A skirted table, with an additional damask overlay, sits brilliantly in the Long Library at Blenheim Palace, in Woodstock, England.
A bride, a client, and a relative recently asked me what a “drape table” was. So, I decided to revisit the topic again!
One can soften any room with a “skirted table,” also referred to in England as a “drape table.” Drape tables have graced pretty interiors… forever! Placed in a living room, library, bedroom, foyer, or even a powder room, they are tantamount to a graceful lady who adds just the right touch of glamour to any room. These bespoke skirted tables can resemble an elegant ball gown, depending on the formality of the room and the fabric and trim chosen. Typically, a drape table is round, but it can also be square or rectangle.
Drape tables get their smart looks from their fine fabric and trims, rather than exceptional wood and inlays. In a room filled with elegant “bare legs” on the tables, chairs, and chests, the addition of a round table with a well-appointed table skirt tickling the floor, will serve to soften the room aesthetically. The fabric and trim chosen to adorn a drape table will dictate its formality, and/or enable it to cross over effortlessly to present-day modern interiors and resort houses.
A drape table can serve to absorb sound too, especially when it has an under-liner, like a petticoat/slip that’s made of heavy white flannel, which is called “bump” in England. I always specify that a drape table has a flannel underlining because it serves to pad the edges of the tabletop, so that the decorative overlay fabric will fall gracefully over the edge. By having flannel underneath, it will give the decorative fabric on top undulating folds as it falls to the ground.
This stunning silk skirted table features an elegant ruffled edging, by Becky Nielsen Interiors. It would not technically be referred to as a “drape table,” because it has chairs around it. But without the chairs, it would visually translate as a rather large, and well-appointed, drape table! Image source: LAUREY W. GLENN; STYLING: BUFFY HARGETT MILLER
A skirted table can either drape over the edge of the table like a tablecloth or have a pleated or a gathered skirt. Edging options for the bottom edge of the skirt are endless, from a traditional bouillon edging (handsome for a library or a formal living room) to a ruffled or pleated fabric edge (a feminine touch for a bedroom or powder room), a brushed fringe, a ribbon trim, or an inset border fabric.
Grandmillenial Tip:
The table itself can be inexpensive! Some prefabricated table options can be purchased online, yet do not assume that these tables are a less expensive alternative to an antique table. By the time you purchase the exquisite fabric, trim, flannel liner, glass top, and the seamstress’s labor, it may end up costing more than an antique table!
The handsome table skirt was designed by Sarah Bartholomew.
Skirted tables are also quite versatile because they can serve as a room divider in the center of a large room, as the centerpiece in a hallway featuring a grand floral arrangement, or as a bar for drinks at a party!
A skirted table, when placed below a low-hanging light fixture, can protect one from accidentally bumping into the light fixture. This skirted table features pleats with a trim application, designed by Ware M. Porter and Co.
Forbidden Faux Pas:
No-no: To refer to a “dressing table” as a drape table. Yes, indeed, it is skirted, but it is referred to as a dressing table. The kidney shape dictates that it is such!
A pretty pink dressing table in the house of Alice Naylor-Leyland.
XX,
Holly
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