How to Create Your Own Private Tea Room
There is nothing nicer that a leisurely breakfast or tea in a quaint English tea room – but if you can’t afford such a luxury, and there isn’t one for miles anyway, why not create that ambience in your own home?
All you need is a sunny corner of your home or your patio and you can create a space to relax in style by yourself or with guests.
The furnishings are simple – a table and some chairs. You can choose any style you like, from cane to mahogany, but don’t fill up the space with anything too big or ornate. A simple cane table with a two or three matching chairs is ideal. A round pedestal table with wrought iron chairs would also look charming.
You can leave the table bare or cover it with a pretty tablecloth. You can really indulge your love of color and pattern here. A pattern of flowers, such as roses, would give your private tea room a fresh look, or you can look around and find tablecloths patterned with tea cups, chickens or fruit for a more rural look.
If your private tea room overlooks the garden, try planting fragrant flowers near the window or patio rail. If not, a pot plant will add freshness.
Flat cushions covered in gingham checks or seaside stripes will add comfort and charm to your chairs. The can match the tablecloth if you like, or not – you are aiming for a carefree country look, not chic perfection.
To serve breakfast or afternoon tea in cozy style, look for accessories that will give your private tea room the look you want. This is where you can display your best china tea service, or enjoy rummaging in china shops for prettily patterned tea cups, saucers and side plates. They don’t have to match – in fact, you can create an even more charming look by matching the crockery through one element only – such as a rose.
Tea or coffee should be poured at the table, so invest in a beautiful tea pot and coffee pot. A tiered cake stand is a nice touch, and looks inviting when piled with dainty cakes and cookies.
It’s the little things that count, so take time to select the extras, like a china cream jug and sugar bowl. Hunt around for pretty tea spoons and spreaders from gift shops and antique shops. You can often find these with ceramic handles in interesting shapes, such as tea pots and honey jars and these will add a whimsical touch to your table.
For breakfast, a silver toast rack will make you feel you are dining at a luxury hotel. Buy conserves and marmalade in miniature jars and serve the butter in a pretty china dish rather than the plastic tub it came in.
Decorate your tea room with some antique posters or prints of relaxing country scenes. To add that final touch, create a menu to set on the table.
Fold a piece of A4 card-stock in half, and decorate the front with a picture cut from a magazine. Give your private tea room a name, if you like. Inside, jot down the dishes you usually serve for breakfast and tea.
If you have a printer, you can create your menu using a program like MS Publisher and add clip art to decorate it.
Set your menu on the table, call up a friend and invite them over for tea, and you’re in business!
Gail Kavanagh 2006
