottery, or metal dishes on fiber
mats or on a bare table. Complete textural harmony would be
achieved with transparent plastic dishes, tumblers, flatware, and
even a fiberglas table mat, on a glass table top. For a tea table it
is conducive to harmony to have candlesticks, flower containers,
and sandwich plates made of the same material as the teapot or the
punch bowl.

Beauty. When a table setting has unity in theme, in design, in
color, and ia texture, and has a fine relationship of parts, the sepa-
rate elements enhance each other and heighten the total effect of
beauty. A table setting that has real beauty deserves to be photo*
graphed'in color for a permanent record.