Thom Filicia's favorite alternatives to matching china

Dishware
"Choosing china is like furnishing your living room," says Thom Filicia. "You don't want everything the same. Rather than one complete set, it's fun to have pieces from three sets that work well together."

Shown here:

Glassware: tumblers, storage jars, and wine glasses

Porcelain: espresso cups and saucers; dinnerware cups and saucers

Stoneware: mugs, bowls, and salad plates

Earthenware: dinner plates, serving bowls, salad plates, and fruit bowl

Thom Filicia's tips for vases

Vases
"Vases give you an opportunity to play with different styles and materials," says Thom Filicia. "If you have a glass table, bring in a resin or wood vase—and vice versa."

Shown here:

Glassware: pink, green, lavender, and striped glass vases; smoke-colored glass bowl; large purple glass cylinder

Other: large and small mango wood vases; black and cactus-colored resin vases (on French cherrywood table)

Thom Filicia's favorite throws

Pillows & Throws
"Throws are great anywhere," Filicia says. "In bedrooms, in sitting rooms—and I'm not the fashion guy, but I can tell you I've seen them more than once worn out and about."
Shown here:

Pillows: striped silk, fern-print silk, cotton velvet, silk organza, and botanical-print silk and wool pillow with down insert

Throws: blue and coral cashmere; cashmere and mohair with fringe; cream, brown, and green cable-knit

Also shown: cotton quilt under European beechwood chair

Thom Filicia's favorite trays.

Photo: Alison Gootee

Trays
"Trays work with the way we live," says Thom Filicia. "It's nice to have a big, beautiful coffee table with wonderful things on it—and even nicer when you pick up one tray to clear the space for the Monopoly board or dinner."

Shown here (clockwise from top):
  • Plastic dish and ceramic tray on beechwood and teak serving tray

  • Stoneware teapot with bamboo handle and stoneware cup on lacquered bamboo trays

  • Wood dishes

  • Soy, sushi, and salad plates stacked on aluminum tray, nestled within lacquered rattan tray