Friend-winning dinner parties require an impressive menu and tabletop, but what really makes them sing is a relaxed atmosphere. Considerate tableware ensures both guests and hosts stay comfortable.

The vibrant and decorative My China! Emperor’s Garden collection of dinnerware from Fürstenberg is suitable for special, seasonal and everyday dinners

Ten tableware items for successful dinner parties | News

The vibrant and decorative My China! Emperor’s Garden collection of dinnerware from Fürstenberg is suitable for special, seasonal and everyday dinners

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It’s dinner party season, and whether the table’s set for a seldom-seen friendship group’s catch-up, a seasonal family get-together or just a weekend lunch, a well-dressed table sets the scene for mealtime majesty, making special occasions feel relaxed, and relaxed occasions feel special. Here are the essential products successful dinner parties can’t do without.

Molo’s Float glassware separates two borosilicate glass layers to comfortably hold cold or hot drinks

Ten tableware items for successful dinner parties | News

Molo’s Float glassware separates two borosilicate glass layers to comfortably hold cold or hot drinks

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Glassware

The comfort one feels with drink in hand means glassware is thrust towards guests as soon as they’re in the door, and therefore controls a first impression. Molo’s Float glassware range has beauty with its classically geometric form, stability with a lower centre of gravity than traditional stemware and functionality with a wide aeration area and separated glass surfaces – reducing warming and condensation.

The small snack-filled WeBowls from Wehlers have an angled opening to welcome hungry hands. Made from sedimentary material, they are unique and characterful

Ten tableware items for successful dinner parties | News

The small snack-filled WeBowls from Wehlers have an angled opening to welcome hungry hands. Made from sedimentary material, they are unique and characterful

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Snackware

Coat off and drink served, the partnering hand then turns to search for the nearest snack bowl. In a post-pandemic world, however, the thought of hundreds of dirty, salty fingers poking around makes them less appealing. The ceramic WeBowls from Wehlers have unique and characterful colour and patterning, making them easy to individually allocate and identify, while their geometric base and pitched openings point the contents invitingly towards uncertain guests.

Colourful leather Tov.Ame placemats from MD – OXILLA border dinnerware with strips of woven cotton and copper fabric

Ten tableware items for successful dinner parties | News

Colourful leather Tov.Ame placemats from MD – OXILLA border dinnerware with strips of woven cotton and copper fabric

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Placeware

Placemats and coasters are set in a difficult position. Asked to complement the table but covered up by the main event, they are dinner’s warm-up act, if you will. The Tov.Ame leather mats from MD – OXILLA frame dinnerware with a rainbow of colour options, with specifiers able to match a range of seasonal themes. Bordered by a woven cotton and copper fabric, they also provide a gripping home for contrasting flatware.

valerie_objects’ 6mm-thick geometric trivets can hang neatly together on the wall, remaining at hand to save burnt surfaces when required

Ten tableware items for successful dinner parties | News

valerie_objects’ 6mm-thick geometric trivets can hang neatly together on the wall, remaining at hand to save burnt surfaces when required

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Hotware

Essential tableware so often assumed not necessary, until it is, trivets provide protection for hot serving ovenware. When used irregularly, however, they easily find the back of the cupboard and are quickly forgotten. At 6mm thick, valerie_objects’ geometric trivets can hang on the wall – applied as modern art – when out of use. And the colourful powder-coated steel gives stability to sizzling pans, while protecting vulnerable surfaces underneath.

Alessi’s Noè collection includes sommelier-quality accessories like wine and champagne bottle openers, this wine collar to catch drips and enable care-free pouring and a bottle stopper to call time

Ten tableware items for successful dinner parties | News

Alessi’s Noè collection includes sommelier-quality accessories like wine and champagne bottle openers, this wine collar to catch drips and enable care-free pouring and a bottle stopper to call time

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Barware

For inexperienced hosts, the thought of not only selecting, but also opening and pouring wine in front of guests can be daunting. Alessi’s Noè collection includes embarrassment-free wine and champagne bottle openers, a wine collar for catching tablecloth-staining drips and a bottle stopper so guests aren’t encouraged to drink more than is good for them, ensuring memorably successful dinner parties remain memorable.

The neat Rubik cruet set by bosa includes smart cubic pots, cellars and jugs to apply individual seasoning and flavour preferences to dishes, without cluttering up the table

Ten tableware items for successful dinner parties | News

The neat Rubik cruet set by bosa includes smart cubic pots, cellars and jugs to apply individual seasoning and flavour preferences to dishes, without cluttering up the table

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Cruetware

Everyone has different preferences and taste receptors, yet space is tight at sit-down gatherings, so a neat and tidy cruet stand like Rubik from bosa offers diners the opportunity to address the issue. Two pots with necks and spouts for clean pouring are combined with two small shakers for basic seasoning and two more for additional complementary flavours, together on a helpful tray.

The combination of single, double and triple U candle holders from Tina Frey Designs engages tabletops with creative landscapes and scenes

Ten tableware items for successful dinner parties | News

The combination of single, double and triple U candle holders from Tina Frey Designs engages tabletops with creative landscapes and scenes

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Centreware

Decorative centrepieces attract diners to the table and focus their attention to the pleasures thereon. The U candle holders from Tina Frey Designs differ in number, size and height to serve tables of varied size, shape and number. By itself, one makes a simple or quirky addition to a romantic meal. But when applied in groups, imaginative narratives of seabed coral, cacti on a tablecloth desert or the interrupted body of a sea serpent emerge.

Inspired by Japanese culture but with a distinctly festive and seasonal feel, the bold colour and symbolism of My China! Emperor’s Garden collection from Fürstenberg brings tables to life

Ten tableware items for successful dinner parties | News

Inspired by Japanese culture but with a distinctly festive and seasonal feel, the bold colour and symbolism of My China! Emperor’s Garden collection from Fürstenberg brings tables to life

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Dinnerware

When it comes to dinnerware, functionality and efficiency are also big factors. Weird and wonderful shapes and materials look impressive on the table, but can be unsuited to actual mealtimes and storage in-between. Fürstenberg’s My China! Emperor’s Garden collection uses bold colour and iconic artwork to suit everyday meals as well as various special occasions. The slim, nesting forms tuck neatly away when out of use, too.

antoniolupi’s engineered material Flumood is well suited to life as flat serveware, presenting appetisers on a single plain that’s also easy to clean, dry and store

Ten tableware items for successful dinner parties | News

antoniolupi’s engineered material Flumood is well suited to life as flat serveware, presenting appetisers on a single plain that’s also easy to clean, dry and store

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Serveware

The trend of flat dinnerware causes stains and spills on cloth and carpet, but when used as serveware to display appetisers, the sleek open plain presents gastronomic creations like sculptures on a plinth. In the Tabula range, bathroom ceramicists antoniolupi presents its own scientifically engineered ultra-hygienic material, Flumood. With no seams or ridges, the flat dishware stays clean, dries well and stacks with expertise.

valerie_objects’ Koichi cutlery range, from designer Koichi Futatsumata, combines flat ends with an octagonal centre, making them functional and comfortable to hold and turn

Ten tableware items for successful dinner parties | News

valerie_objects’ Koichi cutlery range, from designer Koichi Futatsumata, combines flat ends with an octagonal centre, making them functional and comfortable to hold and turn

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Flatware

From flat dishware to stand-out flatware, finding character in a sea of thin, silver shapes is not so easy. By changing the colour of the finish, however, cutlery can provide an intriguing yet simple accent on a tabletop. valerie_objectsKoichi and Maarten Baas cutlery collections are both available in brushed PVD black, copper and brass, but the stainless steel collections are still hardwearing and dishwasher safe.

© Architonic

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