Help us with our dinner service

[Courtney555]

Apologies for not finding a "cooking/dining" section to post in.

Essentially, we are looking to buy a beautiful set of white tableware. Full service of plates, bowls, sides, serving dishes, boats, etc.

We've had heavy Denby for the last 12yrs and decided to really treat ourselves. We'd like:

White, elegant, durable enough for the dishwasher and everyday (although we are extremely careful with our things, we've not broken a single piece of the Denby in 12yrs) and nothing with a metallic trim as DS12 will microwave something on it at some point
Budget not especially important as we plan on keeping a long time.

Aibu to ask you to send any suggestions or tips on what to get?...or indeed what not to get...

My parents have a beautiful set of Noritake china - that might be worth a look. I'm not sure how easy it is to get hold of though.

Maxwell Williams do a white set with a vast array of accessories.

www.kitchencraft.co.uk/brands/maxwell-williams/white-basics

I like my Denby ‘white’ range: durable and very wide range of pieces, it’s a great everyday set.

I like the (rimmed) salad plates for lunch/light dinner especially : Denby often do 25% off this range on bank holidays including online

"Funnily enough, we've just swapped all of ours for Denby though I'm massively regretting it. They don't sit well in the dishwasher, and are stupidly heavy as well as small."
Yup. I've been using a Denby set for 20 years, I can vouch for their being too thick for my dishwasher's plate rack, as well as for their durability; despite my studied carelessness with them, not a single plate or bowl broken. Not one. Sigh.

You know, this thread has made me realise I'd really like to use plates I actually like, so thank you @Courtney555 for your inspiration!

We have a plain white Wedgwood set as our day to day set and it's lovely. Although it's quite pricey, it's proven to be far more durable than cheaper sets. I top it up every couple of years from the sales or sites that sell the ranges cheaper.

We've also got plain white wedgewood and it's been in daily use for twenty years. I like the fact that you can add the odd gravy boat etc from non-matching sets.

House range at John Lewis. Nice and plain, easy to replace anything if it gets broken (although our full set is damage free 6 years on despite DH’s best attempts)

Thank you everyone, some great ideas!

@WhereYouLeftIt my thoughts exactly, we've been using our safe dull regency green denby since time began and it's time to make the table a lot more elegant and classic...after all you look at it every day so the more I think about it, it makes sense to invest

I have white Denby with a non metallic trim, highly recommend denby.

I'm considering some Steelite catering crockery as we bash plates around a lot. Willow looks classic but I need to see a few ranges in the flesh first.

www.worldkitchen.co.uk/Corelle/Coupe/Winter-Frost-White

We have the Thomas loft ones and while they are beautiful and I love how they look, the edges do chip, and because they flick up at the edges with no lip, knives skitter around like anything when you try to rest them on the side of the plate. Love the very delicate circles design though, and the pasta bowls are a perfect size for so many things.

I love my Royal Doulton Gordon Ramsay Maze
www.amazon.co.uk/Gordon-Ramsay-exclusively-Royal-Doulton/dp/B0051NPJ5C/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&crid=2ERUE14U6BH1F&keywords=gordon+ramsay+maze&sprefix=gordon+r%2Caps%2C190&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1609093454&sr=8-1

We have the plain white IKEA 365 porcelain range, which is the most durable we’ve had. The current set is about 15 years old, bar a few replacements for breakages. It thrives in the dishwasher and looks fabulous. I adore crockery but I’ve not felt the need to deviate from it despite being able to afford much more expensive stuff now.

@Kerning

Sophie Conran for Portmeirion?

I’d second this, the white one with slightly uneven rings in the design.

Not v grand, but works for both everyday and occasions which is what I wanted, and robust.

I have these, Cher Blanc by Noritake which are just gorgeous. They're warranted for commercial use so they're bomb proof, in spite of being so fine and glossy.
The pasta bowls are a great shape too, and stack perfectly in the dishwasher.
I love white crockery with a little texture to make it interesting.
Sophie Conran is lovely for the same reason.

We are on our second set of Denby and find the mugs are constantly chipping

The plates and bowls have been ok but are really scratched inside

We must be doing something very wrong !

I'm also saying Thomas. Excellent quality.
JL do a white porcelain range, which is probably more affordable. I have Habitat's white porcelain, from 20 years ago- it's immaculate. The only piece that has been broken is a serving bowl that I broke when getting ready for the packers coming in to move house.
IKEA 365 is pretty sturdy too, and would leave lots of money left over to spend on delicious food.

I have the Jasper Conrad Wedgwood, bought it from John Lewis about 14 years ago when we had a new kitchen.

At the time, they did a deal where they would replace for free anything that you broke in the first year it was to encourage people to use it every day. It's been great.

@AKAanothername

I have this too! I love it!!!
I used to work for Wedgwood and got it in the staff shop heavily discounted!! Unfortunately not anymore haha

Dm has had a wedgewood set for over 30 years. Still looks great despite being used every day. I'd go wedge wood definitely.

I have a John Lewis "House" set which I love. Plain white porcelain, goes in dishwasher and microwave. Really simple, so can add other plain white things to it if you need to.

I would agree with @HappyAsASandboy - so does the job for every day but also quite smart. (I speak as one who has a wedgwood dining service 12 settings from 25 years ago but has gold bit on it so can't go in the dishwasher) - mine is the one you see on Poirot , but We use more the white John Lewis one - it can look lovely with bits and pieces with it.

@simonthedog

I love my Royal Doulton Gordon Ramsay Maze ]]

I second this.

The plates are huge, the quality is good and I really like the subtle rings in the design. I got rid of our Denby Halo for Maze in dark grey.

We have Wedgewood White and it's excellent quality. Not a chip (everything else we have has chipped in the meantime) and is bright white, classic and simple.