Everything's coming up floral in tableware.(table ware at International Home & Housewares Show)

Tabletop continues to be casual and laid back. Even the more meticulous trends in the marketplace are being mellowed, with hand-painted looks and the various dinnerware shapes that have emerged as popular becoming more abstract and less conspicuously part of any specific style tradition.

Floral patterns have been gaining ground since sparking interesting at the New York Tabletop show last year and, going into the International Housewares Show in March, people are focusing more on those flowery designs said Michael Kinsler, creative director for Gibson overseas.

Textures also seem to be generating interest and novel shapes are strong and evolving. "We see a …