Dishes?

[MichelleCarmen]

Okay, I am looking to purchase a set of dishes for cheap! These will be daily-use, and need to hold up to A LOT of abuse because I tend to be very clumsy when stacking dishes from the dishwasher AND because I have two little boys who are equally destructive.

I purchased some at Cost Plus last year, but they're just not holding up too well. I'm looking for white and plan to buy only dinner plates, salad plates, and cereal bowls, and would like to keep the cost under $200.

Any ideas where to purchase good strong dishes for really cheap?

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

Hmmm...sounds like you are in the same boat as me!

We had everyday china that couldn''t hold up to our family (three kids, and, well, me and my clumsy dish handling...) so I got rid of it and switched to our "good" dishes...wedgwood plain white bone china. I figured it was silly to have it, not use it, and then go out and buy a new set of everyday white china! So it''s not super expensive, maybe $50 place setting from good internet places, and it has never ever chipped or broken in nearly a year of daily use with a 7, 5, and 1 year old....and me banging them around in the sink and dishwasher.

But as for new dishes, if I were you I''d order white fiesta ware from amazon. I looked and with their current $25 off $125 purchase deal, I think you could get within site of your budget. I love the emile henry white dinnerware, but it is spendy.

Good luck!

 

[JulieN]

CORELLE. VERY indestructible and cheap. It may be a little middle America... but good when you have small kids.

 

[lawmax]

I've had great success over the years with buying sets of everyday dishes from Bloomingdale's. They hold up great, go in the microwave, oven and dishwasher, etc. I also tend to get the completer set that matches. I haven't priced them in about 7 years or so, but I know I spent under $200 for service for 12....I'm pretty sure.

Mine are white with "embossed" fruit shapes in white around the edges.

edited to add: I just looked online and they only have formal dishes online. I hope they still have the everyday dishes in the stores or catalogs. They must.

 

[Mara]

i know crate and barrel has these really thick white ceramic plates and bowls and stuff, so they may have a whole set of them. they are super thick and durable. i have a few of the pieces in the collection for things like chip bowls and dip kinda thing. anyway, i'd check them out, they are usually priced nicely over there and i know they have an abundance of plain white kinda stuff.

i got our 'everyday' stuff at pottery barn about 4 years ago...i was just browsing and they were having a huge sale on their dinnerware, they had yellow, green, blue and the whole theme is kind of a light washed color, like a colorwashed version of the fiesta colors which are way too bright for me...i got 8 green dinner plates and 8 blue salad plates and i already had some fun colorful striped washed looking bowls that a friend had offloaded to me when she got married because they didn't match with her new china....so i love mixing and matching the blues and greens with the striped bowls. it's all very subdued soft colors so it works out and they have lasted quite well surprisingly enough! not all PB stuff is good so i was surprised these have held up the way they have to us banging them around, and being washed in the dishwasher all the time. only one of each has a small chip in them i think. sometimes you just get lucky...the best part was the 16 plates were only something like $70! i was stoked.

good luck.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I got mine at pier one and love them. I have seen some at World Market that seem very inexpensive.

 

[ladykemma]

i have pottery barn white porcelain "suppertime".

ditto to the white bone china and plain white corelle.

 

[movie zombie]

homer laughlin restaurant ware.......

movie zombie

 

[ladykemma]

isn''t that called "buffalo china"

 

[movie zombie]

different line......i do have a couple of pieces marked buffalo china but most are homer laughlin. also, there were companies...including homer lauglin.... that made china used in train dining cars. very tough stuff and sometimes also very elegant looking.

you can buy new but i bought most of mine years ago before places like williams-sonoma and crate and barrel made white restaurant ware popular. additionally, i got most of mine at garage sales and flea markets.....paid very very very little for most pieces. but then i like recycling household products and i like the hunt. i''ve got ovals and rounds for dinner plates, bowls, mugs, etc. food and drinks stay warm but most important, they are heavy and i pay attention when i''m handling them. i''m not easy on dishes but these have held up against dropping, banging, etc. dropped a piece on a vinyl kitchen floor once and it made a horrible thud noise but didn''t break much less chip. there''s a reason restaurants use these types of dishes!

i''m not into having expensive dishes only to have them break or ship and need to be replaced. if i were to go out and buy new, i''d buy a set of homer laughlin plain white restaurant ware but i know the sticker price would shock me as i got mine so cheap.



movie zombie

 

[diamondfan]

Bloomies (catalog and in store) often has stuff, where it goes on sale and for a couple of days they have special additional discounts. You could get some durable open stock stoneware this way, and save a bundle. It is really worth going into a Bloomies if you have one near you, or going on line, almost all stores carry basic white, but you want to have it be less formal or fragile. I cannot recall right now the lines that have stuff that would fit your needs, but you would be able to ask. Also, Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn are good options, and C and B has stuff called "everyday basics or values" which they send out a special catalog to showcase! With a little homework it should not be too hard!

 

[ladykemma]

if you go to a restuarant supply you can get the homer or buffalo china equivalent for pennies.

 

[LizzieC]

DH and I use C & B "Halo" everyday bone china.... We love it. It''s very durable... we don''t have kids, but we''re not particularly gentle on our dishes. Oh, and we''re crazy about the bowls (the 5.75")... they''re the perfect size!

Link: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=20&f=6261 I''m posting a pic too, but the quality of the pics is bad... go to the link! They''re very pretty!

 

[eks6426]

I have white pfaltzgraph dishes that I have had for over 13 years now. They look great and hold up well. You can freeze them and bake on them. I''d love to add some colored dishes to mix in, but I have place settings for 20 and just can''t justify MORE dishes.

My particular pattern is discontinued but they still have several all white options.

http://pfaltzgraff.com/shop/catalog/pattern.asp?StyleID=X&UID=2006080710013367

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/7/2006 10:06:41 AM
Author: IslandDreams
I have white pfaltzgraph dishes that I have had for over 13 years now. They look great and hold up well. You can freeze them and bake on them. I''d love to add some colored dishes to mix in, but I have place settings for 20 and just can''t justify MORE dishes.

My particular pattern is discontinued but they still have several all white options.

http://pfaltzgraff.com/shop/catalog/pattern.asp?StyleID=X&UID=2006080710013367

Thanks very much, IslandDreams and everyone! I found a set there on the Pfatzgraph site (the providence pattern) that will work perfectly and it''s so affordable!

Mara, I''d love to find a great set from PB for $70! That would be a dream find for me

Hopefully after Christmas they''ll have a great sale and I can get a set from them.

Right now, my husband and I are converting our electric appliances all over to gas ones, so I really want a fresh new set of dishes, but the cost of the appliances leaves little left for extravagant dinnerware right now. I can''t wait to have a decent cooktop though, so having simple dishes will work just fine for right now

 

[eks6426]

MC--Glad you found some dishes that will work for you.

 

[pinkflamingo]

I found my everdays at TJ Maxx- they had a great set of plain white Calvin Klein china on clearance. It is so simple and elegant and has beautiful lines. Best of all, it was like $4.99/dinner plate. can''t beat that! worth checking out if you aren''t in a hurry. they have a great kitchen section.

 

[movie zombie]

pinkflamingo, don''t you just love it when you find a real ''score'' like you did with the dishes?!

movie zombie

 

[jorman]

Hey MC:

Crate and Barrel all the way.
We registered for the Staxx dishes for every day white.
These dishes are inexpensive, store well and take a nice beating.

Their 16-piece set is on sale for $45.95 and they sell their bowls in sets of 6.

Here is a picture:

 

[jorman]

Oh and they have 3 types of bowls with this set. The low bowl, the small bowl and the large bowl. The large bowl could really be used more for a serving bowl- FYI.

The good thing about the plates is they have a bit of a lip so serving saucy dishes is not an issue.

Mmmm...saucy dishes...I''m hungry...

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/9/2006 10:25:19 PM
Author: pinkflamingo
I found my everdays at TJ Maxx- they had a great set of plain white Calvin Klein china on clearance. It is so simple and elegant and has beautiful lines. Best of all, it was like $4.99/dinner plate. can''t beat that! worth checking out if you aren''t in a hurry. they have a great kitchen section.

oh, thanks. I haven''t ordered yet, so I''ll check there just in case. I may also try an outlet mall. There''s a Mikasa outlet about 40 min. from my house. Not sure if that would be worth the drive, but I may find a great set for cheap!

 

[VegasAngel]

There is This deal, if you order 2 sets you can get them for $41.88 Shipped