All Set for the Holidays

The Look: Blue and Gold

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Eric Piasecki/The Interior Archive

The blue and gold look

Try contrasting a densely patterned platter, like this one from L'Objet pour Fortuny, with a simpler one, such as Italian designer Paola Navone's cobalt-trimmed piece for Reichenbach. Add a couple of golden bowls and you have a look that's a bit English, a little Oriental and very urbane. Plate Pairing: Gold-banded china

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Eric Piasecki/The Interior Archive

Clockwise from top left: William Yeoward Crystal Gold Bowl, $255, Dalton Brody, 202-244-7197; Paola Navone for Reichenbach Taste Plate Oval in Blue 705, $135, Porcelain Room, 212-367-8206; Gold Aves Salad Bowl, $868, royalcrownderby.co.uk; L'Objet pour Fortuny Rectangular Platter, $325, lobjet.com.

The Look: Rustic (Without Twigs)

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William Waldron/The Interior Archive

The Rustic Look

For a Christmas table that doesn't yell "Noel!", consider this down-to-earth scheme. The Nymphenburg oval platter, an 18th-century design, has a trompe l'oeil wood grain rendered in porcelain. The foliage pattern on the Hermès platter ticks the woodsy theme with subtlety. A silver serving bowl luxes things up, while a horn-crowned tureen brings in a bit of whimsy. Plate Pairing: Stoneware in brown, taupe or creamy white

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William Waldron/The Interior Archive

Clockwise from top left: Nymphenburg Enchanted Forest Platter, $4,459, kneenandco.com; Surroyal Tureen, $248, anthropologie.com; Les Maisons Enchantées Tart Platter, $330, hermes.com; Lila Serving Bowl, $695, ralphlaurenhome.com.

The Look: Rococo White

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Mikkel Vang/Taverne Agency

The Rococo White look

Who can argue with white? This cast of frilly characters—Astier de Villatte's oblong platter, a scallop-edge Meissen serving dish, Royal Limoges's wavy bowl—is a warmer alternative to plain, clean-lined modern white pieces. Plate Pairing: Anything white, but the softer (with a decorative motif, say) the better.

F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal

Clockwise from top: Astier de Villatte Large Neptune Platter, $425, Sue Fisher King, 415-922-7276; Royal Limoges Ocean White Salad Bowl, $200, Schiffman's Jewelers, 336-294-4885; Meissen Swan Service Small Tray,$79, The Porcelain Room, 212-696-9236; Mabel Serving Tray, $24, anthropologie.com.