The style of any era is found in everything from clothing to furniture, automobiles and architecture. Blue jeans are made by just about all clothing houses and dinnerware trends, then as now, follow seasonal color. That is why you'll find the same color values in the 1940's, 1950's and 60's across many of the pottery houses. If you find one color or pattern is overwhelming or boring but you like a piece or shape of one element in a trend, you can tone it down or liven it up by pulling elements from another line to develope a fabulous look for your table settings. For example, here is a place setting of Old Ivory China, Syracuse Pattern which is rather formal.
We've pulled the beautiful handled soup bowl and liner plate to compliment a simple yet elegant Bavarian china plate with a fabulous detailed band for an entirely different look. Shifting Depression Glass Pink stemware for crystal stemware would be lovely. The values of purple and pink work together to bring 1910 to 1950. This combination works for dinner or a cozy dessert setting. Search local thrift and antique shops for small sets of salad plates, shallow coupe shape soup bowls and berry bowls. Handled soup bowls also make fabulous serving pieces for dips, glazes and sauces. Often they can be found with their liner plates or are easily matched with compliment saucers. Portions were smaller 100 years ago because dinner was served with more courses. You'll find an amazing variety of china in useful shapes. Put them to a contemporary purpose.
Eames Era Dinnerplates with a unique patterns such as the Greenbriar pattern made by Knowles in the 1950's, can be mixed with something brillant like the soup bowl and liner plate in the Malvern pattern Royal Doulton or another explosive pattern in compliment color.
The 1950's and early 1960's trended toward the aqua, teal and turquoise pallet. We enjoyed patterns like Temporama and Blue Heaven by Royal China, and variations of the wheat motif in the same medium blue values by other pottery houses. It's marvelous to mix stripes with subtle patterns if the hues are similar.
We found this teal and grey striped dinnerplate (the pattern is called Holiday) and mixed the pieces with a few other styles from the same era. The casual elegant look is pleasing.
Picking a neutral stoneware dinnerplate like the Harkerware dinnerplate below, and building accent above it opens up a few more opportunites to pull that unused china out of the cupboard and use it!
Marcrest is another pattern with an Eames theme and introduces black. The solid medium blue coffee cup is a little more intense in value than the aqua turquoise, but can work with black. Obviously we would mix the wheat feather look with Marcrest, but you get the idea of the value change.
Possibilities are endless! Keep an eye out for a hue or value and pull them into your design. Choose a color or two and focus on adding bits with the purpose of expanding your tableware without having to buy a brand new set. Be inventive!
