House style

How to refresh your dining table

WITH BRITISH Summer Time beginning tomorrow, and Easter lunch landing next weekend, now is as good a time as any to refresh your tableware. And there are plenty of new collections to choose from, whether your taste is for dainty china or rustic earthenware.

Following the trend for natureinspired home accessories, the Studio Blue range by Derbyshire-based Denby takes on the colours and textures of pebbles and stone, with plates and bowls in tones of blue. The furniture company Swoon Editions recently launched a tableware collection on a similar theme, with pieces in neutral tan and cream or luminous green and blue, hand-painted with ombré, dappled and dripped effects.

Delicate pattern comes from another heritage British brand, Burleigh, which has extended its floral Felicity range with pink and mulberry colourways, while Murmur’s simple designs, inspired by Japanese and Scandinavian aesthetics, come in grey, pale mustard and indigo.

French designer Marie Daâge favours stronger pattern and colour, as seen in the new range of Limoges porcelain she has created with interior designer Rita Konig, which features bold stripes and florals with gilded detailing. The Housewives collection by fashion brand La Double J takes pattern to another level. Flamboyant, vintage-inspired prints feature on plates designed to be mixed and matched for a maximalist tablescape.

For a more classic look, opt for Spode’s Blue Italian – a blue and white design still in production more than 200 years after it was first made, in 1816. The range was chosen by Mulberry to serve guests at the launch of its new collection during London Fashion Week last month, where the teacups held gin cocktails – an unorthodox idea for your Easter table.