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Nautical Melamine Plates

melanine side plates m and s

Dropping in for quick postcard rather than a long post today – after yesterday’s long read I thought you might want a rest. Anyway, these plates. I am drawn to them I cannot say why. They are melamine. They remind me of John Derien. I appreciate you might not want to eat dinner off them in the kitchen but in the garden? Why not?

nautical melamine dinner plates marks and spencer

They are from good old Marks and Spencer and it’s £17.50 for a set of four dinner plates. There are also side plates and bowls and they’re all dishwasher proof. I’m confident they will divide opinion. I can’t really explain it myself. But I love them.

nautical melamine dinner plates from m and s

Dare I ask what you think? There are also these below – I might lose the gold cutlery and tone it all down a bit – as well as a huge, far more sensible collection. I’m thinking white white (very cold) and a large helping of spaghetti alle vongole. In the garden. As soon as it warms up. Who’s in?

m and s safari melamine bowls

Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.

15 Comments

  1. The Octopus is pretty cool although I really like the elephant one shown there. Good thinking of using them with pasta.

  2. ?The bottom ones are beautiful! And where might those be from? I actually own some with sunflowers, great for terrace summer dining. I spent way too many years working for Pottery Barn in the states, and melamine plates for the summer were the thing. Vongule and linguini, indoors or outdoors, back to white plates!

  3. I’m strangely drawn to them too, or maybe not so strange as I am just back from Venice. So, in the garden with a glass of Pinot and spaghetti alle vongole on one of those plates is right up my calle.

  4. I’m strangely drawn to them too, or perhaps not so strange as I am just back from Venice. So, in the garden with a glass of Pinot and spaghetti alle vongole on one of those plates sounds right up my calle.

  5. That octopus is freaking me out. Imagine getting to the end of a plate of baby octopus with linguine and finding its mother staring back at you!

  6. I’m with Samdra – they would be good for eating outside. Our garden is a bit of a jungle so the colonial ones at the bottom would work well!

  7. I love the plates in the final picture – although I am pretty certain they are not M&S at £17.50 for a set…?

  8. I like the look of the serving plates. I hate taking my best plates into the garden – for fear of tripping and breaking them. Usually melamine (cough plastic) plates are colourful even garish but the M&S range are quiet classy. One to add to the list.

  9. Interesting one – can see the appeal but animal pattern/eating combo doesn’t really work for me, I have however started hanging decorative plates on the wall recently, which is something that I thoughts was best left to my granny!

    1. The bottom set is fabulous, but I agree – I’m not sure I’d want to put food on it apart from some artfully displayed fruit/olives etc. I’m always up for a glass of white with Spaghetti all vongole though!

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