5 fresh ideas for family china
Ariel Davis was taking an evening run in Brooklyn, New York, when she literally stumbled over a pile of 75 pieces of china set out in the street.
“Someone had left their beautiful Franciscan Desert Rose set out next to their trash,” says Davis, 32, who happens to adore old china. “I had to rescue it.”
This unexpected find led Davis to pick up a drill press last year and start the Brooklyn Teacup, a business that takes vintage plates and teacups and upcycles them into tiered cake stands.
Her designs are popular with younger consumers who are often space-strapped and might not otherwise go f or the flowery dish sets of past generations.
Formal china isn't a staple in many homes anymore.
What to do with stacks of dinnerware is a hot issue in many households. The topic swirls through family holiday meal discussions and decluttering forays. Between guilt and sentimentality, many households have trouble releasing their heirloom china.
“I was just at a house today where the woman had nine sets of china,” says Libby Kinkead, of Potomac Concierge, which offers downsizing and moving services. When clients protest that they are keeping all of this “in honor of Granny,” Kinkead says she asks them: “How are you honoring your grandmother' s memory by keeping your china sitting in a box in the attic? That's not honoring anything.”
So what else can you do with heirloom plates and cups?
You could take a hammer to them and make the broken pieces into jewelry or a pique assiette mosaic mirror. But that might be too disturbing. Here are five other ideas.
1. Create a plate wall
Georgia designer James Farmer is a big fan of hanging plates in an arrangement on the wall.
“If you can't use your plates every day, they can become art,” Farmer says.
“It's a beautiful way to celebrate your heritage.”
2. Use dishes to deliver a gift
If you must dive st yourself of a set of china and you want to feel as if it is going to a good home, take matters into your own hands. Start making host or hostess gift plates, Kinkead says: plates you fill with homemade cookies or bars and bring to your friends and family when you are invited over.
Use the cup sand sauce rs to fill with a selection of nice teas, and gift those to your nearest and dearest. If you feel inclined, write a charming note on a gift card describing the provenance of the china.
3. Have china upcycled
The Brooklyn Teacup sells ready-made tiered stands made of vintage plates that Davis finds in thrift shops or on Facebook Marketplace. She al so does custom design for customers who provide her with their china.
Davis can take severalsize plates and a teacup and create a stand, in whatever arrangement you like.
4. Repurpose pieces as planters
Don't feel guilty about breaking up a china set: Soup tureens and teacups can be repurposed as beautiful containers for plants. Sell or donate the rest.
Cynthia Nouri, owner of the luxury gift registry Sasha Nicholas, often counsels couples on how to refresh andre purpose old china and posts ideas on her popular Instagram feed. You can fill a flower- bedecked Her end serving bowl full of orchid plants or plant herbs in a row of Wedgwood teacups you keep on a windowsill.
5. Give it one last party
You' ve concluded that you just can't keep the china you inherited f rom your great aunt. If you've emailed every distant relative and canvassed your friends and can't find anyone who wants the Noritake Nanarosa, i t's time to party.
“Unwrap it all and set your table, invite your friends and have one last great time with your china,” Kinkead says. Take lots of photos and post them on Instagram. Then, get over it and kiss the china goodbye.
If you can' t find a consignment shop, give it away on Craigslist, Free cycle or your neighborhood email group. You could call a local church and see if they have a family who might like some china for the holidays. Your conscience can then be clear. Your basement and attic will be liberated, your kitchen cabinets will have more space for food, and your sideboard can be filled with pieces you really like and use.
“Then it's your memories you hold on to,” Kinkead says, “not all that stuff.”