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Tableware
Finding the right crockery will elevate your dining experience and turn the humblest dish of pasta into an elegant meal to savour. Our tableware selection is here.
Wake Up You Sleepyhead Cup & SaucerBella FreudThere is a school of thought that says you don’t want a wide cup or your drink will go cold but as someone who is quite happy to work my way through a cafetière of coffee or a pot of herbal tea until it’s all gone, that doesn’t bother me. And if it does bother you, drink faster. This is 100% china, made in the UK, with 9ct gold trim. Also: name the artist who sang those words.
Wooden BowlsH&M HOMENow I don’t know about you, but whenever I see that Nigella on the TV I'm as taken with her vast array of serving dishes as I am by the actual thing she is cooking. The ability to call upon a collection of wooden bowls in different sizes is clearly a prerequisite for any wannabe domestic goddess (or god). Use these for salads, nibbles, or just sitting pretty on the table to catch the keys, bits of string and those bits of stuff that seem to accumulate with nowhere else to live.
Damson Madder Frilly Hand-Painted Salad BowlAnthropologieDamson Madder has been loved by the fashion crowd for some time now but its homewares collection flies a little more under the radar. This pretty salad bowl has the air of having belonged to your granny – or someone else’s, and unearthed at a vintage market. Use it in the kitchen for fruit or salad or in the sitting room, either to collate all those random bits and bobs or just to sit about being decorative.
Glass candle lanternH&M HOMEComes in various colours. I’m not a huge tea-light lighter (I prefer tall thin candles), but happily this will work for either.
Utility Board Ash & Leather HandleLSAI do love a chopping board with a leather handle and this round one will double up to serve delicious morsels in style, as well.
Ivalo Ash Stand & Dome LSAIgnore the styling - quarter of a fig and a block of ice (?) but ponder, instead the pleasing lines of this piece. And then, because it is always vital to think of these things - imagine what you will serve under an elegant glass dome that measures 11cm wide. And if you can’t think of three things for which it is perfect, maybe best to move along.
Gio Tumbler LSASometimes you just want a set of four really simple plain tumblers – either for fancy drinks or perhaps just for water. No frills, but classic style.
Ribbed Coupe glassesRockett St GeorgeYou might not feel there's much reason to break out the champagne at the moment (all the more reason to do so, imho) but these pretty gold-rimmed coupes will elevate a humble glass of fizzy water – and if you’ve succumbed to the bar cart trend you’ll need something fitting to sit on it.
Eden Floral Scalloped Ceramic JugAnthropologieNo, I probably won’t use it but it’s so pretty I would just like to look at it and occasionally fill it with flowers. If you’ve got space in the bathroom it would bring colour and character but put it in pretty much any room of the house for a retro, vintage feel. There’s a matching plate too – and if there’s one thing Jamie and Nigella et al have taught us it’s that even the humblest green salad looks more exciting when it’s presented well.
Wooden candlesticks setEtsyThe Danes light candles every single day – and as a society well used to long dark winters where it’s too cold to go outside, we should take our cue from their superior expertise. These simple carved candlesticks will look good even when you haven’t lit them and will brighten even the plainest, most Nordic of tablescapes.
