Midas Sets the Table

Modern
Modern gold designs attract even the most ardent minimalist: The metal can be center stage or one small element, matte or gloss, saucy or sublime.

TableArt's Walter Lowry uses gold to signal serious fun. "The more gold you add—whether it's a glass-beaded mat under a plate or a stemless goblet—the dressier the table looks." His shop sells single-pattern five-piece settings, but Lowry sees more people mixing and matching patterns to fit their entertaining styles. Festive doesn't have to mean finicky, he stresses, in either aesthetic or upkeep. Plates like Bodo Sperlein's Motion (No. 48) can go in the dishwasher (use the china cycle and turn off the heated dry), though Lowry says no fine china, with or without gold, should be placed in a microwave.

Pictured above:

46. Linen napkin with gold hemstitch, Kim Seybert
47. Pegasus Aureus flatware, Villeroy & Boch
48. Motion buffet plate, dinner plate, and small oval dish, all by Bodo Sperlein (TableArt)
49. Brella bowl, Umbra
50. Serving set, Austin Creations
51. Northern Hemisphere stemless wineglass, Marc Blackwell
52. My China! Teapot, Sieger Design
53. Small bowl, Anthropologie
54. and 55. Gold Scribble salad plate and dinner plate, both Calvin Klein
56. Pear by Victoria Hagan, Target
57. Minéral Gold Star dish, Raynaud
58. Sferra linen tablecloth, Gracious Home