The Classics On Acid range from Diesel Living with Seletti takes familiar tableware decoration, from Delft blues to willow patterns, and gives it what the makers call an after-party gaze. This guide walks through each piece you can lay on the table, from plates and bowls to glasses and cutlery, and shows how to mix them without the result looking like an accident.
Start with the plates
Plates are the backbone of any table, so begin there. The Classics On Acid Plate comes in six designs: Maastricht Ship, Blue Chinoiserie, English Delft, Hollandia Flowers, Imari Dragon and Spanish Yellow. Each one looks like a traditional dinner plate at first glance, then you notice the pattern has slipped, melted or warped.
Layer a smaller plate on top for a starter or pudding. The Classics On Acid Dessert Plate is finished with a coloured rim and comes in Deer, Delf Rose, Fiorentino, Glitchy Willow, Melting Landscape and Willow Wave. For soups, pasta or anything with a sauce, the Classics On Acid Soup Plate offers Talavera, Leone, Pagoda, Arabian, Delfino and Flower Bird.
A simple trick: give every guest the same dinner plate, then vary the dessert plates on top. The table reads as a set, but each place setting still has its own surprise.
Add bowls and serving pieces
The Classics On Acid Bowl has a gold rim and comes in Dragon, Fiori or Granada. Use it for cereal in the morning, a side dish at dinner, or nibbles on a coffee table.
For sharing food in the middle of the table, the Classics On Acid Salad Bowl comes as Pajaro, with dainty blue lines and a gold rim, as Koi, or as the larger Psycho. The Classics On Acid Serving Dish Tray pairs a head-turning shape with traditional decoration, and works for canapés, cheese or cakes. Between parties, it can sit on a sideboard as a display piece.
If you host afternoon tea, the two-tier Classics On Acid Cake Stand is the obvious centrepiece. It is just as handy for party canapés.
Glasses and cutlery
The glassware takes traditional fluted glass and gives it a playfully half-bent flute, so it looks as though it has wilted slightly in the heat of the party. The Classics On Acid Wine Glass comes in Diamonds, Greca, NYE, Regal, Traditional and Tree. The Classics On Acid Water Glass comes in Burano, Cordial, Flute, Murano, Spring and Venice.
Set one of each at every place: water glass in front, wine glass just behind and to the right. Because the shapes are already playful, you can mix designs freely across the table.
Finish each setting with the Classics On Acid Cutlery. It shares the same after-party spirit and is meant for everyday meals as much as dinner parties.
Dress the table
Put a tablemat under each setting to frame it. The Classics On Acid Tablemat is made from cork and PVC, measures 49cm x 35cm, and comes in six designs, A to F, all based on distorted floral decoration. Alternating two designs down a long table gives rhythm without fuss.
Add the Classics On Acid Seasoning Bottle, in Tokkuri, Hana or Rotterdam, alongside a set of spice shakers, and finish with flowers in a Classics On Acid Porcelain Vase. Keep the vase low enough that guests can still see each other across the table.
How to mix without chaos
- Pick a lead colour. Blue and white designs such as Blue Chinoiserie, English Delft and Willow Wave sit happily together. Let one or two warmer pieces, such as Spanish Yellow, act as the accent.
- Repeat something. Matching dinner plates or matching glasses give the eye a resting point while everything else varies.
- Keep the linen plain. A plain cloth or bare wooden table lets the patterns do the talking.
- Don't stop at dinner. The Classics On Acid Mug, in Acid Roses, Sake Flower, England Shells, Keshiki, Ruins or Granada, brings the same look to the breakfast table. Spare plates can also hang on a wall as art.
Browse the full Classics On Acid collection to see every design together, or visit us in Somerset and our team will happily help you put a table together.
