Serving tea sandwiches is just one way to use a tiered serving piece for entertaining. New or vintage pieces can add drama and heighth to your buffet or appetizer arrangement: think more delicious things in less square footage. Plus, tiered serving pieces can make smaller treats, appetizers and canapés more accessible to guests and creates a welcoming presentation. No surprise, I have several tiered serving pieces in both ceramic and metal, some new and others vintage. I use them frequently for sweet things as well as starters and think you should have at least one in the batterie.

This stackable wooden one from Merchant No. 4 is perfect for cheese or charcuterie.

This glass and metal example from Crate and Barrel is simple, but the materials allow it to go with any type of serving pieces.

This wood and metal tri-tier also from West Elm takes a cue from a couple of the vintage finds in my collection. Keep your eyes open at the thrift store and estate sales for classic ones or look on Etsy and eBay for some wonderful vintage versions that the above examples are based on.