The Art of the Table

There are rituals that shape a home and a life. Lighting candles in the evening. Bringing flowers home from the market. Polishing silver before guests arrive. Setting the table, even when there is no particular occasion at all.

At BON TON goods, the table has always been at the center of how we live. Not simply for entertaining, but as an expression of care, generosity, beauty, and atmosphere. A beautifully set table changes the mood of a room entirely. It invites people to linger longer, pour another glass of wine, reach for another piece of bread, stay late into the evening.

With graduations, weddings, summer lunches, garden dinners, and long Scandinavian evenings approaching, we spent the week setting a new table in the shop featuring some of our favorite makers and ateliers, each one chosen for its craftsmanship, history, and enduring sense of style.

For us, a table should never feel rigid or overly arranged. The most beautiful tables often feel collected over time: a mixture of ceramics, old silver, handwoven linens, flickering candlelight, and objects that carry stories. We have always preferred tables that feel deeply personal rather than overly matched. A hand-thrown plate beside antique crystal. A faded linen beside polished porcelain. The atmosphere matters more than perfection.

This season, we found ourselves returning again and again to the extraordinary ceramics of Astier de Villatte, whose white glazed pottery has become synonymous with modern Parisian table culture. Their pieces possess an unmistakable character: elegant yet slightly irregular, refined yet unmistakably handmade. We layered dinner plates, serving pieces, and sculptural objects throughout the table to create movement and texture.

At BON TON goods, our full collection of Astier de Villatte includes ceramics, incense, scented candles, and decorative objects from the celebrated French atelier.

No table is complete without candlelight. Even during the lighter months, candles transform a meal entirely. The soft glow against white ceramics, linen, and glass creates warmth that electric lighting simply cannot imitate.

We paired the table with candles from Trudon and Cereria Introna, two houses that approach candle making with extraordinary craftsmanship and tradition. Trudon’s historic French waxworks and elegant tapers sit beautifully beside the richly colored candles of Cereria Introna, handmade in Italy using traditional methods that feel increasingly rare today.

Explore our candle collections:
Shop Trudon
Shop Cereria Introna

One of the pleasures of setting a table is the layering of materials and patterns. We often begin with textiles first. A striped linen runner, washed napkins, quilted cottons, or printed papers can completely shift the mood of a table before a single plate is placed.

For this installation, we incorporated textiles from Charvet Editions alongside decorative papers and objects from Antoinette Poisson. Together, they bring softness, history, and a sense of lived-in elegance to the setting. Antoinette Poisson’s patterns, inspired by 18th-century French domino papers, feel particularly beautiful against the white surfaces of Astier ceramics and handblown glass.

Discover the textiles and decorative layers:
Shop Antoinette Poisson
Shop Charvet Editions

Glassware, too, changes everything. We have always loved slightly irregular handblown glasses that catch candlelight beautifully and feel pleasant in the hand. The small imperfections are precisely what make them elegant.

The table features pieces from La Soufflerie, the celebrated French glass atelier devoted to mouth-blown recycled glassware. Their pieces possess an honesty and warmth that suit both formal dinners and casual late summer lunches equally well.

We also included pieces from Atelier Saint André Perrin, whose Terre Mêlée ceramics bring remarkable depth and sculptural texture to the table. Their earthy surfaces and hand-worked forms contrast beautifully with polished glass and crisp linens.

Explore the handmade table:
Shop La Soufflerie
Shop Atelier Saint André Perrin

Living in Scandinavia, we often speak about creating atmosphere at home, particularly during long winters, but we believe the table deserves equal attention during spring and summer. There is something deeply pleasurable about gathering friends around a beautifully prepared table while daylight stretches late into the evening. Doors open, candles flicker against the remaining light outside, flowers begin to settle into their vases, wine glasses gather condensation. The table evolves over the course of the evening.

Some of our favorite dinners have been entirely spontaneous. A roast chicken, good bread, too many candles, and whatever happened to be on the table already. Beautiful objects do not need to be reserved for holidays or formal entertaining. In many ways, they become even more meaningful when incorporated into ordinary life.

At BON TON goods, we continue to seek out makers whose work brings beauty and character into daily rituals. Whether setting a table for a wedding dinner, a graduation celebration, a summer lunch, or simply a Tuesday evening at home, we believe these objects shape the atmosphere around us in lasting ways.

Explore the full collections featured in our table setting:
Astier de Villatte
Trudon
Antoinette Poisson
Atelier Saint André Perrin
La Soufflerie
Cereria Introna
Charvet Editions