I've been dying to pull together this book review for you because I just know that you'll love it as much as I do! The book is called Table Style and was written by Rebecca Tanqueray, former Deputy Editor of Elle Decoration (UK), photographed by the fantastic Debi Treloar and styled by Liz Belton who has styled many books published by Ryland Peters & Small. To say this book is perfect isn't enough. I need to expound. And expound I will, with some gushing too!

Table Style is the decor8 book of the week and I'll tell you why: it's inspirational, beautiful and practical with many helpful tips that can be applied rather easily. Table Style is all about making any dinner, whether a casual one with family to a themed dinner party, a lovely occasion by making the most of what you've got. So many of us have things laying around that we may not have thought to use on the dinner table but this book will help you to get your creative wheels turning so that next time you see some empty canning jars in your cabinet awaiting your next jam session, well perhaps you will pull them out and display them as they are shown on pages 123-124 and also below you can catch a glimpse. It's really a lovely and most affordable idea -- in fact one of my favorites from this book.

The book is divided into two main sections, the first is The Elements and it examines the components of a properly laid table because we all know how good a proper lay can be, right? :) Okay, sorry. I need to keep this professional. But I couldn't resist. So yes, this section explains how dinnerware, flatware, napkins, flowers and candles can really influence the look and feel of mealtime.

The second section, The Occasions, is brilliant. For one, I've not seen any of these photographs floating around on blogs so each and every view is fresh and new (which is exciting). And the occasions aren't centered around keeping tradition as much as reinterpreting them. The Holiday table isn't bogged down with gold, red and evergreen - rather it's fresh and modernized with red, gray, white, natural linen and felted wool place mats and napkin rings. The 19 beautiful occasions include; classic elegant dining, a vintage tea party, children's party, baby shower, father's day meal, autumnal dinner, supper for two, cocktail party, relaxed supper, eastern banquet, weekend breakfast, lazy brunch, summer bbq, chic contemporary dining, mother's day brunch, picnic in the park, christmas lunch and a garden lunch. There isn't one that I didn't connect with on some level, I loved them all!

And then there is a final part of the book that examines place settings and shows exactly how to set your table according to the type of meal that you plan to present. I particularly loved learning how to set up for British Afternoon Tea and English Afternoon Tea and I never realized that there was a difference! Other settings include American formal, French formal, Chinese informal and Japanese informal. We love Japanese food but I never knew how to properly set the table for some of my favorite Japanese bites until now.

I highly, highly suggest this book to any lover of entertaining, styling, food and those of you who simply love to look at beautiful, inspirational images for ideas and inspiration. Table Style is a joy!

Disclaimer: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn 4% on the sale of this book if purchased through this link.

(images: holly becker for decor8)