Entertain with Style
Sipping Pretty
Turn an ordinary backyard barbecue into Carnevale on the Piazza San Marco. Believe it or not, these Venetian goblets aren't glass at all—they're plastic.
- Goblet, $55 for a set of six
- MoMA Design Store; 800-447-6662; momastore.org

Fill It to the Rim
Modern, primitive, natural, sexy, these hand-carved pacara wood bowls by Marcelo Lucini, rimmed in hammered alpaca metal, make whatever you fill them with look a little more special.
- Bowls, small, $95; medium, $150; large, $225
- Loom Company; 212-889-1182
Into the Woods
Having a picnic with a jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and thou doesn't exactly cut it if you add paper plates to the mix. But bamboo dishes are chic, sleek, and totally disposable.
- Plates, $6 for a set of eight
- Broadway Panhandler; 866-COOKWARE; broadwaypanhandler.com
Plate Expectations
If it's true that the first taste is with the eye, these extraordinary dishes will turn any meal into a feast.
- Porcelain and mahogany dinner plate, $80
- Charger, $120
- Bowl, $100
- Mug, $58
- Marc Blackwell New York; 866-755-6269; www.marcblackwell.com
The High Life
With this little bowl, you can put ice cream or fresh blackberries up on a pedestal.
- Alessi plastic and stainless-steel bowl, $50
- MoMA Design Store; 800-793-3167; www.momastore.org
That's the Hole Idea
How clever is this! Wash fruit or veggies in the strainer side, tilt, and serve them in the bowl side.
- Porcelain colander, $125
- Royal Copenhagen; 212-532-5051; www.royalcopenhagen.com
Feeling Groovy
Mix up a pitcher of margaritas and start grilling the burgers. These plastic plates and serving pieces are pure, unadulterated fun.
- Platters, $18 each
- Plates, $39 set of four
- Plum Party; 800-227-0314; www.plumparty.com
Pressed for Time
Country and contemporary, this lacquered tray, made with real pressed leaves and flowers, adds a touch of spring to any table.
- Citrine tray, $375
- Butter and Eggs; 212-676-0235; www.butterandeggs.com
From the Spring 2004 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine