I get it. I lived for many years with an assortment of mismatched serving utensils and cutlery pieces that, design-wise, span a century, and not in the "cute, you like vintage cutlery" sense. Even as a grown adult, I still have a drawer of random utensils and cutlery, because it just doesn't seem easy to have a completely coordinated collection, unless you're walking straight from your bridal shower. Not counting items that I know belong to other people (like my parents, when they show up with a pot and their own serving spoons) we've also picked up extra pieces at thrift stores for those times when we've thrown a potluck dinner. 20 For those of you like me, you need to learn to go with the flow and make sure your guests don't think twice about serving items that might look (gasp) messy .
From:Emily Fazio Emily Fazio
Fortunately, there are many ways to accept and/or mask the fact that your kitchen uses a wide variety of tableware and cutlery designs, so buy what you have and try one of these ideas when you're scheming your table settings. for the next big friends/family/holiday party.
If you're applying paint to anything that goes near your mouth, you need to take certain precautions. When I made the "ombre rainbow" dinnerware shown above with four different colors of spray paint, I was careful to tape down the end of the cookware that I didn't want the paint to affect. I then put that end in a plastic bag to double protect the nozzle and prevent it from getting painted. They turned out pretty fabulous, and you can barely tell at a glance that they're from completely different outfits. (They're also different weights, which sometimes makes it even more obvious that their set doesn't match.)
Enamel paints hold up well when applied to silver handles, and allow for a truly customizable place setting. If you want to make a fun impact at your next dinner party, pick up an entire collection of cutlery at a thrift store and paint the special occasion accents with custom colors and patterns to match the mood of the event. Shamrocks for St. Paddy, hearts for Valentine's Day, or whatever color theme suits your table. If you wash them by hand with a soft cloth, the touches or streaks of paint will remain intact.
From:Emily Fazio Emily Fazio
Use a set of punches to make a mismatched set feel more uniform. Much like the technique you would use to make labels (this is obviously a garden marker), you can personalize your cutlery with words or phrases. Some of us liked?
From:Marian Parsons Power in numbers, essentially. When you wrap your knife, spoon, and fork in a well-planned package, it's much easier for guests to overlook the fact that your tableware isn't coordinating. For a rustic tablescape, I recommend wrapping the trio in a napkin with several theme-appropriate ribbons.
From:Emily Fazio Emily Fazio
Beets, onions, turmeric, and other fruits and vegetables create wonderful dye colors. If your cutlery collection features a variety of wood handles, most of our wood handles are on random knives, unify your look by staining the wood.
A dot of hot glue will hold the jute cord in place as it wraps around the handles of the serving pieces. Unify the look of your buffet by coordinating these utensils, and the attention to detail will keep your guests from worrying about the fact that your dinnerware is from a variety of sources.
From:Emily Fazio Emily Fazio
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