Easygoing Entertaining

Lean into the spirit of spring with chic, no-fuss tableware

Set a rustic table indoors or out with farm-to-table favorites: a spring salad, roasted vegetables and your favorite cheese spreads. “Dressed En Plein Air” tableware in melamine with relief decoration: dining plate in warm gray (set of four), $92; dessert plate in white (set of four); serving plate in light gray, $45; cutlery in black, one four-piece set for $19 or four four-piece sets for $72; glasses (set of four), $76; beechwood tray from Marcel Wanders’ “Dressed in Wood” collection, $180.

After months of being cooped up indoors, we welcome the warmth and promise a new season brings. It’s time to enjoy one of life’s simplest pleasures: dining outdoors at a favorite sidewalk café, waterfront restaurant or in the safety of our own backyards where no reservations are required.

Part of the fun is connecting with nature, but if you’re looking to kick things up a notch, consider upgrading your tableware game. “Dressed En Plein Air,”—Marcel Wanders’ newest creation in the Dressed series for Alessi—is made for the outdoor world: an elegantly designed collection of plates, serving pieces and cutlery made of durable melamine dishes and high-quality resin glassware—the answer to disposable paper, plastic or breakable ceramic.

The very name “Dressed” suggests a decoration, like a beautiful dress, designed to bring out the contents. Textured relief patterns appear in subtle, less-obvious ways on the bottom of cutlery and within the frames of several pieces rendered in white or four elegant shades of gray.

All items in the collection are dishwasher safe. They’re perfect for any outdoor occasion—whether used beside a swimming pool, in a garden or for a sunset backyard dinner. Available at Alessi.com.

TAKE-ALONG | Enjoy a special picnic moment in your own backyard or a local park. Take along the bubbly and your favorite book. PICNIC BASKET | The wicker picnic basket set is composed of a set of four each of melamine dining plates, soup bowls, cutlery (spoons, forks, knives and coffee spoons) and resin glasses, $630. CUP & SAUCER | Mocha cup with relief decoration in light gray (set of four), $44; saucer with relief decoration in white (set of four), $40. SALAD BOWL | With relief decoration in warm gray, $56. PITCHER | The thermoplastic resin jug/pitcher holds 1 liter of liquid, $72.