Today's table settings are anything but staid and dull, as pairing patterns and color schemes adds new life to the top of the table. Mixing and matching china has become a creative form of self-expression. If you're getting ready to register for formal china or already have a set, there are a few simple ways to add some splash to your table without making a huge investment.
Getting Started
Choose your main china pattern, if you haven't already. With formal china, you'll probably register for 8-12 place settings. (A standard five-piece place setting includes a dinner plate, salad plate, soup bowl, and coffee cup and saucer.) Some stores require you to buy an entire place setting instead of each piece individually, which makes it a little trickier to mix and match styles. But you still have several options:
- Get creative with add-ons: If you must purchase your china in sets, the simplest way to start mixing and matching is to go with a single style for your basic place settings and then choose a set of accent pieces -- such as dessert and salad plates -- in a different style. This way you'll end up with extra dishes, which is a plus -- your extra salad plates can double as appetizer or a dessert dishes.
- Split it 50-50: Pick two different patterns and register for 4-6 place settings in each style. The choice takes quite a bit of confidence on the bride's part, according to Nina Bostick, a director at Wedgwood. She suggests sticking with creative add-ons unless you're 100% sure of your choices.
- Choose a piece at a time: At a store that lets you buy place settings piecemeal, choose your main china pieces, such as the dinner plate, soup bowl, and coffee cup and saucer, in one pattern. Then purchase any accent pieces, such as salad plates or chargers, in another style. Bostick thinks this is a viable option, but notes that china manufacturers often make the salad plate the most artistic and ornate piece, so you may lose out on your pattern's shining star.
What Pieces to Pick
According to Jean Moses, a tabletop design expert at crystal maker Waterford, when choosing accents, salad plates are a great addition, as are chargers or service plates, which sit under the dinner plate -- all great ways to inject a new color to your table.
If you're worried about your guests purchasing accent pieces instead of your main place setting from your registry, relax. "Your guests know that the first thing you'll need is the place setting," says Bostick. Still, if you aren't comfortable doing this, register for the additional accent pieces only after all the place settings have been bought.