Dinnerware - what to get and how many sets!

[thevelvetoverground]

Do you all have lovely dinnerware? DH and I have merged crockery and now have odds and sods. I've got my eye on Halo by Denby but open to other suggestions!

If we were to buy new matching dinnerware, what should we buy? I'm confused by the cereal/soup bowl or rice bowl choices... Just dinner plates, side plates and some sort of bowl then? Or what else?

And how many sets? It's usually just us but we have friends round regularly.

Or should we just not bother?!

We tend to use the merged SERPS for just us and have a better set for when we have company.

Have you thought of visiting the factory shops in Stoke and having a good look around? My DSIL got some lovely Cath Kidston stuff recently by doing exactly that

Merged sets. Bloody autocorrect.

I have 3 matching sets!

An everyday one from a supermarket, a stoneware set I got from the pier years ago that's like smart casual, and some antique noritake that rarely leaves the sideboard.

They all are for 6. I can't see any occasion really just yet where id need more and the 2 I use most are as you suggested. The really posh one has smaller bowls as well or fruit plates but they never get used.

Denby is a good choice as you are always going to be able to add to it if you need to. I do lack decent serving equipment though so maybe that's worth considering but I suppose that depends on how you entertain.

There is a local Denby discount shop to us where they sell seconds for half price. They look to me...

Well, if you can get seconds for half price and you like the set, I'd go for it

Sorry, meant to say they look 'good' to me.

We also have £100 of John Lewis vouchers and £100 of Debenhams vouchers.

Naice plates just seems like a bit of an extravagance I guess

They are an extravagance but just think how lovely they will look

I decided that a new set was too expensive ( have a upper market day to day set) so I started collecting willow pattern mismatched from car boots, charity shops, eBay anywhere I saw it to be honest.

I know have a 8 piece set, with serving bowls, soup coupes, breakfast bowls, large plates, starter plates, tea plates, tea set, coffee set and cake stands.

It's different makes of willow pattern, but it looks lovely together.

In fact looking at the tea set and cake plates now as I'm doing a Ladies Afternoon Tea, for 6 friends as the DHs are at the Army Navy rugby today :)

We've got 3 sets
We got a white Jasper Conran Wedgwood set we got as a wedding present we use them for best.
We've got John Lewis House as white set for everyday which also can extend the Wedgwood set when we've got lots of people.
We've also got
these for everyday.
These were cheap but really are lovely.
Each set has 8 dinner plates, 8 side plates and 8 bowls.

We use these for everyday. We've got 12 of each dinner and side plates, pudding and pasta bowls. As you can buy them individually we just replace them as and when we chip or break them.

I inherited a huge collection of Spode, with everything from the very practical to the utterly frivolous (seriously, an egg stand, and a china ladle ). What we really use are:

Every day: medium dinner plates, rimmed soup-dishes and cereal bowls.
Weekly: pasta bowls, large dinner plates, salad bowls
Occasionally: side plates, pudding bowls, serving dishes
Never: egg stands, coffee pots, gravy boats, flan dishes

My tops tips: go for a classic design that's been in production for years -You're likely to be able to add to your collection in future, or replace bits if you need to. Start with a few basics (eg: the daily/weekly items above), and add to them as you find you need to, so you end up with the items that are useful for your family. I like to have eight of everything, though I almost never have more than six for dinner - it's extra flexibility, and keeps us ticking over till the dishwasher finishes!

We have Denby and it's great. Very hardwearing, have hardly broken any of it despite having had most of it for about 17 years. We have 12 of the items we use often (dinner plates, side plates soup/cereal bowls etc) partly because we have a dishwasher and can get through quite a few plates in a day before loading it, and partly because we occasionally have about 10 people here for a meal.

We have dinner plates, side plates, tea plates, soup/cereal bowls and dessert bowls. We also have some jugs, sugar bowl, butter dish, and various different sizes and shapes of serving bowls/dishes which can also be used in the oven (for things like lasagnes, fruit crumbles etc).

oh dear - I'm so boring - I have 12 of everything in plain white !!! :-)

OnePlan, I'm betting you don't have 12 egg stands

I have 12 plain white (M&S mix of Maxim ad Maxim Coupe) dinner plates, side plates, cereal bowls and pasta bowls. That seems to cover every eventuality. I like that I can buy them individually if I need more. I cant be bothered having a rarely used 'good set' taking up valuable storage space.

If you are looking at rice bowls be aware that they rarely fit well in the dishwasher.

White is best as easily replaced. Never goes out of fashion ether!

I have a mix of marks and Spencer maxim and maxim coupe. I have 12 of everything... dinner plates, side plates, cereal bowls, pasta bowls and mugs. They have lasted well, fit well in the dishwasher (beware rice bowls are rubbish in the dishwasher) and cover every eventuality. I couldn't be bothered with a 'good set' that takes up valuable storage s

We have Denby Urban. It is 7 years old now and looks like new. We use it everyday as we decided it wasn't worth buying if we didn't get the use.

I have 10 plates, 10 side plates, 10 bowls which was to allow for breakages but in actual fact we've only ever broken one plate and one bowl. The DCs are pre school so have their own things.

I have 10 mugs but I got a bit bored of them two years ago and now have Emma Bridgewater which better matches my new kitchen. In short I wouldn't get mugs as I don't think they need to match.

I also have the salad bowl and two jugs which I had quite a bit for custard / cream / gravy etc

I still love my set and the benefit of a brand like Denby is it can be replaced if it gets broken.