Since Pottery Barn launched in the UK, I've found myself scrolling its pages every chance I get. There's nothing quite as exciting as new. And with hosting season in full swing, you bet I went straight to its tabletop range.
If you're unfamiliar with the Pottery Barn style, I think it's fair to say that a lot of its decor has a traditional American style, and it might not be exactly your style if you've got more contemporary taste in homes. But don't tune out yet. Because hidden amongst the florals and tucked under the tartan, I found something so good it made me do a double-take.
'Wait, is that Dior?' I thought to myself as I scrolled past Pottery Barn's toile dinnerware collection. And while the fashion house may have made the pattern popular more recently, it certainly doesn't own it. In fact, its origins date back to the eighteenth century in France. So, while you could spend £110 on one plate to get the look... £59 for a dinnerware set of four certainly feels like an enticing option, too.
Toile has become a signature "code" at the fashion house, and its dinnerware collection includes traditional blue and more modern red pieces, including this 21cm wide extra-fine Limoges porcelain dessert plate complete with a tiger motif.
Part of a collaboration with American fashion designer Brandon Maxwell, Pottery Barn's toile salad plates (also measuring 21cm for best comparison) are made from hand-painted stoneware and come as a mixed set of four.
While traditionally, toile prints depicted pastoral scenes and whimsical vignettes from the French countryside (where it was made popular by Christophe-Philipe Oberkampf in 1760), today, designers often play with the motifs, broadening their horizons while keeping to the simple, single-colored aesthetic the style is defined by.
Case in point: Pottery Barn's range, which features Americana-esque depictions inspired by designer Brandon Maxwell's childhood growing up in Texas. There are swings, treehouses, a bucking bronco, and even his beloved pet bulldog, Stella, makes an appearance. It doesn't just capture the whimsy and storied side of toile, but also neatly taps into that 'cowboy cool' aesthetic that has proliferated most of 2025.
And it's that detail — not just the price, though it definitely helps — that actually makes me lean towards Pottery Barn's plates over Dior's design. Plus the fact that there's a whole complete range I could complement the plates with, including the below.
Measuring 28cm wide, these are the proper dinner plates from the collection. Just as pretty, they're also dishwasher, microwave, and oven safe.
If you're not quite ready to commit to the whole table, this toile serving platter will surely make a nice statement in your setting.
And possibly my favorite from the whole collection, this napkin set made from a cotton-linen blend. It would look so chic on a crisp, white setting with silverware.
Is the toile pattern growing on you? Well, the good news is that it's not just for dinnerware. In fact, it started as a fabric and is better known as toile bedding. So why not cover your whole home in it?
