Tableware & Glassware

Tableware & Glassware

Setting a table divides into three groups and it helps to buy them in that order. Plates and bowls come first, and material decides how they live: tempered glass is the toughest everyday option and goes from dishwasher to microwave without fuss, china carries pattern and reads more formal, and enamel is the hard-wearing outdoor and camping choice that will not shatter. Glassware comes second, covering tumblers for water and everyday use, wine glasses and stemware, and serving glass such as sundae dishes and platters. Serving and table dressing comes third, taking in oval platters, gravy boats, jugs, placemats, worktop savers, laptrays and tablecloths. The practical question is whether you want a matched set for a full table or open stock you can add to and replace one piece at a time, and open stock is the more forgiving answer in a house where things get broken.

The range mixes established tableware names with Irish-supplied lines, including Arcopal for tempered glass plates, Churchill China and Dunlevy for patterned china mugs, platters and placemats, Falcon for enamel mugs and tumblers, Steelex for glass serving dishes, Judge for gravy pots and jugs, William Kilburn and Paul Edward for decorative mugs and tablecloths, and Joseph Joseph for barware. Related departments are Dining & Baking, Mug Sets, Glassware, Barware and Homewares.