Eclectic Dinnerware

If I could describe my style (both fashion and decor-wise) in one word, it would be eclectic. Kinda obvious from the title of this blog… But my philosophy is basically that there are so many beautiful things in the world, why limit yourself by just choosing one, when you can have all of them? That might be a selfish or hoard-y philosophy, but I think my dishware collection perfectly sums up what I mean. You COULD get a set of matching plates and bowls in a pattern you like… OR … you could collect every dish and bowl you happen upon and your natural reflex is to gasp and whisper “preeeeety….”

I’ve been collecting these vintage dinner plates from secondhand stores and antique shops, everywhere from Vancouver to Boston to New Zealand! I also extend this philosophy to my glassware and cutlery. You may mistake the ornate appearance of these pieces as an attempt to be a fancy fart, but truthfully, the flowery and colourful aspects of these pieces just make me so happy. I mean, drinking water has never been so fun! I round out my thrifted goodies with finds from Pier 1, Homesense, Anthropologie, Stokes and basically anywhere else you can think of finding housewares.

And this is not to say that I would collect any old colourful dish. There is a method to my madness, a kind of thread of cohesiveness despite the seemingly random nature of the pieces. I believe there is a right way and wrong way to mismatch. There has to be a thread of commonness, whether it is theme, pattern, colour, style, era, etc. That’s how I feel like it all works together in a sort of…dishware symphony! And that can mean clashing colours and patterns, I think, but with some kind of element that sort of breaks it up, something that “makes it work together.”

Now this is a personal opinion of course, but mismatching makes me really happy. ‘Cause don’t get me wrong, too much visual chaos gives me a headache and makes me feel itchy, but this is the kind of balanced bedlam that just puts a smile on my face and more zen in my space.