This week on the Strategist, we’re covering all things tabletop: the best plates, yes, and also everything that goes around (and underneath) them. Welcome to Tabletop Week.
When we asked an assortment of notable artists, designers, and chefs about styling their tables, many compared the task to choosing an outfit: it requires thinking practically, developing a personal style and, in many cases, incorporating pieces collected over quite some time. One illustrator adorns the Crate & Barrel plates she’s owned for two decades with dried fruit (including a lemon sent from a friend in Italy). Some display dishes passed down from roommates. And for others, practical objects, like thick-stemmed wine goblets that won’t break in the dishwasher, are essential. To see how all these items come together, we asked everyone for a photo of their distinct set ups. Many of the components are shoppable. Others are sold out or one-of-a-kind. Where possible, we included similar products — and believe that all offer inspiration.
Peter Som
“I like to think of the place setting as a Broadway cast. The tablecloth is the star; it’s the boldest. Then you have your supporting cast, which might be the napkins, in a secondary, complementary pattern but with the same color palette. And then there’s the chorus, which is everything else: the top plate, the glass, and all the smaller things.”
Also pictured: Sona Home dinner plate
Abi Balingit
“It might be a New York thing or just a 20s thing, but my boyfriend and I have inherited a bunch of random dishware from roommates past. So we have a lot of mismatched items, which I don’t necessarily think is a bad thing. It just adds personality. We saw the tablecloth at a discount store and bought it because it reminded us of our grandmas.”
Also pictured: Vintage plates passed down from old roommates
Cary Leibowitz
Visual artist
“I feel self-conscious about making people go into a room and find a place to sit because that is one of my least favorite things in the world to do. So the place-card thing is always important to me. The carrot was what I did for our wedding. I ordered 300 plastic carrots and then just Sharpied a name onto each one.”
Also pictured: Napkins printed for Leibowitz’s wedding; ACTWU union workers plates (vintage from Fishs Eddy); Andy Warhol wine glasses (made by Leibowitz); Respect for the United States constitution mug (made By Leibowitz); vintage Victorian sherry glass; prescription bottle salt and pepper shakers (made by Leibowitz); old wedding place card (made by Leibowitz)
Jamee Gregory
Writer and philanthropist
“I have to admit that I’m a hoarder, and I love to bring back beautiful things whenever I travel. I don’t like to part with them. Setting a table is like decorating and starting with a rug and that’s your inspiration, and you keep spinning off from there into colors and textures. I like the combination of the sleek glass and plateware in contrast to the raffia.”
Also pictured: Napkin from The Breakers Palm Beach gift shop; glass plates and bowls from Loaves & Fishes Cookshop; Cath Kidston flatware; pink glass (an impulse buy from a now-closed Pier 1 in the Hamptons); floral glasses (a wedding gift from 53 years ago)
Julian LaVerdiere
Artist and production designer
“This is the setting at my late father’s estate in the Adirondacks. When my parents met, my mother was sort of the black sheep of this Waspy family and he was an ex-monk. They were both part of this craft counterculture. She was blowing glass, and he was making pottery. This stuff is entirely handmade except for a couple of pieces of found silver.”
Pictured: Galerie Hafner Bern Indo Persian silk brocade and cotton napkin; “AbbeyWare” Monastery plate & bowl. by Bro. Bruno LaVerdiere; Sophy Truslow handblown water and wine glasses; Salt & pepper shakers by Tom Suomalainen, Penland School of Craft; Colonial silver flatware by S.D. Rockwell circa 1830 (from his mom’s family); antique Reno + Sheffield UK whale bone handle silver fork and knife from the 1860s
Maira Kalman
“I think of my table setting as minimal, nonchalant elegance with a little bit of whimsy. Adding natural elements connects me to having collected those things from different places, from having gone to a garden and picking the lemon or the leaves or the branch. I always put that into my table. Hopefully, it’s not pretentious. It’s just something for your eye to land on.”
Also pictured: Placemat, napkin, and silver flatware (flea market finds); dried pomegranate, etrog, and lemon
Jared Blake
“My place settings are well traveled. The trivet came from Japan. The glasses came from Mexico. The mug came from Japan. The Bialetti is Italian. The Opinel is French. And the cloth is African. The plate came from Italy — it’s Ettore Sottsass for Alessi. It has a nice border that gives whatever’s in it a nice framing. I think that matters.”
Also pictured: Indigo textile from Africa; Ettore Sottsass for Alessi plate (sometimes available seconhand)
Rachel Tashjian
Washington Post fashion writer
“My husband’s taste is a lot quieter than mine. I would say our table is kind of a mix between what I grew up with, which was very florid and expressive — my mother had a really great Amy Sedaris–ish sense of domesticity — combined with my husband’s almost Shaker vibe.”
Also pictured: Vintage placemat and dinner napkin given as a bridal shower gift; silver flatware passed down from husband’s family; vintage coupe glass and cordial glass; vintage monogrammed Tiffany’s pitcher from her husband’s grandparents
Julia Turshen
“When I was little, I would go to antique shows with my dad. I was always looking for old bottles. It was something that was cheap and gave me a purpose. Otherwise, I’d be bored out of my mind. I’ve gotten rid of a lot, but I still have plenty of old bottles. And I think they are really nice for flowers. It feels a little special but informal, which I guess is my vibe.”
Also pictured: Vintage plate, wine glass, and amber glass bottle; flatware passed down from her grandmother
Brett Heyman
“When Matilda Goad came on the scene, I was obsessed. I bought all the napkins and all the silverware. I have all of her colors, and I’ll mix and match. I would’ve easily used one of her pink napkins here and a blue and pink fork-and-knife combination and been equally happy.”
Also pictured: Made-to-order Edie Parker placemat; vintage plate from Plain Goods; vintage glasses from Privet House
Missy Robbins
Owner and chef of Lilia, Misi, and Misipasta
“I like modern, elegant, simple. Not a lot of stuff. I don’t do color. If you come to my house, everything is very minimalist. If you come to the restaurants, everything’s very minimalist, but also practical. I’ve been to restaurants where the knife is so weird that it doesn’t work well, but it looks really cool. I like to toe the balance between how things look and how things function.”
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