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EDDIE ROSS - Modern Mix

A Date with a Plate in May, a two-day affair in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, benefiting range combo that spoke to me and voilà!

Meet Kazak. I loved her worldly ways well before her moment in House Beautiful this month. And like so many other fabrics from Quadrille, Kazak strikes a nifty balance between new and old, traditional and modern. This table would be unlike any other I'd done—daring, more vibrant, but still with an element of restraint. And because I knew I had to give a talk tableside during the event, this one would also be about one of my favorite activities—shopping! Thus began an exhaustive, two-month search for the perfect china, silver, linens and glass! Our first find? A set of old Wedgwood bowls, probably from the 20s, with a cool, Chinoiserie feel and a color combination that was spot on. These we scored at the New York City flea market in Chelsea. If you've never been, go!

Pattern on pattern can be tricky; it's like a high wire act that could go wrong at any second. Hence, the safety net: intermediary plates and chargers that give the eye a break. Other than flea markets, Goodwills are my other go-to sources for undiscovered treasure. At the one in Westport, we picked up these Johnson Brothers ironstone plates from the 50s in a modern octagon shape. They're so classic and beautiful, A Christmas Tree Shop is selling newer versions by the same company! Carbon copies, I tell you, only good for the microwave, too. That's how great they are.

My Photos - Master Bathroom 2010