Top Designers Reveal Their Favorite Ways to Style Timeless Blue-and-White China Patterns
A timeless palette that has stood the test of time, blue and white effortlessly evokes a crisp sense of comfort much like the sky on a sunny day. It's a reliable scheme that designers like Amanda Lindroth, Kathryn M. Ireland, and Amy Berry have long turned to for their interiors and tablescapes. Blue-and-white china patterns strike a perfect balance between breezy and refined without ever making a table setting feel too elaborate or unapproachable.
Whether you are hosting your family for Hanukkah or just looking for new set of dishes to decorate your party closet, blue-and-white chinaware makes for sophisticated showpieces on and off the table. Here, seven designers known for their flair with interiors share how they refresh ever-classic blue-and-white china patterns for modern tables that are dinner-party ready.
“Royal Copenhagen china is a favorite of mine because it was my mother’s china. My mother did not get it as a wedding present, but rather, she and her mother visited the factory in Denmark while traveling together during my mother’s junior-year abroad program when she lived in Florence. Lucky mommy!” — Amanda Lindroth
Here, Lindroth uses her island sensibility to create a scene that's at once laidback and refined. Royal Copenhagen's Blue Fluted Full Lace marries perfectly with Lindroth's own glassware, batik block-printed napkins and mats, hurricanes, sweet salt and pepper wells, and a wicker pagoda. Classic bamboo flatware from Juliska brings one more texture to the mix, while easy centerpieces of citrus and bougainvillea bring the color.
"I love to create casual yet collected tablescapes when hosting a party. I never take myself too seriously, and I love a mix of antiques and new pieces to create a happy balance." — Amy Berry
Berry lets natural materials and varying shades of blue lead the way on this lovely tablescape. Meissen's Blue Onion dinner plate provides the starting point layered with Blue Pheasant's Clarise salad plate, while a patterned tablecloth hand-blocked in Jaipur from India Amory, Aerin scalloped placemats, and sweet pea napkins from Tory Burch lay the foundation. Berry layers in Amanda Lindroth glassware and cane lanterns to break up the blue and chooses a delicate sterling silver flatware from Christofle. To complete the look, silver bud vases and blue-and-white jars, vases in various shapes (like this and this), trays, and pagodas add height and interest.
"I'd use Blue Willow by Wedgwood, which is casual in a way but can be smart. I'd go slightly easy and relaxed with it. I'd do a crazy tablecloth, but it's quite fun to not be blue-and-white all together. For flowers, I go to the market and get whatever they have that's in season. It'd be casual and family style with jugs of wine on the table. A busy person can lay it quite easily and not be fretting over it for hours." — Nina Campbell
Rich color juxtaposed with bright pops let this table scheme from Campbell sing. Blue Willow dinner plates by Wedgwood start the process, but instead of taking it in a more traditional direction, Campbell punches it up with the idea of a relaxed, alfresco lunch in mind. A funky, colorful tablecloth from Lisa Corti packs the pattern, while an assortment of napkins (like this, this, this, and this) means everyone gets their own color. Mixing mouth-blown glasses made in India like this and this adds another layer of fun, while tortoise flatware from Sabre helps ground the setting. For centerpieces, Campbell recommends keeping it natural and in season: Blue Willow jugs filled with market and wild flowers always feel right.
"The best tabletops are a mix of pattern and color. I love to start with the tablecloth to frame the table, and this one [next slide] from Zsuzsanna Nyul is hand-blocked using brass and wood printing blocks that are over 250 years old. I used a favorite color palette of blue, white, and green — an enduring mix that works no matter the time of year. Magnolia garland adds a touch of understated sophistication and sits low so it doesn’t inhibit conversation. Votives for candlelight is a must for an intimate dinner!" — Sarah Bartholomew
Bartholomew's blue and white tableware pick — handmade ceramic tableware from artist Zsuzsanna Nyul and available at her Nashville store SB. — sets the tone for this rich, elegant look. A hand-blocked tablecloth (also from Zsuzsanna Nyul) in a deep shade of indigo and a linen placemat in a crisp white from Italian brand La Gallina Matta marry perfectly. Beautifully scalloped napkins from Aerin and pressed wine glasses from Tory Burch layered with William Yeoward Crystal's tortoise tumblers and bamboo flatware from Juliska finish out the setting. For flowers, Bartholomew recommends sticking with what's in season at the market arranged in a classic white vase. She also loves to layer in a simple magnolia garland for a hit of texture and green as well.
"The Bábele Antico pattern by Richard Ginori is a whimsical play on traditional blue-and-white tabletop. We especially love the square plate and pair it with cork accessories, tortoise flatware, and a fabric patterned table cloth for layering and added texture." — Anne Maxwell Foster and Suysel dePedro of Tilton Fenwick
Anne Maxwell Foster and Suysel dePedro of Tilton Fenwick know how to layer pattern, and this delightful scheme is no exception. A tablecloth from their own collection of fabrics starts the scene when paired with the square Bábele dinner plate from Richard Ginori and a floral salad plate (once used in the White House as everyday china by Mamie Eisenhower) with a touch of green. For hits of texture, Juliska's cork charger adds a natural element, while a pair of cork finials from KRB NYC for centerpieces continue the theme. A medieval-inspired footed glass made from grooved glass adds shine, and a striped napkin and tortoise flatware are layered in. A Jean Roger Flame compote, filled with anemones, completes the table placed in between the two cork finials, and wine corks serve as place card holders.
"I have always loved Spode by Royal Italia; it reminds me of my childhood, as it was my mother’s favorite breakfast service. I love having that blue and white thrown in, and the mix with these other elements – the Waterford glassware, and the Wedgwood plateware – makes is all feel very elegant." — Kathryn M. Ireland
Ireland's beautiful blue palette makes for a peaceful, calm tablescape. She pairs Spode's Blue Italian dinner plates with Wedgwood's White Bone China bowls on her own Sidone Nautical fabric as a tablecloth and napkins in her Lola Nautical fabric. Silver-plated flatware from Christofle and Waterford Elegance wine glasses mixed with Spode's teacups fill out the rest of the table. Vintage jam jars filled with pink peonies create simple, but beautiful, centerpieces, while vintage brass candlesticks gathered throughout Ireland's travels in France (see these for re-creating the look) paired with colored tapers add a playful element to the table. Ireland suggests a handwritten placecard for rounding out each tablesetting for guests.
"I like to approach setting a table as though I were putting together an outfit. I start with one focal piece and build outward from there. In this case, [I started with] the Minton and then added layers of blue and white and pops of color....and, of course, you have to accessorize!" — Brittany Bromley
Bromley puts her classic yet fresh spin on this lively and exotic-leaning table featuring Mottahedeh's Blue Lace dinner plate. She pairs it with a symphony of patterns and colors, starting with Quadrille's Les Indiennes as the tablecloth and a placemat and napkin in a whimsical floral pattern from Julian Mejia (pro tip: Bromley suggests ironing your linens with lavender water for a delightfully scented table). To continue the floral theme, an antique salad plate from Bardith layered with a hand-painted Augarten Wien dessert plate sporting a sweet hyacinth round out the setting. For glassware, Bromley chooses Mariposa's Dotty glass and vintage Czech glassware to mix with it, and for flatware, a classic steel and horn five-piece place setting (handcrafted in France) from Alain Saint-Joanis. A soup tureen in the same pattern as the salad plate serves as a container for an arrangement of hydrangeas, freesia, pomegranates, lilies, sweet peas, and Irish bells, while Moroccan tea cups acting as bud vases fill in the table. Placecard holders from Blue Pheasant with dragon placecards add one more flair to the scene, while vintage French silver candlesticks filled with beeswax candles provide flickering light throughout dinner.
Top Designers Reveal Their Favorite Ways to Style Timeless Blue-and-White China Patterns
A timeless palette that has stood the test of time, blue and white effortlessly evokes a crisp sense of comfort much like the sky on a sunny day. It's a reliable scheme that designers like Amanda Lindroth, Kathryn M. Ireland, and Amy Berry have long turned to for their interiors and tablescapes. Blue-and-white china patterns strike a perfect balance between breezy and refined without ever making a table setting feel too elaborate or unapproachable.
Whether you are hosting your family for Hanukkah or just looking for new set of dishes to decorate your party closet, blue-and-white chinaware makes for sophisticated showpieces on and off the table. Here, seven designers known for their flair with interiors share how they refresh ever-classic blue-and-white china patterns for modern tables that are dinner-party ready.
This classic palette has never looked so fresh.
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