Vintage white dishes!
The above are not vintage white dishes. These are our everyday dishes I picked up from Costco a couple years ago or so. I LOVE white where food is concerned.
Did you know a white background makes food look more appetizing? Look up any chef. They always use white, as it’s the perfect canvas for any tone of food. Just a note of interest: chefs use WHITE WHITE, not off white. Get a plate of both, filler up and you’ll see what I mean. The food absolutely pops against crisp whiter than white.
While there’s certainly nothing wrong with our everyday variety, I just LOVE the detail of the thrift store ones I’m finding. I pick up one piece at a time, not having a care in the world that they’re all different. In fact, I LOVE the mix of different hues and scalloped ridges. Mix and match eclectic is simply magic. I even use white mugs for my coffee. 🙂
Doesn’t much matter to me even how large or how small the plates are.
They look wonderful layered with vignettes. I have them all over the place.
At 50 cents a pop, it’s a pretty small price to pay for such glamour. 🙂
Here’s a shot from Get Your Martha On. I had this image on my desktop for the longest time. I just loved the simplicity of the whole thing.
Have you seen Southern Hospitality’s diningroom yet? LOVE this wall!
We haven’t eaten off the ‘pretty plates yet.’ And I’m not even sure why. I’ll try them out tomorrow for fun.
After I gut a few vignettes that is…
So gone are the days that my dishes will all match in the future. I really LOVE this new diverse look!
Do you use everyday white dishes?
Yes we have everyday whites. From Ikea. Sadly I never find those nicely scalloped white disches at our thrifts. There are usually only chippy, coloroful and rather dingy ones the be found over here.
Love that last vignette. The combo with the tin is beautiful.
I’ve used white dishes as my everyday dishes for the past 25 or more years. Mine are looking pretty bad. But I just picked up 6 plates that are a perfect match at the thrift store. I always buy white plates from the thrift store. I can’t seem to stop. My hubby can’t believe that I am still buying white plates while thrifting. You can never have too many is what I say.
I just started using white dishes this past year…for several years I used Polish pottery but tired of all the pattern and wanted simple. Now I am in love with the white and use it with an occasional color accent at times.
I’ve used white for 20 years and I pick up old white plates of any vintage whenever I can … sometimes cream. Why … because I love the simplicity of it. Nothing to detract from the food.
totally agree…white is classic!
Yes…I do use white dishes. Mine are square right now and I love them. Got them at Pier One…on sale!!!! 50% off!!! Great deal and fun dishes. Love yours!!
Hugs
SueAnn
PS That was $1.00 for each one!!!
I use white dishes. I use the everyday dishes that you can buy per piece at Pier One. Break one and you don’t have to junk the whole set. Also they are porcelain. I don’t do stomeware since I found out that with heat it will leech lead into food. Hot food is enough to cause this reaction.
I love the vintage plates too. We have well water and it causes my white dishes to turn orange. Whenever I notice them getting “orangey” I squirt them down with “Works” and run them through the dishwasher.
That’s so weird, I had white dishes in my hands yesterday at Goodwill store. I’m going back.
I jumped on the white dish bandwagon long ago, too! First, there was the china I registered for when I got married. I picked a plain white Wedgewood with a platinum trim. At the time, I wondered if it was too boring. But now I really love them because I can fill in with my white everyday dishes (a set of white Crate and Barrel dishes I snagged at Goodwill) when we have a large crowd. I’ve been snagging white and off-white (I know!) dishes while thrifting to fill the hutch in my kitchen. White dishes are so practical and stylish … I don’t know why other dishes even exist. 😉
Funny, Ive never owned white dishes. But my tastes are changing…greatly. It all happened when I joined the blog world. You all have such beautiful homes and inspiring finds. Ive always loved painted pottery dishes. But Ive actually phased them out and am now on the hunt for the lovely whites. I never even thought/knew of the whole “makes the food look better” concept. Very interesting!
Sarah
i love white plates. i have a black set right now and i have been wanting to switch to white for a long time. i don’t know what i’m waiting for…maybe i should stop waiting.
White is my fav! You’re right it doesn’t distract from the food which is the whole reason for using them!!
Your photos are beautiful. I love the angles!
I collect white and use them sometimes, however my everyday dishes are beige. I do love the white the best though. Your dishes are gorgeous. Hugs, Marty
I don’t have any white dishes, although I have seen them showing up at my local Goodwill. There was a really pretty dessert/salad type plate but there were only three and, while I needed 6, I would have been happy with four. The teacups and saucers are really nice, too. I haven’t picked any of them up yet, but I think I might be weakening!
You are right about food looking best on white plates. That’s why I chose white with gold trim for our “good” china when I was getting married. I have collected a few pieces here and there as well and it’s fun tio use them in vignettes and mix and match at a meal.
I am obsessed with white serving dishes. Typically the boxy, squarish type. I can’t get enough of ’em!
I have tons of white! I have stacks of Pottery Barn white combined with 20 years of collecting white ironstone anywhere I can pick it up cheap.
Love your arrangement with the silver tray.
I love white dishes! Love your vignettes. So pretty.
~Amy
Just as I suspected–you must me my long-lost sister, lol! My new white dishes are my daily smile-makers, but I’m also looking for thrift store salad plates since I received only the bowls and dinner plates from Santa. Mix and match is a delight!
be, not me! I guess I should have put my glasses on before I hit “post comment” 🙂
Oh, yes! I’ve been collecting white dishes for a couple years now. I think you have my white Pfaltzgraff dishes in your pics above. Found them at a yardsale, a whole set for $10. We eat on them everyday. Love love the white dishes!
Another white dishes user – but not the beautiful vintage ones like you’ve found. Mine are Martha Stewart from the days when she sold her stuff at Zellers. I tend to change my decorating style regularly, but these white dishes have stayed favourites for over 10 years now. I would love to add some vintage ones though – thanks for the inspiration!
How cool to know I’m not alone in this obsession. 🙂
Rhoda, the everyday Costco whites are Tognana porcelain, made in Italy. Love the bowls, they are shallow and W I D E and make such a statement with a simple bowl of soup. 🙂 Actually, there’s two bowls, I’d consider the other bowl with the set a cereal type that have two little holders on both sides. The white mugs are SUPER sized.
Incidently, when I buy a set of everyday dishes, I always double up because they generally run out of stock and they generally chip over time. I change out when I don’t have enough to complete a set any longer. (yeah, that’s how long I hang onto dishes)
But with this new eclectic way? I’ll have a whole new set when mine are dust in the wind that I can add to at any time.
#9 Get your Martha On…
That pic you have on your blog, with your hutch holding white dishes with the moss wreath? I had that on my desktop for the LONGEST time. Just loved that image. 🙂
I’ve UPdated the original post to include your image in my above post. Ahhhhh MUCH better. 🙂
FJ Donna
I want to now 🙂
You are 100%, have never met a Chef that plates his/her food on anything other than white. In culinary school, we actually had a semester on plating and reasons for using white and how the food should be placed on the white to capture the best response from the customer. In several places I have worked, they have their white plates custom made. The whitest of white. Love your pieces.
Have white both in my work kitchen and my home kitchen.
I nominated you for the “Beautiful Blog” Award.
come to my blog to redeem!
Laurie, I’m so glad you chimed in! A real chef! 🙂 Any other tidbits of awesome info, please add further!
FJ Donna
Thanks for including a pic of mine! Of course, now that hutch is white AND properly styled and accessorized, not like how it looks in my post.
I love using white dishes. Right now I have some on my dining room table with square glass candleholders on top…filled with pearl sugar to look like snow. I need to keep looking at the thrift store for more!
Julie
I have been using blue and white china and I so much agree that while it looks nice set out on the table, it’s just too busy with the food on the plate. I collect blue and white china and have it displayed everywhere, but for the dinner table you have convinced me to change to white!
I started buying white dishes when we moved into our new house. I had so many different collections from various stages of decor–some red, some French, some Asian-inspired–it was so chaotic. So we donated all our old ones to Goodwill and I started buying Bed Bath & Beyond’s “Everyday White.” They’re (at most) $4 a pop, so it makes them easy to replace of one breaks.
Plus–as you said–it leaves room to collect all sorts of different white dishes and they still all match! I could go on and on about the wonders of all white dishes, but I’m not going to hijack your post with one of my own. 😉
The bottom plate in your first picture are the same ones I have, only mine are yellow.
I love the white so many people are using these days, I just can’t make it work in my house. I’m not a ‘white’ person as far as decorating goes. Love it, just can’t do it for myself.
I do love the way all of the mixed patterns work together. I went to a luncheon once where the host had the table set so beautifuly. Every plate was different in solid white, all of the coffee cups were different floral tea cups and had mix and match saucers, and the silverware was various antique patterns. The tablecloth was antique crochet, and her walls in the dining room were an eggplant and black stripe. It was fabulously magical.
You’ve got me inspired to go rummae through my dishes now.
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Thanks for giving a shout out Donna. I could go on and on with this topic. One of my all time favorite Chef Instructors put it like this. The plate is to a Chef, as a canvas is to an artist. How often do you see an artist, start with a canvas already painted with color. I have collections of vintage plates in many colors, they are admired on shelves or displays elsewhere. I never use them when plating either at home or at work. White allows you to create art with the food you plate. (One note…always start in center of plate and work out, never touching the rim of the plate – preferably leaving 1/4 inch – between the inner ring of the rim to the location of the food. food placed to close to the rim, alerts something in our brain that this is messy and we end up being turned off before our taste buds have had a chance). White allows a chef to be so creative. How many times have you been wowed by a drizzle of balsamic reduction, or a dash red pepper coulis , or such,against the starkness of the white. It sends a message to our palates…oooh la la…let me try… like I said…I could write a book on this. White, White, White… Anyone have any ideas of the colors that send negative messages to the brain and tells you not to trust what your eating????
Most invaluable info, Laurie! I LOVE learning!
Folks, go pick up your whites and whet those appetites!
FJ Donna
I also love and collect white dishes. I agree about the crisp white, the food looks more inviting. Two days before Christmas in 2008, I was shopping at our local RealCanadian Superstore (grocery, some clothing and homegoods too). I saw simple crisp white sets of dishes (4 place settings each) for $10. I bought 4 sets to have 16 place settings figuring I would use them for special occasions with our large extended family. This past Christmas I changed my mind, got rid of my flowered dishes and started using the white. Expensive?, no. Beautiful detail, no. But I love opening my cupboards every day to a sea of white and clear glass. I love using those white dishes for every day snacks and meals. And I don’t shudder when the boys load the dishwasher either.
Love white plates but love to layer with color and pattern for the table.
I have collected these for many years–love them! Most of them are old restaurant dishes. I like to display black and white photos in front of them or on them with photo corners.
My husband used to roll his eyes at how many times I wanted to buy new dishes. Since I bought white ones 6 years ago, I haven’t thought about changing them (I use the old ones for decoration, but new ones for every day). I just like that I can use all colors on my table, any color tablecloth, and the dishes don’t clash.
Yes, they are very beautiful! I’m wondering if I start using nicer dishes if my kids will have better table manners!
Oh i love white dishes, i have found so many at the thrift store.I have them all over….Kathy
I bought some white Pottery Barn bran dishes called “Great White” about 17 years ago. I have broken one mug and one salad plate. They have never chipped and I am still loving them. I found a similar set on Ebay that was a “Great White” brand but had a slight difference in the mug handle and the label on the bottom. I bought them up so now I have a back up set or extra if I ever need it. It also came with a platter and some large bowls.
I actually had black dishes for everyday, until Spring 09. I went and bought white dishes. I really love them, but since then I can not find any move matching sets. You have given me some new ideas. I won’t use them for everyday, until I find more. I use my off white with olives, for everyday, now.
Have a great Friday.
yes,yes!! I LOVE old white dishes, they seem to jump out at me whenever I’m out, whether at yard sales, thrift shops,auctions….:)I found a beautiful curvy 8 piece set at Salvation Army that we use everyday,yup, I drink my coffee out of ’em too!
Most definitey white dishes! That’s what color my husband had when I moved in. My first instinct was to make my own impact, but the white plates had to stay. I’ve been collecting vintage pieces to display in my china cabinet…nothing looks better!
I am in love with white dishes myself. When I buy new everyday dishes they will be white. Your images are lovely.
I love your plates. I have plates in about 10 different colors and I use them to hold candles or for dinner. I have silverware with multi-colored handles…so matching is not an option around here and I like it that way. 🙂
~Kim
I just did a post today about mismatched flatware. I have begun buying it at GW to use when I need extra for company instead of using plastic stuff. I love that it is mismatched. It just makes it all the more interesting. I’ve gotten some great monogrammed pieces. (not my initial, but that’s okay with me) I am definately on the lookout for white dishes. SIMPLICITY…
Love the cream ware, plates, pitchers, creamers, anything cream!!
wonderful displays.
Sorry I have not been by much. Not much time with inventory and taxes. ugh!!
blessings
barbara jean
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE white dishes, stoneware, ironstone, etc…..in fact I just started replacing my “new dishes” with old white dinner plates that I’ve picked up here and there! They remind me of my Grandma Grace. And, the look great with anything.
I posted late last night about a white set of dishes my momma gave me yesterday. And then today I was back at her house and she gave me two white pitchers to display with them, as well as a bunch of other great items.
Then on my way home I stopped at our local SA and found another set of 10 dinner plates…solid white, a different Pfaltzgraff pattern for only $3.99 for all of them. Youd better believe I snatched them right up:)Will be blogging about them later today.
Sarah
handbagsnpigtails.blogspot.com
I just started using all white dishes as well…love your scalloped edges and how you have decorated with them!
Me too!! I love all white dishes.
I found a huge vintage set at a thrift store for $6. SCORE!
Ironstone is a weakness of mine. I buy it anytime I find it at a reasonable price. I’m always amazed at how often I find it at yardsales and thrift stores.
Oh, yes… I’ve been smitten with vintage white dishes and ironstone for a while now. I love that they’re all a little different, but the whites and creams unify them… Funny how little things like these can bring me such joy, no?
Have a good weekend,
-maria
White dishes have been the thing I’ve collected the last couple years. What a surprise! They are here there and everywhere around my house as well. Funny thing is that my brother, a certified executive chef, gave me my first set when his wife closed her catering business. You can’t go wrong with white, but I must admit my obsession for plates and dishes of all colors and designs. I love the variety when I set the table for different holidays and events.
I adore white dishes! My everyday dishes are all white with a raised fruit pattern. I started buying extras at thrift shops about a year ago. Now I am always buying any white dishes I like that I find while goin junkin.
Better than using paper plates when guests are coming over. Cheaper and better for the environment too. I have no shortage of dishes!