Skip to content
Close portrait of Rafaela in a striped linen shirt

Tableware styling creator

Set a lovely table with plates that do not match

I’m Rafaela. I set tables with old and odd plates, and I sell seasonal table guides, a planner and two video courses.

Autumn: eight pieces, 16 tables

  1. Spring8pieces30tables
  2. Summer outdoors10pieces36tables
  3. Winter candles8pieces30tables
Pick a piece to see what uses it

Large blue plate A big plate with a worn rim, the one the rest of the table is set around in 8 tables.

Side plate Small, patterned and never quite the same as its neighbour in 10 tables.

Soup bowl Deep and white, with a chip I have stopped minding in 7 tables.

Serving bowl One wide bowl for the middle of the table in 4 tables.

Water tumbler Plain glass, thick enough to survive a busy table in 11 tables.

Stemmed glass An old glass with a thin stem, kept for the evening in 5 tables.

Linen cloth A creased oatmeal cloth that makes the plates look planned in 7 tables.

Rust napkins Four napkins in the one warm colour of the autumn table in 7 tables.

The tables

Every table is made from the same eight pieces.

  1. A table set with mismatched blue-and-white plates

    Table 1

    Six plates, one cloth

    Six plates that do not match, tied together by one cloth

    • Large blue plate
    • Side plate
    • Linen cloth
    • Water tumbler
    • Stemmed glass
  2. A river with a moored boat at dusk in Porto

    Table 2

    Supper by the water

    What I carry down at the end of the day, and nothing more

    • Large blue plate
    • Water tumbler
    • Linen cloth
    • Rust napkins
  3. A tiled Porto facade on a rainy street

    Table 3

    Soup on a wet day

    Two bowls, two plates and the napkins by the window

    • Soup bowl
    • Side plate
    • Water tumbler
    • Rust napkins
  4. Rafaela standing in her tiled kitchen with plates

    Table 4

    Table for two

    A kitchen table, one plate each and a cloth to share

    • Large blue plate
    • Water tumbler
    • Linen cloth
  5. A table set with mismatched blue-and-white plates

    Table 5

    Sunday lunch for four

    The big bowl in the middle and a glass for everyone

    • Large blue plate
    • Side plate
    • Serving bowl
    • Linen cloth
    • Stemmed glass
  6. A tiled Porto facade on a rainy street

    Table 6

    Breakfast by the tiles

    Plates picked to sit well with the wall behind them

    • Side plate
    • Soup bowl
    • Water tumbler
  7. A river with a moored boat at dusk in Porto

    Table 7

    Picnic on a blanket

    Nothing breakable but the plates, and they are tough

    • Side plate
    • Water tumbler
    • Rust napkins
  8. Hands washing a patterned vintage plate

    Table 8

    The flea market haul, washed

    The week's finds, set out on the first clean table

    • Large blue plate
    • Side plate
    • Soup bowl
  9. A river with a moored boat at dusk in Porto

    Table 9

    Late supper with wine

    Stemmed glasses, a dark cloth and the big plates

    • Large blue plate
    • Stemmed glass
    • Linen cloth
    • Rust napkins
  10. Rafaela standing in her tiled kitchen with plates

    Table 10

    A quick bowl for one

    One bowl, one glass and a napkin on the counter

    • Soup bowl
    • Water tumbler
  11. A table set with mismatched blue-and-white plates

    Table 11

    Friends for pudding

    Side plates, the serving bowl and a glass each

    • Side plate
    • Serving bowl
    • Stemmed glass
    • Rust napkins
  12. Rafaela standing in her tiled kitchen with plates

    Table 12

    The tray table

    Everything a table for one needs, on a tray

    • Side plate
    • Serving bowl
    • Water tumbler
  13. A table set with mismatched blue-and-white plates

    Table 13

    Dinner for six

    Large plates, soup first, and the good cloth

    • Large blue plate
    • Side plate
    • Soup bowl
    • Stemmed glass
    • Linen cloth
  14. A tiled Porto facade on a rainy street

    Table 14

    Lunch after a walk

    Big plates, a bowl of soup and napkins to wipe up with

    • Large blue plate
    • Soup bowl
    • Water tumbler
    • Rust napkins
  15. Hands washing a patterned vintage plate

    Table 15

    Tea with a neighbour

    Two side plates and a table that took a minute to lay

    • Side plate
    • Water tumbler
    • Rust napkins
  16. Rafaela standing in her tiled kitchen with plates

    Table 16

    Supper from the pot

    The pot comes to the table and the bowls come to the pot

    • Soup bowl
    • Serving bowl
    • Water tumbler
    • Linen cloth

Downloads, a course and merch

Shop

  • Autumn Table Capsule

    $12
    PDF · 24 pages

    Eight pieces and thirty table settings for the autumn: bowls, plates and glasses, with a photograph for each setting.

    View: Autumn Table Capsule

  • Spring Table Capsule

    $12
    PDF · 24 pages

    Eight pieces and thirty table settings for spring lunches and long light evenings.

    View: Spring Table Capsule

  • Summer Outdoor Table Capsule

    $12
    PDF · 28 pages

    Ten sturdy pieces and thirty-six settings for tables on a terrace, a balcony or a blanket.

    View: Summer Outdoor Table Capsule