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Until recently, it was nearly impossible not to open up Instagram and find someone posing in front of a squiggly Ettore Sottsass Ultrafragola mirror. Zoom in on the background reflection and you might find a Gaetano Pesce resin vase perched on a dresser, orange tulips spilling out. Scroll to the next image in the carousel and you’ll likely spot a pair of striped Dusen Dusen placemats on the dining table. On the menu: A tin of chilled caviar, potato latkes, and freshly sliced lemon wedges and garnishes elegantly arranged on a pastel petal plate from Sophie Lou Jacobson. In certain corners of the internet—think Blanca à Table or Big Night’s wildly popular New York home goods store—this colorful and eclectic aesthetic lives on.
But the pendulum swings both ways, and right now something a little sleeker seems to have captured the zeitgeist: silver and steel as the dominant accent on the table and at home.
Is bowcore responsible? Velvet red ribbons do look exceptionally sweet when tied onto the stem of a vintage silver goblet. A resurgence in minimalism? Chromatic accents won’t exactly add warmth, but a steel vase that displays the season’s blooms is a surefire way to add a touch of personality to the home. Perhaps it’s the “trad wife life” inspiring the new generation of brides to dust off their grandparents’ antique silver flatware.
For the French-American designer Sophie Lou Jacobsen, best known for her delicate glass work—but who introduced stainless steel into her tabletop collection in 2022—it’s a sign of increasing confidence among consumers in their individual taste. “I think people are embracing a broader, more eclectic spectrum of styles where anything goes in terms of materials and textures,” she tells Vogue. “There is a growing audience who feel empowered by their unique tastes and preferences, whether that means embracing minimalism, maximalism, or something in between.”
Jacobsen describes her personal creative journey as one “of constant exploration and evolution,” at once rooted in references to 20th-century design history but also “increasingly drawn to the allure of the ‘old world.’” She says she’s drawn to steel because “[its] presence exudes a kind of resilience and modernity that resonates with me. It’s as if each piece crafted from stainless steel has its own story to tell.”
Storytelling is something that Lauren Sands, founder of the New York-based concept gallery LES Collection, understands well. She has a keen eye for pairing natural shapes and textures with objects that have a time-worn patina; curating pieces with distinct personalities and stories. “While I lean towards neutrals, I believe the magic is in ‘the mix’—mixed materials, hues, textures, and design periods,” Sands says of her approach—an ethos that resonates with her clients who “don’t necessarily want to be trendy; they yearn for objects that evoke emotion and imbue their spaces with personality.”
Sands’s love for silver is “deeply intertwined with her appreciation for art history, drawing particular inspiration from the Art Deco period.” She says she’s been collecting antique silver candlestick holders and flatware for at least a decade, a journey that began when two vintage flatware sets were passed down to her from her mother and grandparents. Right now, she’s particularly fond of glass and silver and “loves how they mix with the ceramics in our collection.”
For the Danish designer Louise Roe, who works across ceramic, glass, and stainless steel, mixing materials is similarly essential. It’s a philosophy she not only applies to find harmony in design, but in life as well. “My work has always been about balance,” she says, and finds this in stainless steel by leaning into soft, feminine shapes to juxtapose the material’s more masculine qualities. Roe also sees the current appeal of steel and silver as a natural response to the muted and matte interiors that came before it. “It’s a more daring material because of how shiny and reflective it is,” she adds. “People want objects that allow them to express themselves and are no longer afraid to do so.”
Nostalgia, which our content economy is keen to endlessly repackage, also plays a key role in the trend’s popularity. “Silver can be nostalgic and is much more understated than gold,” a spokesperson from the luxury design destination Abask tells Vogue, adding that “in a time of quiet luxury, silver touches evoke a sense of elegance that adds a point of difference to the bursts of color and texture.”
Home to an incredible edit of vintage and modernist silver tabletop pieces—like those from De Vecchi, a third-generation Italian maker, and Brandimarte, a Florentine brand founded in the 1950s—the Abask team says its customers are paying serious attention to the table again. “Perhaps the social-media generation is growing up and on to the next chapter of their lives, buying into products with longevity, which silver is perfect for. They are looking to invest in ‘future heirlooms’ to build their personal collections that can be enjoyed for generations.”
Eve Singer, the brains behind the concept store and event planning service Broyt, is no stranger to elaborate tablescapes that look like they belong in a 17th-century Dutch still life. “There's something so regal about silver, and vintage silver in particular tells such a story,” Singer says of the collection of tabletop treasures she’s amassed. “I always wonder who had these pieces before, and if they could talk, what tales they would tell about the occasions they were used for and the people who used them.”
To help bring her own clients’ stories to life, Singer says she’s most often building tablescapes around the silver wine and champagne goblets, a popular rental choice for events that she loves combining with wood. “They really go with any decor style, from modern to traditional. It's a small touch that really elevates the whole look of the table.”
Thanks to today’s anything-goes mindset that allows for multiple design sensibilities to effortlessly coexist in the same space, you can use silver and steel accents as something both decorative and timeless; minimal and modern. So go ahead, invite your friends over for a party. Dress the table in antique Belgian linens. Pour Champagne into a silver cup, and serve a melty scoop of ice cream out of a stainless steel coupe. All that shimmers isn’t gold anymore.