Serving Up Style: Must-Have Serveware Designs and Why You Need Them

If you’ve ever found yourself tongs-deep in a pan of perfectly caramelized, buttery green beans and realized, “Shoot! I’m going to have to serve these beauties in a mixing bowl,” {been there}, it may be time to stock up on some serveware staples. Curating the perfect collection of serving dishes and accessories is personal, and we believe that if you spend some time adding styles you love to your collection, little by little, you’ll end up with the perfect set to meet your needs and your vision. 

 

The designs you add to your collection should be useful and practical, but that doesn’t mean they have to be boring. Let’s dive into the importance of having serveware that sparks joy and is functional for your go-to dishes, from large and small platters and serving boards to utensils, bowls, and more.

 

 

We’ll explain the ins and outs of serveware basics to ensure you’re equipped to dish up all your favorite meals with ease {and enviable style}.

3 Reasons Why It’s Important to Have a Set of Serveware 

Your serveware collection should consist of functional designs that let you effortlessly present your mouth watering meals. Here are three reasons why you should start curating your own set of serving dishes and accessories:

1. It makes hosting easier: When you have a wide selection of serveware to choose from, you can always find the perfect solution to whatever challenge is presented without stress {we’re looking at you, green beans}. For example, if you have both small and large platters on hand, you’ll never have to try to fit a large recipe onto a too-small tray or vice versa – you’ll have just what you need to easily serve any dish. 

 

2. It allows everyone to enjoy themselves: A well-stocked assortment of functional and stylish serveware allows you to present your menu flawlessly, offering more room for creativity when choosing coordinating serving dishes that elevate your table design into an artistic presentation. This ensures less work, more play -- and lots more creativity.

 

3. It offers versatility: The best-designed serveware can double as home décor, enhancing your everyday living by surrounding you with designs you love. For example, the same serving dish or small platter that holds a heaping pile of pasta at dinnertime can stylishly display décor on your living room shelves.

 

 

When Can You Use Serveware?

 

 

Whether you’re dishing up weeknight dinners for the family or displaying your favorite large platter as wall art, you can use your serveware every day. It also allows you to showcase your individuality by designing unique, entertaining experiences for your guests whenever you host: 

• Daily meals: Serving dishes aren’t just for fancy dinners; they can be used every day to elevate the presentation of regular meals, making family dinners feel more special. So don’t be afraid to pull out your pretty large platters when inspiration strikes, even when you’re just serving hamburgers.
• Holiday parties: During the holidays, dishes like large and small platters play a crucial role in presenting festive family recipes, creating a memorable experience for your guests with themed or elegant serving dishes. For instance, look at how adorable this Feathered Turkey Platter is. Thanksgiving or Christmas brunch, anyone?
• Casual gatherings: Whether it’s a weekend brunch or a casual dinner party on a weeknight with your family, serveware helps organize and present food attractively, enhancing the overall dining experience. 

Pro-tip: Large and small platters can also be used to pass around drinks at parties.

 

The Inspiration Behind Our Serveware

We get inspired by our entertaining experiences and enjoy curating a serveware collection that is as functional as it is stylish. We all love to cook in some capacity and want to highlight the best of our recipes when we’re presenting our meals.

Much like the homemade meals we serve at our family gatherings, at Coton Colors, we create all our products from scratch – designing them carefully as we plan the right shapes, patterns, and colors for every design we make. We start with the functionality of our serveware and then look at what shapes and sizes someone might need at their table.

 

 

7 Must-Have Types of Serveware for Any Host

 

When you have a variety of serveware for entertaining, you can experiment with various recipes and gathering types because you’ll have the tools for any presentation. Small and large platter options, serving boards, bowls, and more open a world of opportunities when entertaining. Here are some of the basics you want in your collection:

 

1. Serving Platters and Trays Play an Important Role at Your Table

 

Is there a difference between a platter and a tray? We use small and large platters and trays interchangeably — and design ours to be used that way as well. Traditionally, small and large platters are primarily used for serving and presenting foods like meats, appetizers, cheeses, or desserts, while trays carry and transport items. 

 

Serving platters can act as decorative table centerpieces, aesthetically presenting your recipes. They are less likely to be used for moving items since their shape is sometimes harder to grip {not always, though, as you’ll see with our Iris Blue Oval Handled Platter}. 

Serving trays are versatile and can organize your food without mess or fuss. Their design makes moving multiple items at once a simple task, and you can use them in various settings, from serving food and drinks to displaying table accessories on a countertop or table.

 

More About Large and Small Serving Platters

 

When selecting your ideal serving platters, you should consider shape, size, and pattern. Variety is the spice of life — and important to have in serving dishes, as different foods and amounts call for different serving solutions. As you curate your collection, ensure that you’ll have entertaining options by selecting different types of platters, choosing several from the following categories:

 

Look for Various Platter Shapes

 

Generally, square and rectangular platters work well at formal events like a sit-down dinner, and round serving dishes and oval platters are better for more casual affairs, such as an impromptu brunch. Unique shapes, such as our Deco Gold Scallop Platter, elevate a tablescape with an inspired design that makes it pop. 

 

 

Great Shapes to Have in Your Serving Platter Collection:

 

• Oval
• Round
• Square
• Rectangle
• Unique shapes

 

 

Choose Different Serving Platter Sizes to Optimize Functionality

 

Gatherings come in different sizes — so you’ll need serving dishes in various proportions to host parties large and small. In general, large platters hold main courses or an assortment of treats best, medium ones work better for moderate portions, and small platters nicely serve up appetizers, side dishes, and desserts. We recommend that you have a minimum of one small platter and one large platter as part of your essential collection. 

Pro-tip: Large and small platters are also wonderful as home décor. Displaying seasonal and holiday plates creates engaging wall art that heightens your celebration. For a cohesive look throughout your home, you can showcase your favorite designs on your walls, bookshelves, or in China cabinets.

 

Be Prepared to Host Any Event with Serveware in a Variety of Patterns

 

Having a steady rotation of dish patterns can change your table aesthetic to suit any season. Try switching in new patterns periodically, bringing out fresh serving dishes as the seasons change and the holidays appear. Here are some of our favorites to suit common hosting needs: 

• For every day – You can elevate your daily experience using serving dishes from our Signature White Collection (they’re also great for mixing and matching with our other collections, acting as a neutral foundation for any tablescape).
• For changing seasons – Every part of the year is unique, but it’s always nice to bring out special serving dishes each season, like the ones in our zesty Citrus Collection and our coastal Oyster dishes.
• For the holidays – We just had to share this Christmas in the Village Platter, which is perfect for festive Christmas parties and as a “cookies for Santa” platter.

2. Why You Need Serving Bowls

 

As a host, you’ll find that many recipes are easier to serve from a bowl, like soups, sauces, salads, and pasta. Like with large and small platters, you want to collect these serving dishes in various shapes and sizes to accommodate all your needs. At Coton Colors, we strive to design dishes that not only enhance your menu presentation but also are multi-functional bowls that allow you to mix and match shapes, sizes, and designs. Choose a variety of bowls for your serving dish collection so you’ll be ready to dish up any recipe.

 

What Shapes Are Available for Serving Bowls?

Various bowl shapes can add visual interest to your table look and make serving different recipes easier. Serving bowls also can elevate décor, offering a catch-all for keys, jewelry, and other sundries. Play with serving dishes in unique shapes to find the perfect bowl combinations for an inspired look in your home and at your table. Some serving bowl shapes to consider:

• Round — round bowls are great for salads, side dishes, appetizers, and – our favorite – desserts.
• Oval — when you’re serving longer foods, such as roasted veggie spears, an oval bowl prevents pieces from spilling out and allows you to create a focal point on your table.
• Unique shapes – having an assortment of shapes offers flexibility. For example, a scalloped bowl like our Deco Gold 9-inch Scallop Bowl can serve soup or salad at a cocktail party.

What Different Bowl Sizes Do I Need in My Serveware Collection?

 

Sometimes you need a bowl of a specific size for serving. A pasta night with large bowls of spaghetti might require something with more depth than the average serving dish supplies For instance, our Signature White Ruffle Bowl is deeper than many others, allowing you that extra wiggle room. Shallower bowls offer a good view of the foods you serve that don’t need the extra depth to stay contained.

 

Medium bowls are optimal for serving courses like soup and salad, and small bowls can act as individual dinner bowls or make the perfect vessel for appetizers, dips, and more. Our Signature White Dipping Bowl, for example, is so versatile you can use it for entertaining or on the entryway table to corral your keys. Here are some must-have bowl sizes for your serveware collection:

Depths:

• Shallow 
• Deep

Sizes:

• Large 
• Medium
• Small 

Pro-tip: We recommend you start with at least one medium-sized bowl — suitable for serving side dishes — and two to three smaller ones for all the accouterments.

3. Versatile Serving Boards

 

A serving board looks appealing at your gathering and provides a great deal of versatility for hosting. They’re ideal for appetizers, side dishes, and any type of charcuterie board. You can incorporate them into any occasion or space.

 

Consider How the Serving Board Shape and Size Will Work With Your Table Design

 

Whether you are setting up a grazing board full of crudités or cheeses or a cocktail garnish board full of olives, tomatoes, and peppers for a brunch with a Bloody Mary bar, you want to choose serveware in a shape and size that best fits your event’s vibe and parameters. An extensive guest list, for example, might require a bigger board {or even several small ones}.

Shapes:

• Round — Showcase your small appetizers or snacks with this circular board. You can also create a lovely centerpiece for a dinner party by arranging fruit or charcuterie on it.
• Rectangle — These work well on a buffet since they accommodate more food and allow for a linear flow as your guests work their way around the table. 

Sizes:

• Large 
• Small

Pro-tip: A round board offers an organic shape that engages the eye, while a rectangular one gives you more room to work with and feels modern.

4. Oven-To-Table Serving Dishes Make Hosting Effortless

The epitome of “functional serveware” is a serving dish that takes you from the freezer to the oven to the table. This one-stop method makes entertaining more streamlined and effortless. Our bakeware offers great versatility — working for many sweet and savory recipes — and you’ll be proud to showcase these stylish, functional designs on your table. We use stoneware because of its excellent heat retention properties in all of our bakeware, including:

• Casseroles 
• Pie dishes
• Loaf pans

5. How Cake Stands and Domes Elevate Dessert Displays

Everyone loves dessert, but you can make the sweetest course of the meal even better with the proper serving dishes. Imagine how memorable that birthday cake will look on a beautiful cake stand encased in a glass dome. These table accessories elevate your presentation and offer a practical option: nothing will mar that delectable pastry — it will stay fresh all day.

Our cake stands come in different heights (11 and 14 inches) and diameters (small or large) to help create a customized presentation. You can stack the cake stands for a tiered look that adds height and dimension to your tablescape, perfect for showcasing cupcakes and other assorted goodies. 

Pro-tip: Try nestling the shorter 11-inch stand just underneath the rim of the 14-inch design on a flat surface for nestled tiered serving.

6. Your Serving Utensil Basics

 

 

Start your serving utensil collection with at least two forks, two spoons, and a few spreaders. Don’t forget a set of salad servers as well (the hand-carved acacia wood of our Fundamental Wood Ruffle Salad Server Set stands out on any table).. Having an assortment of serving utensils prepares you for any hosting experience, so opt to have a few of the following:

• Serving forks
• Serving spoons
• Appetizer forks
• Appetizer spoons
• Appetizer spreaders

 

7. Serving Accessories to Complete Your Collection

Sometimes, after you’ve set your table, it feels like something is missing. The dinnerware coordinates with the centerpiece, and you’ve included all the essential serveware, but you still need a few more coordinating accessories to tie the meal and the design together. Your final step should always consist of comparing your menu to what is already present — and pinpointing what other serving dishes you might need, such as:

• Spoon rests
• Butter dishes
• Pitchers 
• Salt and pepper shakers
• Cream and sugar set

Imagine always being ready to host a gathering, no matter the situation {whether it’s outdoors or inside, casual or formal} that’s not only beautifully rendered but always uniquely yours. As you can see, these must-have serving dishes are functional and stylish, making way for both endless serving presentations and decorating possibilities. When you explore all of the inspired designs from Coton Colors, you’ll see the value of building up your serving dish essentials.