Tabletop

The iconic brand's brightly colored pieces are an easy way to add cheer to your home.

It’s always nice to have a little bit of green around the house. At the center of the dining table, though, a live plant needs watering and limits your centerpiece to a pot with a tray to catch extra moisture. Break away from the pot with a green centerpiece made up of air plants: they need a soak from time to time, but they don’t need to be potted in soil. This leaves the door wide open for getting creative.

It's time to branch out beyond Target and Amazon!

We'd like one of everything.

Bring home something unique yet affordable sourced directly from local artists around the country!

It'll save so much time the next time you go to use these fancy pieces.

So, you’ve decided to host your very first Thanksgiving — congratulations! It’s a milestone and it’s going to be great, no matter how the turkey turns out. It’s the people, after all, who make a party. While we’re all in favor of the crappy dinner party (i.e., the paper-plate and come-as-you-are type of get-together), a holiday can justify a tiny bit more effort. It’s nice, on this special occasion, to pull out the fancy china.

Skip the million-and-one forks, but do not ignore these other rules.

Your kitchen is about to have way more personality.

Actually, you can probably assemble this in even less time.

You cannot mess this up.

Start with a bunch of Moser Roth chocolate bars.

Target just launched more than 2,000 new and exclusive holiday finds.

Halloween, but make it pretty.

Here are 10 of the pieces we're most excited for.

Instead of hiding your favorite mugs in the cabinet, here are five ways to show them off.

When it comes to wedding registries, it probably comes as no surprise that there has been a dramatic shift away from so-called “wedding china.” More and more couples are choosing everyday dishes, but that doesn’t mean your dinnerware has to be boring! With wedding season just around the corner, we enlisted the help of wedding registry site Zola to see what real couples are registering for right now.

It’s true: white dinnerware is crisp, clean, and endlessly versatile. However, sometimes you just need a little color! Whether you want a cupboard full of splashy solids, or a few patterned pieces to brighten up your otherwise neutral table setting, this colorful dinnerware shopping guide will help you out.TOP ROW• 1 Tric Dinnerware, $140 for 5-piece place setting at TableArt. Available in 18 colors.• 2 Fiestaware, $28-$50 for 5-piece place setting.

Today happens to be a big sale day (it’s Columbus day, in case you’re stuck working and totally forgot, but lots of stores are thankfully being more culturally sensitive and calling the sale something else). And there are a few special promotions happening throughout the week. We know you’re busy, though, and don’t have time to shop all the sales. So we did it for you. From melamine dishes to discounted LaCroix, here are this week’s best kitchen deals.

As you know from, well, life, the best time to buy stuff for a particular season or a holiday is toward the end of said season or right after that holiday. For example, you know that Halloween candy is always cheapest on November 1. And summer stuff — melamine dishes, coolers, patio furniture, etc. — is no different. Right now, companies need to make room for new inventory (fall is coming!), so they’re slashing prices left and right.

We went to this store on a recent trip to San Francisco, led by a friend who knew we’d get lost in it. True, we could have stayed and browsed for hours in this dimly lit (excuse the grainy photographs), packed-to-the-gills, recycled French housewares shop…Leslie at AT:SF has covered Cookin’ before, and the comments reflect what we’ve read elsewhere: Some think it’s overpriced, and the owner is unpleasant.

It doesn’t get any more green than this: a drinking glass you don’t throw away, don’t recycle, but eat. (And, if those nibbles and cocktails leave you too full to munch on your cup, you can compost it.)These colorful, conversation-starting cups are from The Way We See the World, an inventive design consulting firm behind a bunch of cool products. They are in the process of getting Jelloware off the ground—see the link below to see how you can help fund it.

With a bottle of fabric dye and an inexpensive canvas drop cloth, you can make a beautiful tablecloth — just in time for the holidays!

We played matchmaker with pitchers and glasses to help with whatever you're serving.

Who: The pottery-making experts of Bat Trang Village What: Ceramics Where: Bat Trang, Hanoi, Vietnam Everything about Bat Trang village is an extreme. Lots of places have old towns, yes, but Bat Trang village is ancient. It’s not just a place where pottery is made – the entire village makes pottery. And they’re not just good at making pottery — they practically invented it.

Who: Nguyen Van Binh What: Pottery Where: Bat Trang, Hanoi, Vietnam The village of Bat Trang in Vietnam, is known for its intricate lotus tea sets, blue and white dragonfly bowls, and durable, beautiful dishes. Bat Trang just might be Vietnam’s most famous ancient craft village, and its handmade ceramics can be found in stores globally, including IKEA, Target, and 10,000 Villages. You’ve explored Bat Trang itself. But just how is its pottery made?

Who: The pottery makers of Bat Trang village What: Ceramics Where: Bat Trang, Hanoi, Vietnam The village of Bat Trang, Vietnam, may feel like a small town, but don’t let its size fool you: its small workshops pack a serious pottery punch. We’ve explored the village itself, and looked at the process used to create its wares. Let’s take a closer look at the beautiful handcrafted ceramics themselves made by Bat Trang’s expert potters. You may recognize something you own!

I travel a lot for work and fun, and shopping while abroad is one of my favorite things to do. With all the idiosyncratic treasures out there to be had, and the thrill of the hunt, bargain, and score, I actually prefer shopping in foreign locales! Plus, the items I bring home evoke fond memories every time I use them. Here are the five souvenirs I always bring home in my suitcase. I love tea and the magic of tea salons all over the world, so whenever I go somewhere, I seek out these hideaways.

It’s no wonder that my favorite things to buy when I’m traveling are cheese-related. This cheese board from a small town in Puglia, called Ostuni, and I have yet to see another one that resembles it. I purchased something else while there, too, and its use is far less obvious than the cheese board’s. The board is made of olive wood, or so I think. (Any insight is welcome in the comments!

Apples, peaches, plums, and pears: Early fall is prime time to enjoy the glorious colors and flavors of stone fruit. This time of year we almost always have a bowl of fruit in the dining room, and we like to use our prettiest bowls to display it. The beauty of fall fruit deserves center place.Last week we had a reader request for a roundup of fruit bowls, so here are a few that we think could show off autumn fruit to the best effect.

As part of our Kitchn Cure, we’re getting rid of all our old plastic water bottles that have been hanging around since before any of us heard of BPA. It’s time my husband and I invested in new bottles, and we have our eye on these lovely glass ones.These bottles are made of solid glass and have a screw-top lid similar to the Sigg bottles. A silicone sleeve protects the glass from bumps and also helps make it easier to grip the bottle when it’s wet with condensation.

What do you think of gold flatware? I never gave it much thought until recently, when it suddenly struck me how warm and beautiful it looks, especially when paired with a simple table setting.If you thought gold flatware was too ornate and fussy, you might be in for a surprise. I found it most lovely when it was set on a warm, rustic wooden table and paired with white dishes.

I’m not a huge fan of traditional vases. They take up space under your counter and are tricky to wash. So I love these! We’ve shown you gourd and squash vases before, but these vases are made from all kinds of vegetables!Brit over at the aptly named Brit + Co blog has whipped up a smashing centerpiece that can not only be purchased on the cheap. The ends of vegetables are sliced off to create a flat surface in which to rest and then cored out to create a vase or candlestick holder.

Give me something—anything—available in a few hundred colors and I’m smitten, but that’s even more the case with Glassybaby. These gorgeous glass votives hand-blown in Seattle from three layers of molten glass look opaque, but light a candle inside and they give off a soft, beautiful glow. I love the weight they give to the table—sturdy, grounding, gorgeous.

A vase of flowers is such a lovely thing — in the kitchen, on the dining room table. Maybe you cut your own flowers every week, or maybe you only see them on special occasions (like today!).

The ikat trend probably hit its peak sometime last year, but it’s still around. (Not sure what ikat is? Read all about it here.) For a small touch of the textile in your home, look to placemats. As my mother would say, it’s a great way to jazz up your dinner table. And you know what? She’s right!

Certain desserts — a fruit crumble, a smooth pudding, a scoop of homemade ice cream — are best served in a bowl, one that’s not too big, not too small. Here are 5 that are just right: Small Dessert Bowl, $5 each from Canvas: We love these bowls. They’re affordable and available in great colors, with a classic, kind of old-fashioned look. 4.5″ diameter.

Have you heard the news? H&M Home is finally available online in the US, and there are some fun kitchen and tabletop goods in the mix. The kitchen and dining collection has a definite French country vibe going on, with lots of linen and burlap. But there are also botanical prints, patterned mugs, green glass jars, metal tins — and in true H&M style, most everything is under $10.  1 Table Runner, $9.95 2 Apron, $12.95 3 Table Runner, $9.

Looking for a simple, beautiful table setting idea for the holiday season? Teri and Jenny of Spoon Fork Bacon have you covered with these lovely rosemary wreath napkin rings. I’m not at all crafty, and even I think I can make these! All you need for this project are rosemary springs, floral wire, scissors, and twine. Once you have your (wonderfully smelling) wreaths ready to go, just place them on a folded napkin, or slide a napkin through them and stick the name tag on the side!

How do you take your morning coffee? If you can’t imagine anything other than wrapping both hands around a big bowl of café au lait (okay, or a latté — we’ll give you that!) then this is sure to be right down your alley. Do you know how many gorgeous vintage café au lait bowls there are out there? Too many to count! We put in a few of our favorites here, along with some brand new designs. Makes you want to curl up with one right now, doesn’t it?

When we got married, my aunt gave us two sterling silver iced tea spoons, promising I could use them for so much more than tea. Which is good, because — get ready to take away my Southern card — I don’t like iced tea. I know. But my aunt was right. These spoons are good for so much more. This Mother’s Day, maybe your mom would love to put her feet up on the ottoman and sip a lovely glass of lavender iced tea with lemon.

Let’s talk plates for a moment, shall we? As cooks, food is (understandably) the star of the show. But where would be be without something on which to place all that delicious, beautiful food? Dishes are an essential part of the cooking life, but shopping for them can be a challenge. There are so many options, styles, and stores to choose from. Where do you start if you want to buy a new set? That’s where you come in, readers: what’s your advice for buying a set of dishes?