Mix-and-match dinnerware is all the rage these days. This less-than-formal approach keeps entertaining fresh and personal with endless combinations of modern, vintage, colorful, patterned and plain pieces. I personally love the look of classic white plates mixed with funky flea market cups, chargers and servingware.
No surprise, I love the woodland-themed Rosanna Teapot Boho from Organize.com. Imagine the possibilities this porcelain teapot could afford mingled with Christmas china, vintage treasures or graphic melamine designs. You know you want it, so answer this week’s question before 12/11c Monday, February 14, to be entered.
This week’s question: When guests come for brunch or dinner, are your tablescapes mix-and-match eclectic or off-the-shelf coordinated?
I actually love eclectic tables. I wish I could do more but I just don't have the storage for different sets of plateware. Really the only thing that I have that matches is my everyday set of dishes but when setting the table for guests, I'm using different serving dishes, water pitcher, bread basket, etc. We love rustic [think cabin/lodge] and this beautiful teapot would be perfect w/what we already have.
Definitely off-the-shelf coordinated.
I guess I use both eclectic and matchy matchy. I sometimes use them in one tablescape, does this make sense? I hope it does. Sometimes i ue white dishes and add silly theme pieces in here and there.
eclectic
Definitely eclectic. There are so many wonderful styles and designs out there to choose rather than settle on one theme for your life. This evergreen teapot reminds me of the beautiful music ponderosa pine trees make when the wind blows through the boughs.
I have two matched sets that I mix up with other non-matched pieces. I also love the mix and match look. I just became a tea drinker and have no teapot. I say pick me so the teapot can “come home to mama”.
I almost always use mix and match. it is so fun to find a way to make it all look great together. the pieces are well loved and often a memory is attached to each piece. great conversation starters. this eclectic style is very much me.
For years I've done coordinated out-of-the-box sets, but as I've developed more of my personal style and started inheriting and collecting different pieces, I've moved to a more eclectic style. It can be a little intimidating at first, but the more you try it and the bolder you get, the more beautiful it looks!
ALL THAT I HAVE IS ALL WHITE. DEFINETLY RECOGNIZE THAT I NEED TO MIX IN SOME DIFFERENT COLOR. YOUR COLORS IN YOUR COLLECTION CAUGHT MY EYE…….LOVE THESE COLORS…..THEY WOULD COORDINATE WITH MY HOME SO BEAUTIFULLY. MY HOME DECOR IS A COMBINATION OF TRADITIONAL NEW AND OLD WITH AN ECLECTIC. TWIST.
I try to use matching dishes when friends come over. The problem is, with having children, I have lots of broken dishes.
I would describe by table-scapes as eclectic with a botanical theme. For parties, special dinners and holidays I love using other accessories (candles, flowers, mirrors, table cloths, chargers, etc.) to highlight my china and change it's mood through color and texture. Being a former botanist I'm always looking for new botanical pieces to add to my eating garden!
I really like the mix and match type of thing provided we're in the same color palette. I especially like the older things from the 40's and 50's they add a certain flair.
mix and match… anything not in the dishwasher
Completely mix and matched! I've got my solid, neutral pieces and mix them up with with colorful print pieces. Our tablescapes change throughout the year depending on the season/holiday. We're currently enjoying a spring/Valentine's day theme.
I would love to have the eclectic look of mixing things up. Have always had the matching thing, but really like the looks of mixing it up. Really LOVE that tea pot too!!
Always mix.match!
I only have room in my small house to entertain limited numbers of guests at a time. I love white china mixed with my vintage pink glass so I suppose I am a mix-n-match kind of person.
Eclectic but items that look good together! I have a large set of mismatched dishes, tea pots, and antique linens. I just set my table for a dinner tonight. I put a pink antique table cloth with a quaker lace table clothover it and then a pink flower appliqued square cloth in the middle. My husband trimmed some blooming branches from the almond tree and made a cool arrangement. I pulled out every pink floral piece I have to make the 6 place settings for tonight. Looks awesome!
I have a matched set that needs to be replaced so searching for a mixed look. Can't find anything I have to have. I want to love it, before I commit to it!
Always – eclectic – it is such a great casual look
Tablescape? Not in our house we're lucky to get the children to the table with clean faces and hands! This dishes are coordinated because that's what is in the cupboard. I do covet the dishes in the picture though!
I don't really have a mix and match to work with…one main set, but if I could, and had the room, I'd gladly mix things up a bit.
Everything always matches and is coordinated, but I'm tempted to try the mix and match. It looks so cool!
Always matching, but I really LOVE the mix and match look! That set is adorable!
My mix and match all kind of go together, the same kinds of colors — reds, greens, oranges and a little purple thrown in. I have different napkins in those colors, that get tossed out there. Love it!
I Match all the time. It seems easier on the eyes. But I am open to change.
It depends on what the season is for me. I keep red, white and blue dishes I pick up here and there (all the red and blue shades, and even the white, are the same, even if the shapes are different). Throughout the year, if its something informal, I bring out the red, white and blue, i.e., Patriot's Day (in Mass. and Maine), Memorial Day, July 4th, & Labor Day. If the dinner is a little more formal, then I use all red or all white. Mugs are white. Or I use my best china if very formal.
BUT as soon as the Holiday season rolls around, the blue pieces get put away and its all red and white. Very convenient that way. So, throughout the winter, including Valentine's Day, I have red and white dishes. Then white for St. Patrick's with green decorations and my Grandma's china for Easter,Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanks for letting me share. : )
I personally love to mix and match especially at Easter when I can decorate various bistro tables with different cloths, decor, and settings. It is so much fun to see who migrates to which table to have their Sunday meal. So much 'girly, girly fun' if you know what I mean.
I'm constantly picking up plates, bowls, etc. that "speak" to me. I definitely mix and match. I just can't help myself. I have dishes stashed everywhere in my home.
Right now I have a little bit of this and a little bit of that. It all some how goes together. I guess because it is mostly white. I have some pops of color in some pieces; it makes things interesting!
Definitely eclectic! I enjoy 'scavenging' thrift stores for unique serving pieces to complement my brightly colored Fiesta dinnerware. I love finding dinnerware, serving bowls, platters, pitchers, or other accessory pieces from the 1950s-1960s that remind my husband and me of our childhood! Incorporating a variety of pieces on my table or buffet as serving dishes, as decoration or for some purpose other than that for which they were originally intended makes for a more interesting and fun atmosphere!
The set we currently have is coordinated in a mix and match provencal style. I would love the teapot for our cabin, we already have a pine theme there (and no teapot).
I've been mixing and matching dinnerware for over a decade now. At first is was out of necessity, but now I do becuse I love the way the table looks.
I've never had a matching set. I've always just picked up one or two pieces I like when I find them. Luckily, the things I like seem to go well together.
I usually us coordinating colors because that's what I have.
I have one set of dishes (pine cone design) that I use, but I love to use all different kinds of serving dishes. It really adds color to the table.
It depends on the occasion. Sometimes, everything is matched, sometimes mixed. I love plate settings would like to have more!
Right now its off the shelf coordinated….I am willing to try the mix and match look….I love the way it looks
Mix and match is my favorite approach: I love the Blue Willow dishes that belonged to my great grandmother, the silver ware that was my grandmothers, and modern white French porcelain serving dishes from a local shop.
We definitely mix and match. It's more fun that way!
I usually have all the same design, but occasionally mix things up. Depending on the time of your and quests.
Off the shelf coordinated-unfortunately!! I love the eclectic mix much better.
Mix and Match because I'm poor and can't afford to buy a nice standardized set so I buy random stuff from garage sales instead.
I dreamed of wedgewood for years…after I saving my pennies (OK, quarters) and bonus points I was finally able to purchase wedgewood china from a local Waterford/Wedgewood outlet store which is largely discontinued (or about to be discontinued) styles. I bought 4 placesettings in 3 patterns – 2 are colorful and 1 is a simple white with gold – and spread the serving pieces across all three patterns. I set a table that strikes my fancy at the time – from a coordinated table for 4, alternating settings for 12 or mixing the patterns for each placesetting. Got some great deals and an eclectic table that still has that extra Glam factor for holidays and dinner parties…plus, at some point there is a complete 4 piece placesetting that will go to each of my 3 children…
Mixed and matched from whatever exciting rummage sales I've hit up that year!
For me it depends on the occasion. Sometime I like the matchy matchy for a more clean line feel. For Christmas the mix and match theme makes it feel so much more festive. But as of right now all of mine is mix and match for the sole fact my husband and I are scrounging every penny we can for a home of our own. No complaints here though these are the best years of you lives.
But I do have to say having a tea pot to replace my sauce pan for tea would be nice
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I have matchy , matchy but I love the different sytles look