How much on a dinner set?

[pinkytheunicorn]

Just that really.

How much would you spend on a set of decent quality:

8 dinner plates
8 side plates
8 bowls

We've been looking at some sets. DH was thinking more £200. The set I've seen is £400. We can afford either, it's just a case of DH thinking the set I've seen is wildly excessive.

Is it? Thoughts?

To add, I've never bought a set before I moved in with DH and he had it all and we've been using his stuff for ten years. And it came from Woolworths so it's been pretty indestructible!

We do have young DC but the shop I've seen the nice set at do some smaller melamine versions so could grab a few bits of that for while they're little and prone to not being careful!

I'd pay pretty much anything I could afford if I found a dinner set I loved.

Can we see said dinner set please? I'm on the look out for a nice new one too.

I spent about 200 odd. The Royal Doulton 1815 set

Hmmmmm. Is it for everyday use or for “best”? I also have young DC and I use a very basic (although pretty) M&S set everyday as with the best will in the world it does get knocked around and is in and out of the dishwater everyday. Several plates have little chips but I’m not fussed as it wasn’t ££.

I do have a lovely set for special occasions / Christmas though that is lovingly hand washed.

Obviously it’s your budget but I wouldn’t be as blasé with a £400 set! That’s over £15 per plate.

It's an Emma Bridgwater one, we'll a mix of two designs that go nicely together. You get a percentage off when you sign up to their email (15 I think) so could get a bit of a discount.

It would be for everyday use, yes. DC are under 4 but as I said I'd get a few of the matching melamine bits for them until they can be careful!

I'd benchmark it against Denby, as they are sturdy, timeless and easy to replace breakages. A quick google shows £350 for a set as you describe.

My concerns over Emma Bridgewater would be that they might look dated in a few years and might not be easy to find replacements or additional items. No idea how robust they are.

Which two? I really like Emma Bridgwater.

I’ve got a Denby one which is absolutely indestructible.

I'm keen on them as the plates seem quite deep. DH is a gravy monster, and loads of the sets I've seen seem almost flat. Spillage! I want plates that have a quite defined dip on them.

I like the pink heart design for half and the blue star ones. I've seen them set up together all mixed and they look really nice.

£200 to £400 for every day plates and bowls!!!! I paid about £50 for mine. I have kids that can drop them. An other half that smashes everything together and chips it within seconds. I bought a second spare set from ikea for way less and that seems pretty sturdy - I will probably get more of that at some point to replace the chipped stuff.

(My original set was from Tescos and was lovely till I moved in with OH and he started smashing it about! That was probably £3 or £4 a plate).

I get that the names do some nice designs - but cheaper do too....and at the end of the day it's just to eat your dinner off!

Seems really expensive to me! But then again, I bought two plain white sets in Ikea for the grand total of about £26.

My husband has a thing about anything colourful in the kitchen as he hates having 'part sets' should something get broken, so we tend to stick to boring white so that we can replace bits without it being really obvious.

I do love Emma Bridgewater stuff though and I have my eye on some of her 'single item' stuff like a teapot.

If they 'give you joy' 3 times a day for the next 30 years, then it will be money well spent.

Dinner sets, bedlinen and towels should all be white.

I wouldn’t go for a pattern as they date too.

I’ve got some great stuff from here in the sale - www.ecookshop.co.uk/ecookshop/m/cook-shop.asp (are we allowed to post shops on here?)

If they 'give you joy' 3 times a day for the next 30 years, then it will be money well spent.

I agree with this 100% but I would be seriously impressed if after 30 years of 3 x per day in a family there was much left!

Emma Bridgewater stuff is lovely though

Mine was about £250

For every day not very much because I'm exceptionally clumsy (dyspraxia) and often drop plates etc. I think if you love it and can afford it you should get what you love.

For 'special' I have a white Jamie O set that cost about £350 not including serving dishes etc.

I agree with this 100% but I would be seriously impressed if after 30 years of 3 x per day in a family there was much left!
I think that describes our Denby.

Somebody at work got an Emma Bridgwater mug for Xmas. I'm not impressed by the quality. I hope your dinner service is better than that!

When me and dh got our first home together we got 2x Royal Doulton 1815 dinner sets they were about £120 per set. 2 houses, 3 dc later and they are still going strong.

So I will happily spend on dining sets however I think your choice of the pink heart design Are tacky, will date very quickly and you will end up wishing you never set eyes on them. With dinning sets you need simple elegance

My Denby one is the only dinner set I have had that hasn't chipped at all. It is indestructible. I love it.

My current set was from Woolworths about 25 years ago and is now getting a bit past it (cack-handed DH chipping and breaking stuff mostly) and I've been looking for a new dinner set for about 2 years. Can't find anything I like at all, and I'd probably pay loads for the right thing if I could just find it!

We must be the only people who chip Denby all the time, I'm not sure how.

Are you anywhere near Stoke on Trent @pinkytheunicorn ?

Emma Bridgewater has a factory seconds shop, we got our dinner service (my first-ever proper one too!) there for a much-reduced price (we also went when they had a buy 4 pieces, get one free promotion). We had to search through all the shelves to find the best pieces, but it was worth it.

Just seen they sell seconds on their website too, but I personally wouldn't buy seconds online, as some were far more 'secondy' than others IFYSWIM!

There’s nothing like ceramics to give happiness!
You’ll ok at them all the time for years to come, go for it.

Chemenger - no you’re not! I’ve even managed to crack one le creuset pan and set fire to the wooden handle of another (it smelled like sauna).

We've got a full set of Denby including serving dishes etc, I think only one item has broken in 20 years, we have got one or two chipped edges though.