Tablescaping DIY, Part 6, Choosing What Flatware to Buy
This is Part 6 in an ongoing series about how to create your tablescapes. You can read Part 1 about Developing a Theme for Your Table here; Part 2 about Choosing What Plates to Buy, Chargers, here; Part 3 about Choosing What Plates to Buy, Dinner Plates, here; Part 4 about Choosing what Plates to Buy, Salad Plates, here; and Part 5 about Storage, Napkin Rings and Place Card Holders here. Different flatware colors and designs can add so much to your tablescapes. Since I started tablescaping I have gathered many different flatware sets to use on my tablescapes and I continue to add more from time to time when I find one that I really like that is a good price. Let me start by saying that I hand wash all my flatware sets. Most of my flatware sets have good quality plastic handIes and I want them to last a long long time. There are four things to think about when buying flatware; size, color, material, and price.
My flatware place settings contain a dinner knife, teaspoon, dinner fork, and salad fork. (Please make sure you know the correct placement of each piece on the table! It’s easy to find place setting diagrams on the Internet.) Sometimes if I add a soup bowl to the setting, I add a soup spoon. Dinner knives on average are about 9 1/4” long. A teaspoon is about 6 3/8” long. A dinner fork is about 8” long and a salad fork is about 7” long. There are variations to these sizes.
Before I started writing this blog post I took an inventory of how often I have used all my flatware sets. This frosted green flatware set has been used the most often. I use it often for both Spring and Fall tablescapes so I think that is why it was number one. This flatware set is called Madeline Green and I bought it at World Market several years ago. Frosted flatware is very popular right now and if you Google the word frosted flatware with the color you are looking for you can probably find some.
A few of my flatware sets have a teaspoon that is somewhat larger than average, a custom design for that pattern. This frosted blue flatware set was made by D & D Inox in Italy. I have also seen it labeled as made by Bugatti for Vietri and the pattern is called Aladdin Brilliant. I bought it at Neiman Marcus or Bloomingdales during a major sale some years ago. I have this flatware in a few other colors as well because I really like the design. There are two different designs of this pattern. This one is Aladdin Brilliant and the web design is shiny, the other version is called Alladdin Antique and the web design is matte. I think this design is prettier.
This black flatware set has been my second most used flatware set. I use it constantly during Halloween season but I also use it sometimes in the Summer and Winter as well. This black flatware is called Ginkgo International LePrix. I have had this set for years but it is still for sale and you can find it online easily. I am not sure where I bought it. I also bought it in other colors as well because it is a basic set with a simple design. It has a more informal look to it and that works for me because I tend to create more informal themed tablescapes.
This red flatware set is the same pattern as the black flatware set above. It was one of the first flatware sets I bought when I started tablescaping years ago because I knew I would be using red quite a bit on my tablescapes. I can’t remember where I bought it but it is still for sale. It is the set that I have used the third most often. I use this red flatware several times a year on my informal tablescapes; Valentine’s Day, 4th of July, and at Christmas time as well as on other random tablescapes that need a pop of red.
This red flatware set was made by D & D Inox in Italy. I bought it at Neiman Marcus or Bloomingdales during a major sale several years ago. I use it on tablescapes that are more formal in design. It is more formal looking than the one pictured above it. It is one of the top five flatware sets that I have used most often.
I bought this frosted white flatware on sale online at Wayfair a few years ago, it was made by Cambridge. It is 18/0 so the fork tines are a bit sharper than I would like but I really liked the frosted color. I use it on summer tablescapes and winter tablescapes as well. It is also one of the top five flatware sets that I have used more often.
When you are looking for stainless flatware to buy you should make sure that it is 18/10 flatware even though that makes it more expensive than other stainless flatware. (If it isn’t labeled as 18/10 it probably isn’t 18/10 so you should always ask before you buy.) An Internet site explains the importance of chosing 18/10 stainless. “18/10 stainless steel, as well as 18/8 and 18/0, are fractions explaining the percentages of chromium and nickel alloys, respectively, added to stainless steel to reduce rust and enhance shine and durability. 18/0 contains limited nickel and is therefore, slightly less resistant to oxidation, while 18/10 provides the highest amount of nickel producing the greatest resistance to rust, and longest held polish.” When you hold a piece of 18/10 stainless it is heavier and brighter than the other grades of stainless and it just looks to be of greater quality. Even more important, the fork tines have been nicely filed and they are not as sharp as the other grades.
This is an unusual fish shaped stainless flatware set. As soon as I saw it on another blog several years ago I knew I wanted to buy it. It was made by Galleyware and the pattern was called FishStix. I bought it some years ago online but I can’t remember where. I love the fish head designs in the bowls of the forks and spoon and the fish tail handles. The knife has a shark face on the side. I think this set has been discontinued. An unusual shaped flatware set like this can add lots of interest and whimsy to a themed tablescape and it’s fun to have a few sets like this in your flatware collection. I have stainless flatware sets in a few different shapes and I enjoy using them from time to time on my themed tablescapes.
This is another fun flatware set that was made to look like bamboo. I bought this stainless and plastic bamboo flatware set several years ago when I first started tablescaping. I can’t remember where I found the set, they are just marked Stainless, China but I see similar patterns are currently available online at several sites. It is a perfect set to use on a summer or tropical tablescape. There are lots of flatware sets with wood and metal handles for sale also and it just depends on what themes you are thinking about and how often you think you would use these flatware sets.
If you are lucky you have inherited a sterling or silver plated flatware set from a relative. I inherited this sterling flatware set from my mother. It was the pattern she registered for when she was married in 1938. The flatware was made by Towle and the pattern was called Chased Diana. It was made between 1928 and 1996 but it is still available on the secondary market. I use it from time to time (and if you have silver flatware you should use it as well) on some of my more formal tablescapes as a memory of her. I also have a much older partial set of sterling that I inherited that probably came from my grandfather’s first wife before 1900. I haven’t used it yet on a tablescape but I will at some point. Good sources for less expensive sets of silver plate and sterling flatware are estate sales, consignment stores, and thrift stores.
When I started tablescaping I really wanted a set of gold colored flatware for my tablescaping collection. I found an inexpensive set and I bought it. Within a few years the color started flaking off, you get what you pay for! Hubby gave me this set for Christmas a few years ago, it is much better quality (and a higher price). We found this set on major sale at Macy’s a couple years ago. It is made by Wallace and it is called Mikasa Duchess Gold. It is brighter than this photo shows and it is heavy. I am really happy that this gold colored set is part of my flatware collection.
This bird stainless flatware set is one of my most expensive flatware sets after my sterling sets. I loved it when I first saw it on another blog several years ago but it was expensive. This is probably one of the prettiest stainless flatware sets that I own. I absolutely love the different and delicate bird and flower designs on each handle. It is called Audubon by Ricci Silversmiths. I bought it online at Horchow a few place settings at a time over several months several years ago. I used to do that when I started tablescaping when I found something I really loved that was expensive. It is 18/10 and great quality.
This is another high quality stainless flatware set from my tablescaping collection. When I first saw it several years ago I knew I had to have it and I bought it on Amazon a few place settings at a time over several months until I had twelve place settings. I love the shell design on the end of the handles, there is a different shell for each of the five pieces. The flatware is made by Reed and Barton and the pattern is called Williamsburg Gloucester Shell. It is 18/10 stainless and heavy, a really good quality set. Once you hold stainless that is 18/10 nothing else will come close. In the summer I often set tablescapes with ocean themes and I love using this shell flatware set then.
I have spent quite a bit of money over the years on flatware sets for my tablescaping collection (just like many hobbies) but I use them all over and over and over again so I really get my money’s worth!
To see over 270 different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group (4,000+ members) for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas or click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392
If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 . We had a gathering in January 2025 and we plan to have others as well.
Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks or click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto
I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!
