There are just three finishes of flatware (polished steel, matte black and matte gold) and three styles of glassware (wine, tall, short). “We don’t want to overwhelm our customers with choices,” Ms. Duryea said.

Dishes and glasses are sold in sets of four, running $44 for a set of small bowls to $60 for a set of wineglasses. Orders have far exceeded expectations, Ms. Duryea said; most of the ceramics and flatware have been sold out for over a month but will be back in stock soon.

Pinterest Over Emily Post

This is a booming time for the $2.25 billion tabletop industry, according to Joe Derochowski, a home-industry adviser for NPD Group, a market-research firm. Sales are down slightly in dollars but up in units, suggesting shoppers are gravitating toward more-casual pieces.

More than four out of five meals were prepared and eaten at, or carried from, home in 2016, while Americans ate in another person’s house 38 times, six more than in 2015, according to NPD. Purchases made surrounding a housewarming or kitchen remodel were 50 percent higher than all wedding-related occasions, including showers, for the 12 months ending February 2017. Three or more months after someone buys new appliances, they often shop for tabletop pieces. “It’s the dessert to the meal,” Mr. Derochowski said.

Moreover, when people between the ages of 25 and 35 graduate from their Ikea bargain-priced box sets, they don’t feel beholden to the same etiquette standards as their parents, said Andrew Corrie, the founder of Canvas Home, a New York-based home goods retailer. Today’s shoppers are getting their inspiration from Pinterest, not from Emily Post.