Mix and match your way to a uniquely personal look
Love vintage style but don’t want your table to look like a jumble from Grandma’s attic? Here’s how to combine new and old pieces for a look that’s fresh and fun, not fusty.
Pick one favorite element—like the soft pink gold-rimmed bowls in the image above, ornately patterned china, or even a beautiful vintage tablecloth—and use that as your “anchor”: the piece you’ll use to inspire the rest of the look. The anchor does not have to be a plate or even a main piece of dinnerware; it’s just your starting point.
Use the colors in your anchor to help you choose additional tableware, linens, and serving pieces. You could pick one or two colors from a pattern and match everything else to that or go for contrast, keeping the rest of the palette white or cream—or black, for a dramatic look. Remember to incorporate plenty of contrasting texture: soft napkins on a Cambria tabletop, a mix of wood, ceramic, and metal servers, or detailed handles on flatware, for example.
Faceted glassware and special flatware—here, gold-toned flatware picks up the gilt rim of the pink nut bowls—lend light-reflecting shimmer and a hint of glam to your composition. Finish the look with a casual arrangement of flowers in a color pulled from your anchor piece, or stick with the gorgeous green of potted herbs.