Friday, September 3, 2010

In Search of Dishes

I wrote a post a couple of weeks ago about how there is no use crying over broken dishes. When David and I got married, we didn't register for any China, every day or otherwise. I was "too practical" for that, and I already had a collection of dishes that I used every day (which I loved) that I had purchased from Anthropologie. I liked to mix-and-match, and had different dinner plates, platters, salad plates, bowls, etc, all in a blue and white color scheme. I had an 8-place setting, and a few extras of every day pieces.

Fast forward two years, and inevitably, bowls have been dropped, plates have chipped really badly, and Dmitri definitely hasn't helped much. We have been left with a set of misfit toys plates. We are down to something like 5 salad plates, 4 bowls, and 9 mixed dinner plates.

I have decided that I want a set of matching dishes. I want something that is:

Solid white, durable (won't chip), classic, and decently priced. I have been scouting out a few styles.


I had someone recommend Fiestaware to me. They definitely meet the criteria:

White, classic, very reasonably priced, and pretty durable. My two concerns are: 1) I saw some on eBay that were scratched really badly. I'm not sure if this is common or from misuse, but I don't want my dishes covered in grey scratches. 2) Since these will be used for everday and entertaining, I wonder if they are too "everday".
You can buy them new at about $26 a place setting, but they can be found on eBay and Etsy for much cheaper. 

A second option is this Martha Stewart Whiteware collection, available at Macys.


I like the smooth simple lines and feel that these would be a perfect cross between everyday and entertaining dish ware.. However, I am concerned about their durability.

 They are just slightly more than Fiestaware at $28 a place setting, but it might be more difficult to find them used or discounted, which isn't a plus. 

Now, if I could buy almost anything, I am really loving these Kate Spade Wickford dishes!


How simply gorgeous are these? But, at almost $80 a place setting, this is just unrealistic. Sigh.

A lot more boring simple, but realistic option, would be these white dishes from Ikea (Ikea 365+). 
While they don't have quite the same charm as Kate Spade, at $24.99 for a 6 place-set, it's hard to say no. They are also available in open stock, so if a plate breaks, it's pretty easy to just pick up another at $3.99 a piece. They are white, classic, and simple, and the most likely option.

So there is an analysis of my dishes search. We haven't made a decision, because we really want to think about the investment, what we want out of the dishes, how long we expect to have them, etc. 

Do you have any dishes that you love? Do you use separate dishes for every day and entertaining? What do you think is a reasonable amount to invest in dishware?

24 comments:

Jessica Brown said...

when we got married we registered for pottery barn dishes as our "fancy" option and then bought cheap-o ikea dishes for every day. and we love our ikea dishes. not flashy, but sturdy. not too heavy. not too big, so we can fit more in our cupboards. we sometimes even forget to use the PB dishes when we have people over. my vote is ikea.

Mandi Miller said...

Oh my! I love those Kate Spade dishes! Gorgeous! I envision mixing them with a bright patterned dish and crystal glasses! Beautiful! But with a little one in the house I would be heartbroken when the inevitable broken plate happens. Better to invest in cheaper place settings at this time in my life!

However, we have three sets of dishes. Two were given to us by Sean's mom... a set of nice China and a set of very worn dishes that obviously looked as if they had been through five kids! We purchased a nicer set of plain white dishes with wedding money... I call them our medium dishes. For throw together meals with only Sean and I, we use the very worn dishes from his mom, for a nicer meal with the two of us or a casual meal with guests we use the medium dishes we bought ourselves, for a date night at home or for a nice meal with guests we break out the China. At least we never run out of plates!!! :)

Jessica said...

I registered for Noritake Colorwave Chocolate dishes when I got married and 3 years later I have not broken or chipped a single dish! I love them. My husband didn't want all white dishes, so these are white on the surface and brown on the bottom/sides. They also come in a cool Graphite or Charcoal color and several others as well. We also did not register for China - we just got these and bought some serving pieces to go with them.

paisley penguin said...

My sister has the Ikea plates and loves them. She has them in blue and tan. As far as I can tell (and they have had them for a couple years now) they don't have scratches.

We got rid of our everyday dishes a couple years ago and have been using our nice china we got for our wedding. I don't even know why I registered for china since I am a practical girl. Love using my china every day and nothing has broken yet. We have teenagers though so they are a bit more careful with dishes than younger kids.

I liked the idea of using my china for everyday to make every day a special occasion. It's not an overpowing pattern - Parchment my Mikasa in grey and white.

Good luck in your search!

Corinne said...

I really love fiestaware (especially the brightly colored ones you can mix & match) and my ikea dishes are really pretty - albeit simple- , but you might want to check into what kind of corningware is out there. I have some hand-me-down corningware plates and bowls from my parents that we used most of my life (that's how long they've lasted); they're lightweight and really sturdy, and even though mine are boring looking I know there are more attractive options out there. I would dare Dmitri to break one - I've dropped them SO many times and I can't remember ever breaking one. If you like having nice dinnerware for entertaining but don't want to risk the wear of every day use, I would definitely recommend corningware for the every day.

Chris said...

I am actually looking at getting a 72 pc. dinnerware set from JCPenney. With 4 kids still at home things break and get chipped constantly plus they have 3 patters and 10 colors to choose from. I am not sure of the durability but the reviews seem good. I would love some Ikea dishes but we don't live near one, dh goes to Ikea when he travels to California and I don't think dishes would hold up in his suitcase too well. lol

Corinne said...

YOu know what - scratch out every use of "Corningware" in my previous comment. What a genius - I meant Corelle. Brilliant.

The Daughtridges said...

We registered for these http://www.crateandbarrel.com/search.aspx?query=essential%20dinnerware on our wedding registry for our everyday dishes. They're cheap enough to replace if anything happens to them, but so far so good!

Before these I had dishes that I actually got at Dollar Tree three years ago. I had to find a plate to live up to those! They were huge plates and extremely durable!

The lady at Crate and Barrel said a lot of restaurants buy these essential ones though because they hold up so well!

hclairec said...

I have a set of white everyday dishes that I bought at the Libby Glass Outlet. They are very plain & very inexpensive. I also have a set of Fiesta Ware - all colors. I have 2 sets of dishes that I inherited from my mother-in-law. It’s fun to mix & match!

Kate said...

Hi! I stumbled upon your blog trying to browse through some craft ideas. I love your style! I thought I would chime in to say that I love white dishes. For our wedding four years ago, we received two sets of white - one from Pottery Barn, and one from Crate and Barrel. We use them interchangeably and have plenty for when we have guests over and for future Thanksgiving dinners! They have held up amazingly well. No chips, scratches, or breaks!

LaurelK said...

We have bought dishes from lots of places. The ones that have held up the best are the FiestaWare, but yes they do have some scratches, but not to noticeable, but mine are in colors, not the white. I love the look of all white, I found some on Overstock that I like, but have not yet decided.....

Cate said...

We use the same dishes for entertaining and everyday. We registered for these: http://www.amazon.com/Discovery-China-5-pc-Place-Setting/dp/B000ECTJZ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1283532330&sr=8-1 and supplemented them with some dark blue Thomas O'Brien bowls for soup and cereal. So far they've been really sturdy and held up well, but then again, our 1-year-old hasn't started using them. :-)

In hindsight, I do wish we'd opted for some plain white dishes, because I sometimes find myself a little tired of the pattern on ours. I vote Ikea, but I think Crate & Barrel might have some nice white dishes, too, so you might want to look there.

Adriana said...

My mom bought us a really cute and practical set of dishes from JCPenney a few years ago (no chips yet), they're the Pearl Dinnerware Collection (with 12 place settings) and the original price is $199 but they pretty much always have them on sale for $89 online. You can see them on my “Our Thanksgiving” post. Happy shopping!

Momma Rhyne said...

We have the IKEA plates, bought them 2 weeks ago. One is already chipped on the side, my fault. I think normally they are pretty strong but I hit something on it and now there is a small V on the side of one and a crack that goes to the middle. I wish Corelle had something that looked like IKEA, LOL because I love the simple clean lines and the IKEA bowls are AWESOME!

Unknown said...

A friend of mine did the exact same thing as Jessica! She's worked part-time at Pottery Barn for ages and used her great discount to purchase a lovely set of white dinnerware/platters/etc for entertaining, but falls back on the good old Ikea plates for everyday use.
The people I nanny for have dishes so similar to the photos you listed - they're from World Market - http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3596289

They've only had them a few months, but no chips or scratches yet! They have a good weight to them and durable feel. Quite affordable too!

Nesty Girl said...

We are on the same dish quest! I love white and I want to use the same dishes for everyday and special occasions (perhaps with a charger). I really like Gordon Ramsay's line for Royal Doulton; I think there's an everyday version. Good luck with your hunt; can't wait to see what you choose!

Samantha said...

We have room for only one set, so they are a fairly plain, very sturdy set of Arrowstone from the 70s or 80s.

Rachel Elizabeth said...

Check out Mikasa's everyday line. We have them and love them. Ours have a design on them but they have a couple of white sets that you don't have to buy per place setting. Or they also have per place setting.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=17286048

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=15017546

Lacey said...

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS!!! I've been meaning to do the exact same thing because I've been looking for an all white, classic dinnerware set. I've looked everywhere and can't seem to find what I'm looking for. I'll be checking back to see your readers' comments and hopefully find some tips that way.

Again, thanks so much! This will be so helpful.

Unknown said...

I love the Kate Spade set too! I have the Ikea set, but mine are the blue and white ones. Until my kids get a little bigger l'm going for a budget friendly set. =)

Cindy said...

My mother in law has a set of white corningware dishes that show every scratch. They are full of these gray lines now. Now I got my white dishes from the grocery store a few yrs ago. Ya know the kind that when you shop you earn little stamps that you collect to get free sets. Anyway they are Oneida and they still look perfect 5 yrs later. Make sure you check all reviews.

Unknown said...

My mom and I love fiestaware! They are absolutely fantastic. We've dropped them and all and nothing has broken. I haven't seen any chips or scratches myself, but we don't have a toddler helping us out, either. I love my fiesta, though.

Sarah said...

So I went to see your original post and got Walmart instead. Lol. Not sure what happened there...but anyway, I adore my Fiestaware. I have 3 sets of the white that I mix and match with other color sets I have from them and the only gray scratching they have are what they came with- so maybe a scratch or two on the bottom of a plate from manufacturing. My aunt has all colors imaginable and hasn't had a single problem with any of her dishes chipping or scratching in the 20 or so years shes had them. That's my two cents.
Good luck! Hope you find something amazing that you absolutely fall in love with.

Bridget said...

i loove white plates