apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

fiestaware!

I love love love love love my dishes from Fish's Eddy. I have the blue star and dining car dishes, which they don't carry any more, but the manufacturer is the same. It's all heavy and practically indestructible, which I completely need. Even my toddler can't break 'em!

It may not be trendy, but I swear by Corelle. It holds up to kids and fumble fingers. I've seen it hit a tile floor and come away without a chip or a scratch.

My mother has a set that she bought almost forty years ago with the green flowers and they are still in great shape.

Corelle is making more contemporary designs with square plates. You might not want to have the same dishes for your whole life, but it will see you through the everyday use until you are ready to send it off with one of your kids to his first apartment.

I have some of Ikea's 365 line, and I love them. They are the shape I think of when someone says "Plate" with a cool Asian looking bowl. And it's hard to beat 6 place settings for $40 (you can also buy them by the piece). Some friends of mine have had the bowls for years and they've held up well.

My only complaint is that the bowls are too big for my taste. It's easier to eat a single serving of cereal when the bowl doesn't hold four servings.

Agreeing with aleec -- I grew up with Homer Laughlin's Fiestaware and now those dishes have become a part of my kitchen. They're a little more expensive but they're sturdier (mine have survived being dropped many times) and though you could just get a whole bunch of one color, mixing it up with the different colors always manages to look quite nifty.

Not to mention, of course, that Fiestaware is one of the few lines of dishes that are still made in the United States =)

I LOVE Corelle. My mother also have a set (plain white, round) that has never ever broken, chipped, or scratched, despite using it every single day for nearly 30 years. They're very thin and stack quite small on the shelf, saving valuable space.

After I graduated from college, I got my own set of Corelle - plain white, square shaped. White goes with everything - you can change your kitchen decor as much as you want, or even dress them up with nice linens.

We just got the PB White set from Pottery Barn.... we were looking at the Great White Coupe online, but in person the PB White seemed thinner and more elegant. They're still microwave- and dishwasher-safe, and they make all my food look good. ;)

i've got the plain white basic boring ikea dishes and i love them because they're so simple, EXCEPT:

mold grows on the bottom of them. the rim that the bowl/plate 'sits' on is very susceptible to growing some funky stuff. if i stack them and they're not 100% dried, uhoh. i have to go take a bleach pen to 'em or something. very weird.

anyway, regardless of that i still buy them because of the price! such an awesome price for decent white dishes. and as much as i want crate and barrel's nice white dishes, i think they're way overpriced. one day, one day, but not anytime soon...

I recently bought my (white) dishes at World Market. I think the dinner plates were 6 for $15 or so. Love them!

I have the Ikea 365 , the ones that are more square, and I love them. Plus, there's the knowledge that if one of them were to break (though I've had them for over a year with nary a chip), I didn't break the bank to get them. The square shape kind of elevates them from boring white dishes, I think.

I haven't had a problem with mold on mine yet, but I almost always leave dishes drying for ever, since I hand wash them and hate putting them away, because I am lazy.

Aldyth and Aimi, I am with you on CORELLE. I have had my plain white dishes for 35 years and they are still in great condition. You can drop them on the floor and they don't break or chip. They are so thin, that you can stack 12 plates and they take up just a few inches.

Klinq which also sells on Amazon has some nifty shapes in white dinnerware. I've had this set for a year or so and am very happy with it.

I grew up with Fiestaware. Totally love it! If I ever grow up enough that I want matching dishes instead of the piecemeal "buy one dish at a time because I fall in love with it" mish mash that I have currently, I'll totally go for Fiestaware.

As an ardent pro-union person, I'm thrilled that they're union made, too.

I can't stand Corelle; I love silverware, plates and glasses with heft. I feel almost as though I'm eating off a paper plate with Corelle, which my mother has had for years and years.

We have Denby 'Juice' for everyday use, sadly the pattern has been discontinued, though we're able to find random pieces here and there.

For white plates, I love Ikea 365--some of the pieces are ridiculously large, though, which makes them difficult to store. The mold story is odd; I've never had a problem with mine doing that, though I do sometimes put them away not fully dry.

another vote for the 365 line at ikea. and mine haven't grown mold either.

Yeah, if you've never used Corelle, beware. I bought a set because I truly needed dishes, couldn't afford two sets, and needed something toddler friendly. Corelle is cheap, durable, and has some decent looking designs. The FEEL is another matter. They have a very light, chintzy feel--"paper plate" is a good description. They're just fine for everyday for my family, but if I were throwing a dinner party, I think I'd break down and buy some nicer dishes!

Vote for Ikea. I bought about 50 plates and bowls 3 years ago for a big family dinner. Those plates have been used by other family members and friends ever since.

IKEA -- I like to mix up Dinera in dark grey with white 365 dishes...

Once the kids are older, I'd like to get Iittala of Finland's 24 hr in white (I prefer rimless plates, and these are lovely) http://www.finnishgifts.com/iittala-24h-dinnerware.html

many years ago, Real Simple did a spread on the perfect white dish -- Iittala's 24 hr matched with heavy hotel silverplate cutlery, and fun vintage pieces like you'd find at a fleay market or fishes eddys. It has been my inspiration ever since.

Forgot to say Bauer Pottery makes beautiful stuff, too! I have a few of their vases and some of their really old bowls and casseroles. Similar to Fiestaware.

http://bauerla.stores.yahoo.net/dinnerware.html

Other options for you:

I love Mud Australia's porcelain range, which is delicate and irregular and so beautiful
http://www.mudaustralia.com/catalogue.asp?pid=1

http://www.mudaustralia.com/catalogue.asp?pid=13

Black Chambaware is a gorgeous and bold option
http://www.nutierra.com/products/black_chamba.htm

Heath Ceramics coupe or Chez Panisse lines
http://www.heathceramics.com/go/heath/tableware/

Teema in white
http://www.fitzsu.com/iittala-teema-dinnerware-c-26_1342.html?page=4

or Eva Zeisel's line at Crate and Barrel
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=50&f=7859

fiesta's colors for this year include a cream color, so this will be my birthday present this christmas.

I recently did a marathon search for simple, inexpensive, white dinnerware and hit every store I could think of.

Eventually I was delighted to find the Coupe collection from World Market. I love what they call the cereal bowl. It's more like a pasta bowl, or a very deep plate: shallow and wide. I adore this shape of dish and use it for everything.

It's very inexpensive, less than $12 for 4 pieces online, or you can get 6 for $18 or $19 in the store (I guess you save on the shipping). And you can buy piece by piece if you need to replace.

I'm really happy with them: they are sleek, just the right weight, bright white, and they handle the microwave very well.

I looked at Ikea and found their white too dull.

I agree with those who suggested Correlle, though I personally refuse to own any (but it's a personal thing and has nothing to do with the quality of the dishes) - it is virtually indestructible. I grew up with the plain white ones and my mom still uses them. And they do stack up super thin. They have plenty of patterns now (instead of plain white), if you're looking for something with personality.

We couldn't agree on dishes for our house (he had matte black ones and I had old retro brown and oatmeal floral ones) until we found the basic Sausalito line at Pottery Barn. It seems they will always be making these, though changing the colors up every once in a while. After a year, however, we have managed to chip several of the colored ones (we bought backups, and the white ones don't show the chips like the green ones do, something to keep in mind), and they are huge (the large dinner plates don't actually fit in standard sized cupboards, and whoever thought up that bit of insanity doesn't want to run into me in a dark alley), so I don't really recommend them for what the original questioner was looking for.

However, they have a Caterer's set now that is plain white and super-cheap - sets of 12 for $49. You can see the dinner plate set here:

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p9698/index.cfm?pkey=ctendnwwht

and there are links at the bottom of that page to some of their other Caterer's items. They promo'd them over the holidays and we almost bought some, but didn't. I don't know how they'd hold up over time, but maybe someone else has them and can say?

I second the vote for Eva Zeisel's set from Crate & Barrel (linked to above). They're plain off-white; thus, easy to match. But the shapes are a little more interesting, unique. We have a service for 10, plus serving pieces, and use it every day. It's quite durable, but also makes quite an impression when used in more formal dinners.

Corelle, Corelle, Corelle. Honestly, I think they're much more refined-seeming than most thicker dishes meant for a similar purpose (i.e. everyday use) - so thick and clunky! But then, I was raised with them, so that could just be my quirk.

I have to caution against Corelle, especially in a house with children. Corelle is only break-resistant -- it DOES actually break, and when it does, it shatters into fine glassy shards (as it is glass).

I think my kids have broken maybe 1 plate and 1 bowl from IKEA, and the stiff makes big pieces, so no harm done. Regular plates are actually safer...

I love my new Aspen dishes from Crate & Barrel. My sweetie was voting for Corelle, but I can't stand the stuff. My Aspen dishes are so lovely--nicely balanced, sturdy yet elegant. I bought one 20 piece set and one 16, which turned out to be just perfect. They go through the dishwasher, warm oven and microwave.

Avoid IKEA if you want to microwave food on your dishes, many of their pieces do not do well in the micro.