Arty and artisanal, when setting the table for summer entertaining, play with bright colours, interesting textures and bold spongeware …
All products featured on thegloss.ie are selected by our editors. If you buy something through affiliate links on our site we may earn a commission.
A seasonal shift in entertaining from indoors to outdoors is underway. On the summer table, in lieu of pretty vintage china and heirloom pieces, we are playing with bright colours, interesting textures, bold spongeware, wooden serving boards and arty ceramics. It all feels light and easy, which mirrors a no-fuss approach to menu planning too. If you’re using blankets at the table or towels on the beach, make sure they are Irish tweed or linen.
PATTERN UPDATE
This year, elaborate chinoiserie designs have been replaced by spongeware motifs. Event designer Annie Dunne of AD Event Design has launched her homeware brand Acquerello with gorgeous dinner plates, platters, jugs and candles designed to be mixed and matched. www.acquerellohome.com.
ACQUERELLO
Green spongeware jug, €40, Acquerello, Hedgeroe Home, Carrickmines Manor, Dublin 18.
ACQUERELLO
Green spongeware oval serving plate, Acquerello, €80, Hedgeroe Home, Carrickmines Manor, Dublin 18.
PORTABLE PICNIC
Instead of hauling around a bulky picnic blanket, use your towel! Stable Of Ireland’s all-purpose lightweight golden huck linen towels (€130) dry in an instant, if you fancy a swim before lunch. Stable Of Ireland, Westbury Mall, Dublin 2.
ON EDGE
Plates and platters with uneven and scalloped edges look great stacked and mixed. Combine textures and colours too: say, matte black with dusky pink. Rinka Ceramic side plates, Kaneko Kohyo, set of four, €182; www.abask.com
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
The right tools really do help a party go with a swing. Newbridge Silverware’s collection of elevated essentials, like bar knives and warming serveware, are practical and polished. We love this smart warmer (below), a boon for buffet lunches. Image; Herringbone wool throw, €199, at Magee 1866, 21-22 South Anne Street, Dublin 2.
NEWBRIDGE SILVERWARE
Silver-plated glass four-litre warmer with ladle, €140; www.newbridgesilverware.com.
SINGLES LIKE TO MINGLE
Choose different blooms in a single colour and divvy them up among the vases have in your cupboard, spacing them out down the middle of the dining table. For pretty pre-made posies, check out Flower & Friends, 3 George’s Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin. @flowerandfriends.original
Image; @zarahome
