Every November I watch people buy a matching dinnerware set for one meal a year. Please do not. Mismatched plates look collected as long as the rest of the table is under control, and control comes from color, height and light. Get those right and the plates can be anything. The candle side of this starts in How to make a rental cozy for fall, and the summer version of hosting lives in the Summer Hosting Kit.
Start with a color rule, not a pattern
Pick two colors for the table and one metal. Deep green and cream with brass. Burgundy and blush with gold. Every piece you add has to fit the rule, and anything that does not goes back in the cabinet. This is how plain white everyday plates start looking festive: you surround them with the two colors.
Mix the glasses on purpose
Glassware is the fastest way to add color without committing to anything. The trick is committing to the mix. One colored glass at the table looks like a mistake. Six different ones look like a collection.
TrophyToast Colored Drinking Glasses
What it is Six vintage-style drinking glasses, each in its own color, so the table looks collected even if you bought them yesterday.
Style it One at each place, and let guests fight over the green one. Keep the plates white so the glass does the talking.
Build height down the middle
A flat table looks like a cafeteria. You need something tall along the center line that does not block faces, and taper candles solve both problems because they are tall and thin. Use candlesticks at two or three heights and tuck low flowers between them.
If you already own the amber glass taper holders or the groovy glass candlesticks, you are halfway there. Use both. Candlesticks do not need to match any more than glasses do.
Reversible Glass Vase Set
What it is A heavy glass vase that flips. One end holds a full bouquet, the other holds a few single stems. One object, two centerpieces.
Style it Run two or three down the table and alternate which end is up. Low arrangements between the tapers keep everyone able to see each other.
Add one object with a sense of humor
A perfect table is a little boring. Add one thing that makes people smile when they sit down, a novelty vase at the end of the table or a funny little dish for the olives. One. More than that and the table starts to look like the party store.
ban.do Stacked Olive Vase
What it is A ceramic vase shaped like a stack of green olives on a pick. Cocktail-hour energy that also holds a few stems.
Style it Put it at the drinks end of the table with a few sprigs of rosemary. It is the table's one joke, so let it be the only one.
Color rule, mixed glasses, height through the middle, one joke. None of it needs a new dinner set. The Energetic & Modern mood has more colored glass and serving pieces, and the accents shelf is where everything table-sized lives.