“Un-Set” Your Tabletop

How to Build a Unique Look
For Your Entertaining Table

It all started here. With this beaded cheese/spread knife. It was a gift from friends for our wedding...or maybe a wedding shower...I can’t totally remember. We hadn’t registered for it and it was so fun and different, I LOVED it. I even kept the box (see photo) that it came in, because I liked it so much. It was the gift of this knife that first made me realize...everything doesn’t have to match! That realization opened up a whole new world in terms of having interesting and unique items to decorate the table and add functionality as well.

(I guess I quickly need to acknowledge that I LOVE collecting dishes and serviceware. If you aren’t one of those people, then the idea of collecting dishes or wanting pretty tabletop accouterments may not appeal to you. Feel free to stop reading now and instead visit one of my other blogs...https://www.mirthevents.com/mirth-events-blog.)

Too often we want something new, but don’t have or don’t want to spend the significant amount of money that it costs to buy a whole matching set of something. Think silver, glassware, china...anything. That was the boat I was in a few years ago - I wanted to add interest to our table but the amount of money needed to buy an entire set of something was staggering. Thank goodness for that wedding knife which reminded me that special, one-off additions can add interest and conversation to your table setting.

I then set (no pun intended) out to search for unique serving spoons/items that were both functional and distinctive. I have visited rummage sales, flea markets, antique malls and online sources (like the Goodwill Auction site...best secret ever! https://www.shopgoodwill.com/). It isn’t a constant search, just something for which I keep my eyes open. So $12 here, $5 there (and sometimes a bit more), and before I knew it, my Thanksgiving spread had some really interesting serving pieces that our family and guests noticed and talked about. More importantly, the pieces made me happy because I remembered the fun I had looking and finding each unique item, rather than just picking up a boxed set at a department store.

In building an “un-set” like this, you can think of it in a couple of different ways:

Two whimsical mid-century glasses made by Culver Glass

I also have an AWESOME (if I do say so myself) collection of fiestaware featuring the original 6 colors that I started collecting in college that is super fun to have and to use. It also gave my mom a gift idea for any Christmas or birthday and she had such a good time roaming antique stores for pieces I didn’t have. (This might make it into a later blog on setting a table...we’ll see:). Again, this collection focuses on a particular maker, but I have also added “go-along” pieces that aren’t fiestaware but kind-of match.

First, you could pick a style, period of time, or maker/artist and stick with that as the cohesion to the collection. I have just started collecting mid-century Culver glass (currently focusing on double old-fashioned from their variety of patterns.) So while each glass will be a different pattern and even a different shape/size…they are all tied together by the company’s overall style similarities,

Fiestaware cereal bowls in the original six colors from the 1930s and 40s.

Secondly - you can just pick a category and then go freestyle, with no cohesion at all. That is what I have done with serving utensils (getting back to the point of the blog). The only commonality that these have is that they are functional as serving pieces.

Some are antique or vintage and have been found at antique stores, rummage sales, and flea markets:

These are all antique or vintage spoons collected from various rummage sales, flea markets, etc…some during travels in Europe, making the memory of collecting them even more sweet.

These tridents were originally used to remove toast from the toaster. I use them for meat platters. I use the twisted utensil to serve olives or pickles.

While some are new and have been given to me as gifts or I just found them in a store and they seemed fun (I also have decided that using baby spoons/silverware can be perfect as they are just the right size and often have sweet and whimsical designs.)

A variety of new utensils that I have found or been given as a gift for birthdays, etc.

Baby spoons and forks that I have purchased, or were gifts for my children that we use rather than store.

Horn and wood utensils used for olives or condiments.

While this post may read like a love letter to my fun serving piece collection (I do love it, but it is Valentine’s Day so I get a hall pass for celebrating it)...that is not the intention. The point here is for you to feel okay to break free of the “matchy matchy”. Think out of the box and be comfortable adding individual pieces of interest. In the end your “set” will be more noteworthy and distinctive.

Also, don’t hold back just because you don’t have enough money to drop at one time on a set of something...get creative and go slowly. Particularly with antique or vintage sets, there is a price premium on complete sets of things since that set has stood the test of time. By instead adding pieces as one-offs and only when you find a unique item at a good price, you spread out the financial pain and often come out with a cool set for a fraction of the cost.

So if you are interested in adding some flair to your home, entertaining or tabletop decor, consider building an “un-set” over time, piece by piece. You’ll have fun assembling it and your guests share in your experience by using it!

If you have fun collections or “unsets”, I’d love to see them!

Share them with me on social media or pop me an email!

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