Interiors: How to make eating at home during lockdown feel special

Are you staring at lockdown 2 and already feeling sick of cooking and eating in the same four walls/ With autumn upon us my mind is turning to styling up a dinner table for cosy suppers and family roasts. Especially with being in lockdown again, it is all the more important that we feel nourished, taken care of and have a little bit of a sense of occasion to make some meal times feel a little bit different to the mid week rushed cooking we tend to do.

I always feel a bit more mindful of what I'm eating and it feels a bit more decadent when I make a bit of an effort with the table. Not Christmas effort, mind, I ain't got time for major faffing but even just putting out the dishes and some nice cutlery for a lazy breakfast. Or a linen table cloth and some napkins for date night, alongside candles and nice glassware for a bottle (or two) of wine.

We used to go out a lot before kids, so food at home was a lazy affair really. But now on a weekend, to make it feel a bit different than the usual weekday TV dinner, its nice to play some music, make the lighting cosy and really enjoy each others company.

Then on a sunday, rather than rushing through dinner and onto to the bath and bed routine, its nice to all sit together and enjoy a slow, mindful meal, where we talk and listen to music. Granted toddlers and babies are yet to grasp the concept of slow, its usually messy, loud, chaotic and rushed to get to their main event....pudding, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I used to dream of having a family of my own to eat at the dinner table with and so I love that now we can. We bought a big 10 seater farmhouse table when we bought our house with family dinners and celebrations in mind. I love that it already holds many stories; from late night ;planning our future; talks as a couple, to our first christmas hosting family as a married couple, to weaning our babies with their first tastes of food and celebrating their first birthdays. 

I hope it holds many more family celebrations, get togethers and hopefully allows us to invite our family come this Christmas time, which I'm sure many people feel the same about.

My top tips for styling a table for a relaxed brunch or dinner is:

- add a table linen to make it feel a bit more fancy, Plus if it gets messy whip it off and throw it in the wash. Maybe keep the fancy stuff for date night.

- a vase full of fresh flowers looks lovely day or night and smells so good. If its a really special celebration I love a long arrangement or several smaller vases for impact.

- I have a mixture of different candles for various moods. From long tapered candles to lanterns that are child safe.

- I like to have real linen napkins but I only have four in each colour. That means that for larger dinner parties I mix them up. I like an eclectic look so it doesn't bother me, plus I think it adds texture and layers.

- when we designed the family kitchen diner we installed different types of lighting, including dimmable spots and pendants, so we can change the mood. 

- we have benches for relaxed dining as they are practical for a young family but we layer them with comfortable sheepskin rugs and cushions, and if we have more people coming, we have some dining chairs that we bring out.

Have you been making more effort with your dining table since lockdown?