M&S Andante, One Design Family, Plenty of Ways to Mix It

Some tableware ranges are easy to define. One shape, one colour, one pattern, job done.

Marks & Spencer Andante is not really like that.

Over its life, Andante appeared in different shapes, colours and related designs, including round and square tableware, softer pastel versions and the more decorative Andante Leaves range. That can make replacing a single piece slightly more complicated, but it is also a large part of the appeal.

Andante works just as well as a coordinated mix as it does as a perfectly matching dinner service.

A Practical M&S Stoneware Range

Andante was sold by Marks & Spencer as an everyday stoneware collection, designed for regular use rather than special occasions. M&S described it as a matching dining range in durable stoneware, with pieces suitable for both the dishwasher and microwave.

The core shapes include dinner plates, side plates, cereal or soup bowls, pasta bowls and mugs, together with some larger cups and related pieces.

It is simple tableware, but not anonymous. The clean shapes and broad choice of colours gave customers plenty of scope to make the range their own.

Round, Square and Somewhere in Between

One of the first things to understand about Andante is that not every piece has the same shape.

Round plates and bowls can be found alongside softly squared versions, and both belong comfortably within the wider Andante family. We currently catalogue both round and square examples in several colours.

That matters when replacing a broken piece. Two dinner plates may both be Andante, both be cream and both be roughly the same size, but one may be round while the other has the softened square shape associated with much of the range.

It is therefore worth checking the shape as well as the colour before ordering a replacement.

More Than Just White

White is probably the simplest expression of Andante, but the range was produced in a much wider palette.

Examples we have handled include cream, brown, duck egg blue, blue, green and red, as well as white. Other specialist replacement dealers also identify turquoise, teal and stone variations.

This is where Andante becomes more interesting.

The colours are plain enough to sit together without fighting for attention. A cream plate, duck egg bowl and white mug can still look as though they belong on the same table.

Designed to Coordinate, Not Necessarily to Match

That mix and match quality is one of Andante's strongest features.

You certainly can build a perfectly matching service in one colour and shape, but you do not have to.

Mixing square and round pieces gives the table a little more movement. Combining cream, white, blue or green introduces colour without turning the setting into a collection of unrelated patterns.

It also makes the range rather forgiving when pieces need replacing. If the exact colour or shape is proving elusive, a related Andante piece can sometimes be used deliberately as part of a coordinated mixed service rather than looking like an obvious compromise.

That makes Andante particularly suited to the way many people actually build tableware collections: gradually, piece by piece, adding what they like and what they need.

Andante Pastels

M&S Andante Pastels takes the same general idea in a softer direction.

We have handled Pink and Green examples, with Blue also associated with the wider Pastels grouping. The lighter colours give the pieces a slightly fresher and more playful feel than the stronger plain Andante colourways.

The shapes are not always identical to the core Andante pieces, so Pastels is best thought of as a related companion range rather than simply the same crockery in another colour.

That said, it can work extremely well mixed with plain Andante. A pastel bowl or side plate amongst white or cream pieces looks intentional rather than accidental.

Andante Leaves

Then there is Andante Leaves.

This is the more decorative branch of the family, introducing leaf motifs to the otherwise restrained Andante look. We currently catalogue red and black examples, including plates, bowls and mugs.

Leaves is visually different enough that customers looking for an exact replacement should check carefully, but it also makes a useful accent when mixed with the plain colours.

A red leaf mug beside plain red or cream Andante, for example, gives the table a little pattern without abandoning the wider look of the range.

A Range That Encourages a Little Freedom

Replacement china is often about matching something precisely, but Andante is one of those ranges where a little variation can actually improve the effect.

Round with square. White with cream. Duck egg with green. Plain pieces with Pastels or Leaves.

There is enough consistency in the weight, simplicity and overall feel of the range to hold those differences together.

That makes Andante particularly useful for anyone who does not want the table to look too formal or too carefully matched. It can grow naturally over time.

Replacing M&S Andante

When replacing Andante, check three things: colour, shape and size.

The pattern name alone is not always enough because several related versions exist. A square cream dinner plate is not the same as a round cream dinner plate, and Andante Pastels or Andante Leaves may be related without being identical.

You can browse our current stock of M&S Andante replacement china on the MrPottery website, together with our separate selection of Andante Pastels.

For once, though, replacing the exact piece is not the only option.

Andante is a range where mixing colours, shapes and related designs can be part of the fun. A service does not necessarily have to match perfectly to look as though it belongs together.