A black, white & silver table brings to mind an evening of elegance, often contemporary in nature. It can also work for evoking thoughts of sheer simplicity. But can it also work for a Bunco dinner party?!!?!!? This week, I answer a subscriber’s request for a game night dinner party table!

Last week, new subscriber Novetta Washington wrote in asking me to put together a dinner party table for her Bunco group. After a little research on what exactly Bunco is (no…I didn’t know!), I came up with this understated, relatively inexpensive table using black & white (to mimic the colors of dice) with a silver accent. Who says you can’t go a teensy bit glam with dinner before getting to the down and dirty of the game? 🙂

It was a little bit strange to set a table knowing that no one would actually be sitting down to eat at it, but it was fun just the same! With the weather as icky as it is right now though (7 more inches of snow predicted to fall over the next 24 hours!), I’ve not planned any dinner parties of my own to set up. So this was perfect timing, Novetta!

For those of you who don’t know what Bunco is, it’s a fun parlor game played with dice. It’s quite popular (I apparently live a very sheltered life!), and requires no particular skill as it is purely a game of luck. I wanted to give Novetta and her friends a chic, decidedly contemporary table to start off their evening with colors that would get them excited about the upcoming games. I started with a plain black tablecloth. The place settings began with two square chargers – one in silver with rounded corners (kinda like dice!) and one in black. A white rounded-edge B. Smith With Style dinner plate (again…shaped like dice!) was topped with a round black salad plate (resembling the dice dots!). I used simple clear glass water and wine goblets to break up  the black & white landscape just a bit. (Black & white polka-dotted plates and/or flatware would be another fun – albeit more casual – option for this tablescape. Likewise, a pop of color like deep red or purple or orange would be cool, too!)

Each place setting gets a menu with a pair of dice on it, the only overt reference to the theme. (Certainly a few dice tossed down the center of the table would be fun, too!) Even though the table has a sophisticated air to it, that doesn’t mean you can’t get playful with the menu. Notice what I would suggest for dessert!

I like to play with the flatware arrangement when I can, and this is an opportune setting to do just that! Simply banded stainless flatware is laid out with the forks atop a plain white cotton napkin in a perpendicular fashion for a little visual interest.

The lowly “baby’s breath” has gotten a bad rep from its extended misuse as a sparse filler for roses by the dozen. Used en masse like this, however, baby’s breath/gypsophila is a knockout! I used million star gypsophila which boasts very dense clusters. Placing the gypsophila in plain black powder-coated glass urns shows it off museum-style and keeps with the black & white theme. I suggest keeping the look of the gypsophila kind of wild and untamed as shown here. For a wedding or more formal tablescape, you might want to temper it a bit more. (FYI, gypsophila is so well-priced…you can buy it for next to nothing!)

I set these milky white votives down the length of the table in the style of dice dots.

A simple $3 door mirror from Old Time Pottery makes a sleek, sophisticated table runner that doubles back the striking images of the candlelight and florals. I used a mirror with black trim that melded nicely with the table linen and allowed just the shiny surface to take center stage.

The suggested menu included Chicken with Olives (olives…black dots!) and concluded with a fun dessert of chocolate fondue with marshmallow “dice” for dipping. Simply dip a Q-tip in black food coloring and dot onto marshmallows! Or, if you want a more 3-D look, use black icing. If you have coffee service after dinner, dotting sugar cubes in the same way is a cute way to make it special.

Well, Novetta and friends, I hope this will give you some inspiration for your next Bunco gathering. Cocktails, a nice sit-down dinner, then on to the gaming tables! Have fun, and please send pictures of your next party to me at table21tablescapes@gmail.com!

Other tablescapes on this site with baby’s breath arrangements include:
“Ideas for Throwing A Winter Dessert Party“
“Fete Noir et Gris“
“Princess Pink Birthday Dinner“

Other tablescapes on this site using a mirror centerpiece include:
“Roses In October“
“Happy Birthday, Barf!“
“Hooray For Vodka!“
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s“
“Contemporary Christmas – Fire & Ice“

It is with great pride & pleasure that I once again join Susan and the other tablescapers at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday. After checking out my entry, please pop over and take a peek at what everyone else is up to this week!