Distinctive-Decor.com Blog

Outdoor Dining with Elegant Melamine Dishes

Photo: Outdoor Kitchen, De Soto, KS

Pool and patio season is here, and with it comes opportunities for outdoor entertaining and family meals served under the shade of the backyard umbrella. Outdoor kitchens are all over the place these days, ranging from the impeccably-appointed to modular and modern. Cooking outside gives us the opportunity to bask in the gorgeous outdoors as well as helps avoid overtaxing your air conditioner and dishwasher, since the heat stays out of the indoor kitchen.  Also, more grilling usually means less cleanup.

No matter how beautifully designed and executed your outdoor dining space is, however, there's still one key element you may have overlooked: your outdoor tableware. Sure, there are lots of nice paper plates and napkins available in your local discount store, but that doesn't quite fit the bill when you're entertaining guests or hosting a special family dinner, does it? Then again, you don't want to bring your good stoneware, ceramic,  or porcelain outside; it's unwieldy, and it can get broken if dropped on a concrete patio or poolside (watch your feet!).

Enter Le Cadeaux melamine dinnerware and polycarbonate drinkware. Le Cadeaux tableware is sturdy enough to use at every meal, and beautiful enough for the most elegant outdoor feasts. This European-inspired tableware looks just like your favorite stoneware, with rustic accents and charming detail to give your outdoor entertaining the finishing touch.

And this is not your Grandma's melmac, either. In addition to being beautiful, Le Cadeaux is some of the strongest, most substantial melamine on the market today. The polycarbonate drinkware is virtually unbreakable. The entire collection is dishwasher safe and BPA-free.

You could feature a monochromatic table setting that coordinates with your chair cushions and landscaping, or a mix-and-match combo that is decidedly more bohemian (we love the Benidorm Blue for this...so chic). Le Cadeaux polycarbonate beverage service is just as elegant and resilient: with so many styles and colors to choose from, the perfect setting for your table is just a click away.

Juliska Dinnerware and Glassware: Absolutely Beautiful!

If you are looking for a new dinnerware set this year that offers taste, elegance, durability and beautiful Portuguese craftsmanship, you would do well to take a glance at the chic and classy collections of Juliska dinnerware.  Juliska offers unique styles and shaping that create interest and an unbelievably cool tablescape.  Also, Juliska is adaptable - you can make it look as formal or as casual as you like.  All pieces will mix-and-match effortlessly, making you look like a fabulous table top designer.  Juliska even offers a collection of Christmas dinnerware accents in the Boxwood & Bow collection that you can add piece-by-piece to give your table a holiday feel.

Juliska was founded by Capucine and David Gooding with the aim of creating an upper-end line of dinnerware and glassware uniquely "European" in design and look.  The dinnerware had to be incredibly beautiful and durable at the same time.  In our opinion, they have achieved their goals and then some.  You can see for yourself how beautiful it is.  The dinnerware is made of vitrified ceramic that is chip resistant and thermal shock resistant.  You can take it from the freezer and put it directly in the oven with no side-effects. Juliska dinnerware is dishwasher, oven, microwave and freezer safe.

Juliska glassware is the creme de la creme in the glassware market.  Each piece is mouth-blown in Prague and is thin and light-weight. These two characteristics are made possible by the proprietary glass recipe used. Juliska glass is a joy to drink from and to hold; it actually feels good to drink from - if that makes sense.  The beautiful glass roping designs are exquisite and each piece of glass is signed by the glass maker.

Juliska offerings that should be seen: the ever-popular Berry and Thread collection, Classic Bamboo, which melds organically-shaped bamboo rims into the dinnerware , Jardins du Monde (inspired by the most beautiful gardens in Europe), Petit Singe Monkey dinnerware, Pewter Stoneware (which features a metallic glaze that makes the stoneware look like hammered pewter), Juliska flatware, Juliska linens made of high quality Italian linen and Juliska lighting, lamps and accessories. 

 

Break Resistant Glassware and Stemware from Schott Zwiesel

According to "Home World" magazine June-July Vol. 21, wine drinkers are latching on to lead-free break resistant crystal stemware.  We have been selling Schott Zwiesel Tritan lead-free break resistant crystal stemware for two years now and Schott Zwiesel Tritan is outselling traditional lead crystal stemware 4 to 1.  Once I used these glasses and banged them around I knew right away that break resistant stems were going to be hot! They are also dishwasher safe! No more hand washing!

Schott Zwiesel Tritan stemware and glassware is lead free.  The lead has been replaced with titanium, which makes these glasses 30% less breakable than traditional leaded crystal stems.  These glasses will break; they just are harder to break. I made two videos this morning in our store's kitchen.  Both tests in the videos were executed on a solid granite counter top. The first test is the "knock over" test.  Knock overs happen a lot when imbibing wine--especially too much wine! The other test is to show how shock resistant the Schott Zwiesel is--I strike the wine stem against the corner of our granite counter top multiple times.  See for yourself. (A special thanks goes out to Mary Lou, a.k.a. "The Camera Guy")

TEST ONE

TEST TWO

Bormioli Rocco Glassware: Bowls, Pitchers, Storage and Drinkware

Bormioli Rocco has been making fine glassware in Italy for a very long time. Historians can trace a Bormioli Rocco glass back to the Middle Ages. While Bormioli Rocco produces many kinds of glass we want to draw your attention to their tempered glass.

Bormioli Rocco tempered glass has a number of things going for it. It is shock resistant --2.5 times more resistant than normal glass; it is thermal shock resistant--resisting temperatures up to 265° and can move from hot to cold temperatures easily (microwave safe); it is dishwasher safe and it is safer if it breaks due to a strong shock. The tempering allows the glass to break into many little pieces, minimizing the risk of being nicked or cut.

If you're looking for everyday use glassware, we like the Bormioli Rocco Rock Bar collection with its more traditional shapes and the Bormioli Rocco Sorgente line for its more fluid like design.  Both are exceptionally durable and user-friendly.

We are extremely excited about the Bormioli Rocco glass Frigoverre Plus food storage systems. So excited, in fact, we use them daily in our home. With all the concerns about the health issues stemming from re-heating plastic, these glass food storage systems are perfectly safe for reheating and storage.  Each piece is fitted with a lid made of polypropylene.  The lid incorporates a vent in the top that may be closed to preserve freshness or opened when reheating so steam can escape.  The lid guarantees an airtight seal and will not deteriorate when placed in the microwave. All Frigoverre Plus storage  pieces are easy to grip, elegant enough to serve from, dishwasher safe, shock resistant and are see-through.