For Diane DeCero, a beautiful table is about much more than linens, dinnerware and a well-chosen centerpiece. It’s about the memories made around it.
Growing up in an Italian household, Diane remembers the kitchen table as the center of family life: a place filled with good food, laughter and several conversations happening at once. Her mother often said, “If that table could talk, oh, what stories it would tell.”
Those memories continue to influence Diane's work today as the owner of Interiors by Diane DeCero. She loves designing functional kitchens with large islands and generous eat-in spaces—rooms designed not only for preparing food, but for bringing people together.
“Life happens around a table,” Diane says. Prayers of thanks, birthday candles, anniversary toasts, holiday traditions, and everyday conversations all have a place there. For her, creating a welcoming table is ultimately about creating a sense of togetherness.
A thoughtfully dressed table can also make guests feel especially valued. DeCero enjoys creating tablescapes that reflect the occasion, the season or simply the personality of the host. Her favorite compliment? When guests want to photograph the table before dinner begins.
Her approach to tablescaping is decidedly more-is-more. Layers of linens form the foundation, followed by chargers and dinnerware. She encourages mixing and matching pieces and adding candles, small lights, and flowers to create a distinctive theme.
Diane changes her own tables throughout the year. Winter brings snowflake plates, Easter gets bunny-themed china, and summer pays tribute to Sorrento, her favorite place in Italy, with a lemon-inspired setting. Her autumn table is her favorite—and unapologetically elaborate—with rich cinnamon, green, gold and earth tones, pumpkins and beautiful linens and dinnerware. Christmas is equally special, incorporating her mother’s Christmas china for a sentimental touch.
Because ultimately, perfection isn’t what makes a table memorable. It’s the feeling people have when they sit down.
Diane hopes every guest at one of her tables feels “extremely welcomed and comfortable”: ready to eat, laugh, linger and perhaps create a story worth telling for years to come.