Let table settings set a mood

Each one of us gravitates toward a certain look or design style, and, based on years of interviews with women around the country, I've come up with what I consider to be the three most distinctive decorating profiles: romantic, adventurous and serene.

These three styles can be interpreted in many different ways and used to express your unique personality in whatever it is you're doing in your home — from decorating a room to wrapping a package to setting your dining table for a festive dinner party.

For instance, someone who decorates in the romantic style may feel comfortable incorporating elements of country, cottage and traditional styles but puts them together in fresh, creative ways to provide comfort for family, friends and loved ones.

A romantic dining room, for example, might be furnished with a white painted table with estate sale side chairs painted blue and a china hutch displaying favorite silver, glass and decorative tabletop items that have been collected or inherited.

Adventurous types like to be surrounded by exotic, artifact-filled interiors for a more "eclectic" look that combines elements from many different periods and cultures to create a look that is totally personal — a fingerprint style that can never be exactly duplicated because of the unique display and use of handcrafted, found objects or travel souvenirs.

Serene appeals to those who gravitate toward calming, neutral spaces or to those with more modern tendencies — people who like to live with subtle neutrals and fewer objects cluttering their lives.

Setting the table for special dinners with family and friends, holiday gatherings, or just to give yourself a visual boast when you sit down to dine are great ways to express your decorating personality.

So, whether you're decorating your house or putting plates on the table, you can use this template of decorating styles — romantic, adventurous or serene — to gather inspiration and ideas. Here are some ideas:

— Romantic: Whether setting a romantic table for two or for a party of your closet friends, pull out all the stops. Use that glass epergne centerpiece that you received as a wedding gift and fill it with a profusion of one type of flower. Or arrange a grouping of floral-filled glass bottles and herbs down the center of your table. Or, in lieu of any centerpiece, create chairside vignettes by placing a small bud vase or wine glass with a single bloom by each place setting.

Do you love collecting plates but don't have enough of one pattern to set for 12? Then mix and match the ones you have and bring the look together with the placemats or tablecloth, matching napkins, or colored glass and stemware.