Everyday table styling by Christiane Schaumburg-Müller

Most often, celebrations are linked with special table settings – but as everyday life makes up most of our time, why not make something of the everyday table as well? That is exactly the belief shared by Christiane Schaumburg-Müller and aida, who together created the RAW concept. Since 2016, RAW has developed products for the Nordic table setting. Today, the RAW concept is sold in more than 40 countries and includes nearly 500 different products. You can explore the full collection at aidadenmark.com

 

A look inside Christiane’s home

Table setting is a personal matter, and it varies from home to home. We visited Christiane to hear how she creates the perfect setting for everyday meals with her own personal style – and to find out what always has a place on her everyday table.

The essentials of everyday table setting?

We all know the feeling – when everyday life takes over, the daily table setting can easily become a habit. The same goes for Christiane, whose table is all about cosiness and presence. She often combines this with lots of bowls and serving dishes.

“I don’t put pots on the table unless I’ve made a stew – potatoes, for example, never go on the table in the pot. They go into a bowl, and I like to have lots of bowls with different things. There are always placemats and napkins on the table, and the cutlery is laid, so my table always looks set.”

Even though Christiane has a fixed way of setting the everyday table, there is still a little variation:

“I have three different types of plates, and I vary which ones I use – but it’s always the same RAW placemats and the same RAW cutlery.”

“We have four children at home, so there are always lots of little bowls with tomatoes and cucumbers. There are so many bowls on the table that it quickly looks really full – and that creates a great atmosphere. I’ve designed thousands of bowls in RAW for exactly that purpose, but I also like to mix in some other bowls. It could, for example, be something from my parents’ home. It creates such a cosy, personal table with these bowls, serving dishes and placemats.”

Everyday table must-have?

Placemats from RAW are a constant in Christiane’s table settings.

“The most important thing for me, absolutely, when I set the table, is my placemats. I created these seagrass placemats in different shades together with aida and RAW, and they are on the table every single day. There isn’t one evening when they’re not there. For me, they make the whole table – one hundred percent. I wouldn’t be without them.”

“So it’s quite funny when you ask me to choose one must-have for my everyday table – without a doubt, it’s my seagrass placemats. I never set a table without them. They are the foundation of my everyday table.”

How to set a Christiane table?

“So how do I set my everyday table? I always start with placemats. Whether it’s the natural, the black or the light one depends on my mood. Then come the plates. Then the cutlery. I love my RAW cutlery in Champagne Gold – I’m a gold girl, so it fits perfectly with my living room. Glasses go on next. I like to play with different colours of glass depending on what I feel like. Then come the bowls and serving dishes – always lots of bowls and dishes. I think that’s really what defines my everyday table. And of course, a napkin. Whether it’s paper or kitchen roll doesn’t really matter, but the table just looks set when there’s a napkin on each plate. That’s the recipe for my everyday table.”

The no. 1 table setting tip?

But what is Christiane’s very best table setting tip?

“It’s bowls in every possible size. Lots of different sizes – for the salad, for the potatoes, for the corn, for the tomatoes, for the cucumber sticks, for the meat sauce. For everything. Bowls, bowls, bowls, bowls. Dishes, dishes, dishes, dishes. That’s my best tip for setting the table.”

And the advice doesn’t come from nowhere. It’s all about balancing practicality and aesthetics – something she picked up at home:

“I grew up with the idea that you put the beef patties on a serving dish and then washed the pan straight away. So the pan was always cleaned immediately. When we leave the table, the dish that held the beef patties goes in the dishwasher, but the pan is already done. It’s actually really practical – and that’s just how I was brought up. It’s never been a problem for me.”

A personal table setting

And when it comes to personality in table settings, we also asked Christiane whether her personality really matches her table:

“If my everyday table were to match my personality, it would be a bit messy. Things would keep being added at the last minute – and that’s pretty much how it is every day. So I actually think my everyday table reflects my personality really well,” Christiane concludes.