Home Style Decorating

Decorative sterling silver and silver plated wares can add beauty and elegance to a table or buffet setting. But what about those beautiful candlesticks, serving trays and chafing dishes? Won’t they just tarnish and become a burden that you will never use? Silver or silver plated items are meant to be used. With regular and proper care, most silver pieces will stay beautiful for years and years so you can enjoy them for holiday gatherings, bridal showers, and other occasions where you want to dress up the table for your guests.

Many people shy away from collecting and using sterling and silver plated wares due to fear of tarnishing. What they do not realize is that they can do something to avoid it. So, what is the most common culprit when it comes to tarnishing silver? The easy answer is humidity. The ideal level of humidity for storing and displaying silver is 45 to 50 percent. However, since we do not live in museums, it is not possible to maintain a constant humidity level. Make an effort to keep silver out of unusually damp environments like attics and basements especially if you live in a damp climate.

If you are storing silver in a display cabinet, camphor blocks can be added to prevent tarnishing of the silver. Be careful not to let the camphor blocks touch the silver pieces. Special anti-tarnish papers and cloths containing activated carbon or silver salts can be placed in display cases also. You can purchase these items from jewelers or department and specialty stores where new silver pieces are sold. You can also buy special anti-tarnish bags to keep individual pieces inside. This will do for short term only and you have to polish them when you take them out to use them.

Avoiding excessive tarnish buildup in the first place is a good idea. This makes cleaning occasionally much easier. However, excessively polishing silver can wear down the finish, especially on silver plated pieces, so take care not to overdo it. Whether you store or display your silver and silverplated after it is thoroughly cleaned and polished up, use caution. Certain materials and finishes have been known to cause an adverse chemical reaction with silver, which can lead to heartbreaking damage.

After your pieces are clean and completely dry, wrap each of them individually with acid-free buffered tissue, or washed cotton, linen, or polyester to store. Wrapping pieces in specially made bags or silver cloths designed to deter tarnish make good storage choices as well. Do not use wool, felt, chamois leather or newspaper, which can cause excessive tarnishing that will be difficult to clean, or even worse, remove plating. Once the plating is damaged on a piece of silverplated, it is very costly to repair and replating a piece of antique silver will considerably diminish the value unless it’s an extremely rare piece.

Wallace Silverware / Flatware Chest with drawer, Mahogany Finish: This attractive and functional wooden Silverware Chest will make an elegant home for any silver pattern. Accommodates a complete service for 12 (approximately 100 pieces) including servers. Made by Wallace® Silversmiths, one of the worlds leading silverware manufacturers. Provincial styling, rich Mahogany finish with black velvet lining will make a classic presence in any home. Size: 18″ wide, 12″ deep, 6″ high. (Silverware not included). Holds a full service for 12. Deluxe Mahogany Finish. Made by Wallace Silversmiths.

Manchester Zippered Canvas Silver Flatware Chest: Holds up to 200 pieces including 36 knives, (24 on 2 removable knife trays.)  Lined with tarnish-preventive silver cloth. Zippered canvas material chest.
23″ x 13″ x 3 3/8″.

Silverware Box Flatware Caddy Provincial 150 Piece: Handcrafted to be an heirloom piece. Hardwood Construction: Only the finest quality hardwoods. Moisture Control: kiln-dried eliminating warps and splits. Unibody Construction: cut from the same piece and kept together throughout manufacturing. Miter-and-tenon Joints: Locked joints for strength and durability. Finished Edges: Solid wood tops, recessed bottoms and drawers. Hand-Rubbed Finish: carefully stained to a rich, lasting finish, revealing the natural luster of the distinctive hardwoods.

Stanley Roberts Adrienne 45-piece Flatware Set: Heavy gauge flatware dining set. 45-piece collection. 18/10 stainless steel silverware.

Cambridge Silversmiths® 20-pc. “Bali” Flatware Set: Accent your table with bamboo designed silverware, and it will suddenly be transformed from the mundane into the exotic! Cambridge Silversmiths Bali includes 4 of each: dinner fork, dinner knife, soup spoon, teaspoon.

16pc John Deere Plastic Handle Flatware Silverware Set

Eureka Zippered Flatware / Silverware Storage Drawer Liner By Reed & Barton: A very practical item from Reed & Barton, this caddy holds 120 pieces of flatware including 24 knives. A perfect home for your sterling, silver plated or stainless flatware and fits most buffet drawers or breakfronts. Features brown, tarnish resistant fabric sides and top and a rigid bottom. Dimensions: 19 1/2″ x 12″ x 2 3/4″. Holds 120 pieces of flatware. Made of brown, tarnish resistant fabric sides and top and a rigid bottom.

Snow Peak Titanium Silverware Set: Snow Peak Titanium Silverware is a lightweight fork, spoon, and knife set for the weight-conscious hiker.

Antler Silverware 20 Piece Set With Crown Handles - Stamped: Antler Flatware 20 Piece Set With Crown Handles- Stamped - 4 Place Settings Antlered animals such as deer, elk, caribou & reindeer shed their antlers every spring in order to grow a new set by late summer. For generations people have gathered antlers for their unique characteristics & beauty. No animal is harmed in order to produce these pieces since antlers shed naturally, therefore making them a truly renewable resource. Each piece is handmade in the USA.

Craftsman Sterling Silver Flatware, Silverware: Noted designer Harold E. Nock created Craftsman in 1932 for Towle Silversmiths. Craftsman features a chiseled facet on the border that enhances the simplistic design.

Essential Home 50-piece Dominion Flatware Set: This 50-piece flatware set is a great starter for your first home. Complete with a drawer organizer, you can accomodate service for eight with this set. Set includes 8 dinner knives, 8 dinner forks, 8 salad forks, 8 dinner spoons, 8 teaspoons, 8 steak knives, 1 sugar shell, 1 butter knife and a silverware drawer organizer.

Oneida Butler Toronto 65-Piece Set, Service for Twelve: Oneida’s Butler Toront is make of fine 18/10 stainless steel; 18% chrome for maximum corrosion resistance and 10% nickel for silver like luster that never needs polishing. Unique European styling with smooth, clean geometric design. Butler Toronto makes an occassion elegant, yet also practical for everyday use. Set includes: 12-5pc Place Settings and 1 each serving spoon, pierced serving spoon, sugar spoon, serving fork, butter knife and wooden storage caddy. 18/18 Stainless Steel Flatware.

Yamazaki Epoch 65-Piece Stainless Steel Flatware Set with Wooden Tray, Service for 12: With its straight lines and eye-catching angles, Yamazaki Epoch flatware lets you set a smart table with a minimum of fuss. Each piece features an elongated, flared handle with faceted sides and a squared-off tip. The design’s profile is low and unobtrusive, while the gleaming mirror finish adds a bit of dash. Crafted from 18/8 stainless steel, Epoch is corrosion-resistant, highly durable, and safe in the dishwasher. 65-piece Epoch flatware set with service for 12. 12 place settings, 5 serving pieces, and a wooden storage caddy. Corrosion-resistant 18/8 stainless steel and high-carbon steel blades. Safe in the dishwasher; lifetime warranty against defects. Linear design with elongated, flared handle and mirror finish.

Royal Cuisine Le Ciel 46-Piece Stainless Steel Flatware Set: 46 Piece 18/0 Stainless Steel Flatware Set is elegantly crafted and designed. Set Includes; 8pc Dinner Fork, 8pc Dinner Knife, 8pc Dinner Spoon, 8pc Teaspoon, 8pc Salad Fork and a 6pc Hostess Set comprised of Solid Serving Spoon, Slotted Serving Spoon, Meat Fork, Sugar Spoon, and a Butter Knife.

Reed & Barton Chianti Stainless Steel 40-Piece Flatware Set, Service for 8: Reed & Barton Chianti Stainless Steel 40 Piece Flatware Set, Service for 8. Includes 8 Place Knives, 8 Place Spoons, 8 Place Forks, 8 Salad Forks and 8 Teaspoons. Eight diners can enjoy a meal together with this 40-piece set. Each place setting consists of a dinner knife, dinner fork, salad fork, soup spoon, and teaspoon, each piece nicely balanced and dishwasher-safe. Reed & Barton, one of the nation’s oldest silversmith companies, is renowned for its stainless flatware in addition to its silverware, and elegantly gift-boxes every set.

WMF Manaos 97-Piece Stainless Steel Flatware Set, Service for 12: Perfect for entertaining and durable enough for everyday use, this WMF Manaos 97-piece flatware set is made of high quality Cromargan 18/10 stainless steel, so it won’t rust or corrode. The Manaos pattern is a clean, contemporary European design polished to a bright mirror finish. The perfectly balanced hollow handle knife with an inserted blade allows WMF to offer the finest cutting edge and keep the knife comfortable in the hand. The unique entertaining set is quite generous with its components and covers all aspects of serving a multiple-course meal. This flatware is dishwasher-safe and never needs polishing. Set includes 12 each: dinner fork, salad fork, dinner knife, soup spoon, espresso spoon, and 24 teaspoons. Also included are 6 iced teaspoons, 2 serving spoons and 1 each: serving fork, butter spreader, meat/pickle fork, pie server and cake knife. High quality 18/10 Cromargan stainless steel. Elegant and versatile design; great for entertaining. Dishwasher-safe, never needs polishing.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.