A watercolour of Preston Manor's Dining Room, 1896, PM190082
The table was decorated with flower-filled vases and centrepieces. The 1907 Army and Navy Stores Catalogue has three pages filled with glass vases suitable for flowers for the dinner table. Contemporary household manuals devote pages to floral decoration with suggestions for combinations of glass, silver, lampshades and seasonal flowers. Great attention was paid by the hostess to ensure that nothing clashed. Pink. Red and yellow flowers, mixed with white, were particularly recommended.
At Preston, the candles on the table had self-adjusting supports with candle shades which varied in colour according to the floral decoration. The electric lights were normally switched off as guests preferred the softer light of candles.