Entertaining at teatime

Socialising over food and drink can become a regular event during winter, as the outdoors becomes less appealing and the indoors seems ever more inviting. This can be a good excuse to have some fun with the design in your home as accessorising and styling can play a key role in dining and the dressing of your table. The pieces that you acquire for tableware can often be as decorative as they are functional and are a great way to welcome guests and add atmosphere to your entertaining.  As delightful as it to acquire these accessories for oneself, they can also make wonderful gifts; here are some examples to offer some inspiration.

This thick glass drink dispenser and stand from Rockett St George creates a wonderful spectacle and would be perfect for storing a home made concoction.

This elegant gold dipped cutlery from Anthropologie is both striking and luxurious.

Merci do a wide range of refined and unusual crockery and cutlery, including these stylish enamelled metal plates.

Enamelled metal plates in Red and black designed by Stefania di Perillo, at Merci.

Dressing a table can be a great excuse to mix and match different pieces. This metal teapot and glass mug from Merci make a great, eclectic pair.

Mug by La Rochere and Aluminium Kettle/Teapot, at Merci.

Richard Brendon is a British bone china specialist and has designed some beautifully refined pieces. His designs pay fantastic attention to detail and offer a wonderful new take on some classic styles.

In his collection, Reflect, Brendon cleverly applies platinum and gold gilding onto antique cups so that they reflect and make visible the ornate design of their saucer.

Reflect collection, Maker unknown, c 1900.

Reflect collection, Maker unknown, c 1890.

In Brendon’s ‘Details from Willow’ collection, he has adapted the most beautiful elements of willow pattern china into contemporary pieces.

‘Details from Willow’ collection, Tea Cup and Saucer Gold.

‘Details from Willow’ collection, Milk Jug Gold.

Coral & Tusk make some gorgeous accessories for the dining table including their charming range of table runners.

Navy Quill Table Runner by Coral and Tusk.

‘Grande Theiere Marbre Jaune Vert’ by Astier de Villatte.

Astier de Villatte has the most delightful range of crockery, including their ‘Marbre’ collection which allude to the brilliant designs of marble paper.

‘Tasse extrieure marbre noir bleu’ and ‘Tasse interior marbre vert rouge jaune’ by Astier de Villatte.

So treat yourself, or someone else, to something special to add to your dinner table this year.

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Going beyond the canvas

I am always looking for creative ways to add expression and character to my home, and more often than not I rely on artistic work to do this. On my current search for art in unusual places, I have come across a number of inspiring products that have their own painterly quality. Going beyond the canvas, I have selected a variety of furnishings that can offer unusual artistic expression to your home.

Artist Marlene Mocquet has put together these fabulous plate designs to mark the 150th anniversary of Bernardaud, French porcelain manufacturer. As one of 11 artists involved, her work is my absolute favourite. At first glance they look like an artist’s palette, but upon second glance the quirky characters start to reveal themselves.

Skandium have a beautiful range of Oiva Saapaivakirja plates by Marimekko, with a fluid paint design.

With their watery, striking colour, these Tincture glasses from Anthropologie would be a great match for the Oiva Saapaivakirja plates.

You can find this charming Colour Test glassware from Anthropologie. The carafe and glasses serve as both a pretty, but also quirky table piece.

  

French designer, Elodie Gobin uses an ecological dyeing process to create her attractive Botanic Colour cutlery.

Tiles can be a really interesting way to add personality to a space. Designer, Hilda Hellstrom, has started to produce some unique and visually stunning items using resin Jesmonite, such as these Sedimentation tiles. So keep a look out for this emerging talent.

This Upcycled Painted Highchair from The Old Cinema is a characterful example of how, with the help of sand paper and a few pots of paint, you can really personalise an old piece of furniture.

Here is another, slightly more extravagant, example of a personalised piece of painted furniture. You can get this 19th Century Window Mirror with hand painted glass panels from The Old Cinema.

I was recently overjoyed to find out that my favourite Parisian shop, Merci, has now got an online store! They stock a range of great design, from clothes to furniture. Merci recently held an exhibition of plastician artist, Aurélie Mathigot’s work called Timeless Linen. She created a limited edition of 111 exquisite coloured and embroidered linen bags. The collection is a fantastic composition of colour.

Merci do a brilliant range of coloured linen for sheets, bed covers and cushions, which gives you the chance to get creative with composition and colour combinations.

With the help of a little artistic license and a brave choice of colour, there are countless ways to get a touch of artistic expression into your home design, so stay on the lookout for ways to keep your home creative.

This blog first appeared on the Cambridge Evening News website

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