melamine dream

 Isnt that the best word? Melamine. If only it was a girls name, it would be the perfect one. And speaking of which, my friend Ivy just gave felix the cutest set of dishes for christmas. Id seen them in a shop window and fallen in love with them, and theyre even better in person (because you cant see the cup from the box)

 Only later did I discover that the maker of this set, Thomaspaul, also made these other, nautical trays that I already liked. So then I got to browsing the website, and I made a kitchen decision: I only want to use melamine dishes. All in white and covered in intricate, kistchy or adorable patterns in bright colors,  they look like the modern version of old fashioned china, from the twee future. They even have sort of the same, translucent quality. Plus theyre cheaper, lighter, wont break, and are generally and obviously more durable. I guess you face the inevitable fading of the patterns... but nothing lasts forever! And if you spent even a fraction of the money you could on proper china, it wouldnt have to look tacky or cheap or dorm-y at all. 

Even though I already made the decision only to have white plates, always, I think I could make an exception for these florilegium dinner plates. Or I could just buy three or four more of those rabbit sets and have them as my regular, people plates. The little cups are perfect for tea--they only need a matching teapot! Ive been thinking, and have decided that a floral, bunny-filled Easter-theme is almost always appropriate: Its an obvious choice for springtime, of course; in the summer it can seem sort of jolly and circus-like; in the winter, rabbits somehow seem festive again--its only in the fall that they might not be completely appropriate. And theres something about rabbits that pair so well with anything else I can even imagine, especially from the thomaspaul collection. For example, how amazing would these Hong Kong dinner plates look with a blue rabbit plate on top?

Or more nautically (and neutrally), these maritime plates?

And also, did you know about this? Theres a Zodiac set! How completely perfect, and exactly in line with what I was just talking about.They would look so great with rabbits, and I want them so badly! If only they were proper sized plates, instead of baby coasters. Its too bad!

I like the idea of picking a range of patterns in a limited color palette, and ranging blues seem like an obvious choice. And to set all of those cool colors off nicely, how amazing would it all look over these red lobster mats, and various other pinkish table linens? (Can you tell Ive thought a lot about this?) 

Alas thankfully,  however, Chase is on his way to pick up a set of old dishes his Yia Yia has very kindly donated to our new home at this very moment. So all of this will have to wait. In the meantime, as a means of quenching my melamine obsession for the immediate future, Ive got my eye on this black, enamel-looking floral tray. Ive spoken before about how trays are useful and a great thing to have for the home, and Ive realized, we dont have one! How am I supposed to serve drinks or, more importantly, be served breakfast in bed? Come on!

its only $24, you guys. Pretty reasonable. Right? And so beautiful!

images via here, here & here