Following a renovation, home owners are usually so exhausted by the entire process that they are just happy to have contractors out of their home, and some semblance of normalcy back in their lives. As long as the stove works, and the furniture fits, everyone is happy! 

But soon enough they realize that although the space is wonderful as it is, it still could use some accessorizing. Lamps are in place and artwork is hung, but the room still has that furniture showroom look, basic and sanitized, lacking familiarity and personalization.

That impersonal  look and feel can be remedied in several ways, but one of my favorite solutions is incorporating personal collections. 

I have always collected porcelain and china. Weekends in the 80’s and 90’s were spent browsing antique shows and vintage shops, and I always was attracted by beautifully painted plates with matching cups and saucers. While scouring our own Bird in Hand consignment shop many years ago, I came across a set of 12 dinner plates in colors of rose, blue and gold that would coordinate beautifully with the simplicity of the Lenox accent pieces that I already owned.

Owning these beautiful works of art, it became clear that they should not be hidden away in some cupboard. Plates of this quality should be displayed. Well known decorators and designers like Mario Buatta and Charles Faudree used plates and platters to accent table tops, supplement artwork and create tableaus above buffets and along soffits and ledges.

The wonderful thing about plates is that they come in every sort of style and pattern and can complement any form of décor.  I was lucky enough to have inherited two full sets of formal dinnerware - my parents' set of Noritake from when they were married in the ‘50’s and my grandmother’s set of floral painted Arzberg china that she purchased in Germany while on her honeymoon. Yes, I suppose it is true that full sets of formal china may be out of favor, along with brown furniture, but sometimes it is personal touches just like these that create a warm and inviting space. Along with the Arzberg china, I also inherited the Georgian breakfront that displayed these special pieces.

But even owning two full table settings for twelve, I continued to be enamored by various designs and patterns of all sorts of tableware. While vacationing in New Hampshire one summer, I discovered  Monroe Salt Works, a stunning pottery company.  Hours later I was leaving the shop with a set of  plates and mugs that I still love today. They grace my kitchen in muted colors of browns, blues and reds, and in rustic patterns of floral bouquets and fruit baskets

While searching online one Christmas for holiday plates, I discovered a festive pattern of cherry fruits and fanciful insects in bright reds and greens with gold accents. I learned it was a pattern made in Portugal in 1770 for Prince William Henry, the Duke of Gloucester, and meticulously recreated by a company called Mottahedeh. I couldn’t afford a complete set, but I do own 10 dinner and salad plates. They are rarely put away, as I have several of them displayed on plate stands, gracing  accent tables in my living room.

It was when I was creating a country French garden room that I learned about the beauty of Majolica. So started yet another quest for that opaque glazed earthenware in distinct mottled hues of greens, yellows and browns so characteristic of a French garden, and prized for its handmade process and hours of meticulous fabrication. I have placed several pieces along a high ledge in my garden room, and displayed even more in an antique French cupboard. Because of its unique patterns and colors, Majolica has retained its popularity and can easily be mixed within more modern interiors.

Colorful plates and platters can be used to solve all sorts of design challenges, to fill in open wall spaces, add height to tablescapes, even to provide interest to stairwells and hallways. So take those beautiful porcelain and pottery pieces out of the cupboard, and bring them out for all to see!

Patricia Marian Cove is Principal of Architectural Interiors and Design in Chestnut Hill, and can be reached through her website patriciacove.com.