The Hunt for New Dinnerware
Williams-Sonoma Apilco Aqua 5-place dinnerware
When my husband and I first moved in together several years ago, I ditched my old dinnerware and splurged on a whole new set from Z Gallerie. At the time I didn’t have a food blog, so I wasn’t concerned with how the plates would photograph, only that they matched my funky 60ish-vibe dining room decor.
So what does that mean exactly? Well, all those pieces are brown. While I love them, and they look great on our table, they don’t make for a pretty picture.
Recently a couple of the large plates have cracked, so I started thinking that it might be time to ditch the brown and invest in a whole new set of shiny white dishes!
Aspen dinnerware from Crate & Barrel
Problem is, there are too many white dishes out there! I can’t decide if I need to get a really basic set like the Aspen from Crate and Barrel or something like the ones I’ve featured from West Elm and Williams-Sonoma. Each piece of the West Elm set has subtle shape differences, making for a little more interesting look, and the Williams-Sonoma set’s patterned edge gives it a little more modern look.
Organic shaped dinnerware from West Elm
Do you guys have any thoughts or opinions? Do you own white dinnerware that you love? Help a girl out! Where should I be shopping and what should I be buying??
I think you should go with something like the Williams Sonoma set. It really would look great in photographs, not to mention on your table in general. I like the West Elm ones but it seems the differences are a little too subtle.
Actually, I really love the Williams Sonoma set. LOVE it.
I’ve got some of the West Elm dishes, and I do love them.
On the other hand, as a food blogger, I’m appalled you are even considering a matching set! Why not go get one or two settings of each one?! Then you have a variety of shapes and styles that match whatever dish you happen to be shooting. And for dinner parties, well, just call it “eclectic”. :)
The thought definitely crossed my mind to just go out and start buying random pieces of white dinnerware…not even a single set, just all mix and match pieces. Garage sales, flea markets, Goodwilll…. I guess that could be really fun, huh?
Yeah, I’m kinda leaning more towards the Williams Sonoma set as well. The textured edge is really standing out to me. :-)
I love the Williams Sonoma set!
I just registered for some white dishes from Bed, Bath & Beyond. They have several different shapes (two different rounds, square, rounded square) and lots of great serving dish options, too. I like the ones from Williams-Sonoma, but I have to agree with Lindsay… as a food blogger, you need more variety – and those are so distinct that it would be obvious you’re using the same ones over and over. Not bad, but like she said, different recipes call for different dishes. Just my two cents! :)
I like getting stuff from the Old Time Pottery. There’s one in the Madison area and a better larger one in the Boro. You can buy things there individually and it’s not going to cost an arm and a leg. it makes buying a variety a lot easier (but harder at the same time b/c there’s so much stuff I want)
I have a set similar to the one from West Elm – its from Kohls and its open stock so you can always add more pieces if you need too.
Ooh, good to know! Thanks for the tip :-)
We have the round whiteware from The Cellar collection at Macy’s. Been super happy with it so far – it’s nice and substantial and very affordable. They also offer square options, and they put out seasonal coordinating items so you can add a little more pizazz that way if you like.
Looks like they have changed the shape of the mug since our wedding, but otherwise it’s the same — which has been great for replacing broken items. And the place settings are BOGO right now! http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=519755&CategoryID=50364#fn=sp%3D1%26spc%3D20
Wow, great deal. Thank you for the heads up!
I bought 2 basic white sets from Macy’s. They have a little more modern coffee cups with them. I also bought an additional set of 20 buffet (white) dinner plates from IKEA. They were super inexpensive I hate people having to use paper. A large assortmant of all differently shaped white platter and bowls and you are set. They work for all table scapes and events.
Why oh why can’t we have an IKEA here in Nashville???
I own the Aspen set and love that it looks good with everything! If I am throwing a cocktail party and I run out of platters my plates can substitute perfectly. I love that they are classic and wont go out of style.
I like the West Elm set, and I prefer a mug over a teacup in a set. Target also has all white sets.
Although our blog is not a food blog I do love white dishes! I would stick with buying plates that you can easily replace without having to buy a whole new set. Crate and Barrel is nice because you can purchase them single if need be. So glad I discovered your blog!
Hey Beth, Our everyday dinner plates are from Crate & Barrel & they’ve held up really well. Granted, they’re only 3 years old, but still. I can’t remember the style name, but they’re white & have a small rim. Haven’t chipped or cracked & we’re not super careful with them. Definitely recommend Crate & Barrel.
I wish I could help… Unfortunately I’m too indecisive myself!! I think I would lean towards the C&B or WS though. Also Pottery Barn has plenty of white options as well, as we discovered when we were trying to decide how to use our gift card to there.
My friends have that West Elm set and I always am babbling something about how I love their dishes each time I eat at their house. They have a nice weight to them too. I vote for those!
Good to know. Something about them really speaks to me. I know that sounds completely ridiculous, but it’s true ;-)
I’m going to *not* help you at all by suggesting Fiesta. They have white dishes and lots of other fab colors and it’s actually great to have a big stack of different colors as a set. And it never goes out of style…
I actually came SO close to including those in this post! They are definitely a contender…
I;m not a food blogger, so i didn’t purchase/register for my china with that in mind, but i do love the classic white look. Like everybody else the William Sonoma set really caught my eye.
Before i married i started collecting Portmeirion’s Botanic Garden, which i love. But after getting engaged we registered for Vietri’s Incanto for our everyday china. I love the mix & match of their patterns.
All of your selections are beautiful Beth. Have fun displaying your new pieces!
I’d go with William Sonoma. I bought the Eva Zeisel set from Crate and Barrel and have been really disappointed. The glaze started cracking right off the bat =(. Friends receieved a different set as wedding gifts and experienced the same problem. I’d stay far way from Crate and Barrel (though I do love their other products!)….
Eek! Good to know. Thanks for the heads up Amanda!
I’ve been dying to switch to all white. My mother’s hand me down dishes are so not cutting it. I’ve been eying the ones at West Elm too. Pier 1 also has decent white dishes. I’m also bowled over by these ;) http://pinterest.com/misslyss/adorabowl/
I love the Williams Sonoma set, it is classy and would complement many food photos. Also, if you check retailers like Pier One and Cost Plus World Market, they carry many lovely dishes in white and in a variety of shapes. You could get coordinating serving pieces that would complement the set but be a little different in appearance so that you would have more variety and options when photographing food dishes.
You’re absolutely right. After all of these comments, I’m now leaning toward buying a variety of dishes instead of just a single set!
I have been taking pictures on white dinnerware I love for the past year for a future SB post. I think Ballard also has some nice ones. I like the look of the clean and modern plates, but I’m a pottery girl at heart. Great white pottery pieces can be found at Pembroke Antiques, Ibiza Gifts, The Iron Gate in Franklin and I’ve seen some great ones at DIGS as well. AshBlue has some very very pretty ones that make we want to ditch all I have to invest in! World Market has a nice variety of white plates and while I love their square modern ones (and I have TONS of the dessert size as I use them for EVERYTHING) I really like the, shocker, pottery looking ones: http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11148761
You can tell I’ve been looking! :-) -Liza
Love, love, all of these suggestions and can’t wait to go white dish shopping now!
This is a great post! I need new dishes too. I love the West Elm ones. What i really love most about this post is the comments. Very fun and cool!
I know, I’m loving the comments too! Gives me some new ideas of places to shop for white dishes!
The first and third are gorgeous! Love the way those Williams Sonoma textured plates look in photos. I’m also partial to the plates we that I registered for by Arte Italica: http://www.arteitalica.com/dinnerware/bella-bianca-beaded-dinner-plate.asp
They are so gorgeous and are made of black clay coated in white so they can go in the dishwasher, microwave and oven! Each one is just very slightly different. They carry them at the Registry in Franklin. A little pricey but we use them for everyday then dress them up with chargers for fancier dinners. Love your blog!
Thanks Ann! Those dishes are absolutely gorgeous. Do you have the soup bowls? I’m dying over them… http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod98880115&parentId=
I have always liked really colorful dishes. Our favorite dishes were a set my in-laws got for us even before we got married, they were a mustard-orangey color from Target. I still love them and they must be 10 years old now…but I have been buying tons of white dishes, odds and ends because of the food blog. :)
I don’t have the soup bowls but they are SO cute. They are tiny though. My mom gives them as baby gifts for “baby’s first rice pudding” and people love them :)
When I got married 2 years ago, we chose Lenox Tin Can Alley (in white) for our dinnerware. It’s simple, but unique. Some of the pieces are square, some round, with a little bit of detailing. We love it! You should check it out. Pics online don’t do it justice.
I have a thrift store set of mismatched white dishes and I love them. I look for the antique-y ones with the silver or gold edging. However, I wish I had a more consistent set too. I’d purchase one set of matching dishes, then supplement with pieces from other places (including flea markets, antique shops, boutiques and even Goodwill!). Good luck! Thanks for this post — I need to address my dish issue at some point and I’ll definitely refer back!
My husband and I have been talking the last couple of days about how nice it would be to have a set of white dishes for food photography purposes. So fun to find your post! I’ve subscribed to your blog!
I’m with Lindsay, I LOVE my mismatched dishes now. Although, I do have a stack of 8 full size white ones that I can use when we have guests and I want it to match. For what it’s worth, I love Cost Plus for various white dishes and for more unique ones. Happy Shopping!
I think that white dishes are the most boring look ever – I really don’t know how that trend ever started. They are o.k. if mingled amongst other colors and patterns, but a total white setting is stringly boring! This is according to me.
What dishes did you end up going with? I love simple white dishes – We need to create our wedding registry and I’m not sure about which brand/set/store, etc. etc. to go with. Any updates?!
Actually, I never bought any of them!
My mom ended up giving me her entire collection of white China, so I can use it for special occasions.
For every day, I’ve started slowly collecting various white pieces from sales here and there. I kind of like the funky collection of mismatched items and think I’m just going to keep doing that!
Hi Beth!
I am online doing market research and came across this post. I wanted to share that I make organically shaped white dinnerware. It’s all made by hand, by me, in Montana. I call them Dishes with Soul. Check out my website at http://www.disheswithsoul.com and use promo code THANKYOU at my Etsy shop (link via website). Thank you!
Oh, I might want to mention that promo code is for 20% off!
I love white dinnerware because food looks great on it no matter what! Waechtersbach, a German brand that has been around since 1832, has great solid white ceramic dinnerware – very durable and high quality.
Love this dinnerware. Has the bright white to make the food pop, but when it is just sitting on the table brings some life. Lots of coupons on this site and many patterns have great style and can be used every day
We make high quality white stoneware by hand at our studio in Corrales, New Mexico. We’ve worked hard to make our plates durable for everyday use, and agree that white makes food look great. All our work is thrown by hand on a pottery wheel, and fired to nearly 2400 degrees, making it microwave, dishwasher, and oven safe. Check us out! http://www.hanselmannpottery.com
If you are searching for ceramic dinnerware, then you can buy handcrafted Mud Australia dinnerware or Astier de Villatte ceramic dinnerware. They have high quality and strength.
I have always loved plain white dishes. It’s perfect for plating. The food looks more delicious. Disadvantage is, when dinnerwares are glass or ceramic. They need too much care, by handling and cleaning. I prefer using plastic plates, cups and utensils. So another option I would really recommend is the Icup and Iplate. A microwavable interlocking system that allows you to carry your plate, cup and utensils all with just one hand. This is really good for occassions and parties. I would suggest you try it https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/797097782/icup-and-iplate
Hey Beth,
I came across a real elegant but simple melamine dinner sets from Barel Designs they are based in Australia you should check them out when you get a chance as they also sell cups, plates, bowls and much more. Hope that helps.
http://www.bareldesigns.com.au/
Abi Overland Jersey is a dinnerware brand founded in 2015 by illustrator Abi Overland. Abi graduated from a BA (Hons) Illustration from the University of Brighton in 2014
White fine china, and white bone china or any white dinnerware set can symbolize purity in a home so I always had a thing for white linens and dinnerware to make my home feel simple and pure
Just because you’re a grown up doesn’t mean you stop having fun.
Beardish™ is a stylish yet fun dinnerware that provides a perfect pallet for you to express your sophisticated creative spirit. Four handsome lads are waiting for you to create amazing culinary beards and hairstyles for them. How about making a fettuccine fu manchu or quinoa goatee? Or maybe a hollandaise handlebar, succotash soul patch, or a foie gras ducktail is on your menu, any way you slice it; it’s your world to create! Bring some fun to your dinner table with Beardish™!
Thank you for your time.
I love the look of these dinnerware! The designing is very beautiful and I think I fall in love with them. I can’t wait to own them. Thanks for sharing.