Photo: Donna Ferrari
For me dinner plates are more than what we eat supper on; they add a little atmosphere to the meal itself. Patterns with white centers and decorative rims are great because they don't interfere with food presentation but they do offer design inspiration for accessorizing the table setting. Here for example I've centered one of my collection of odd bread and butter plates and a vintage saucer glass on the empty dinner plate. I'm using these two accent pieces to serve a cold soup to start the meal. When these two pieces are removed the dinner plate will be ready for the main course.
Dinnerware patterns with more than one color in the design give you a chance to swap out different serving pieces, place mats, napkins and a mix of unexpected accents. I even like adding a touch of gold with informal pieces to dress up a look.
Oleg Cassini "Kavita" dinnerware, available at Macy's
Browse our Wedding Registry Gallery for more Casual Dinnerware ideas.
—Donna Ferrari
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