Cottage Kitchen Dinnerware

[MaryK]

What kind of dinnerware do you have? and how do you display it (pictures please) ? Many years ago I collected Depression Glass (pattern Pink Sharon/Cabbage Rose) but sold it all. Now I'm sorry I sold it.

I'm not sure if I want to re-collect the Depression Glass or try something else. I recently became aware of Ironstone but don't know anything about it.

I'd love to hear what you have and see pictures.
Thanks.
MaryK

[yarborough house]

I have white. I pick up different pieces anywhere I find them. I don't like matchey matchey so they are different. I do have a set of china but really don't like it or take it out of its protective case. I think come spring I will sell it on ebay.

[memmey]

White me too.......http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/memmey/feb_07108.jpg


This is the tip of the iceberg I'm afraid.http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/memmey/feb_07105.jpg

[Heather]

All matchy matchy here only because our last set was UGLY. I went and got new Ikea plates - cheap ones - hey, I got a 4 year old here!

[MaryK]

I love the all white. Do you do all old or all new or combo ?
On the Ironstone how do you tell the old from the new ?
Or....I'm still thinking about that Depression Glass again ????
Help !!!
MaryK

[yarborough house]

Why couldn't you do depression glass and white.? They would compliment each other. I do any kind of white..antiques from auctions and shops, new from tjmaxx etc, and older in between from flea markets and thrift shops.

And Heather - that is the joy of a 4 year old - you will have all different soon enough as they break them :)

Memmy- I am sooooo jealous feel free to post more pictures and if the mood strikes you at a weird time just box em up and mail em to me..haha :)

[annielinz]

I have matchy match sets of dishes, but doing a mixed bag would be fun.

Mary don't you want to kick yourself when you get rid of things. Well think of it as the "great depression glass hunt" and enjoy collecting again.

Heres a pic with some of the dish sets. I have 3 sets of china;my moms, mine and a set my grandfather gave me. My everyday and then some I've picked up along the way....yes its a illness. Oh lest we forget the ones hanging on the wall.....

[cheapdiva]

I am moving back to all white for everyday - i currently have off white but have had white all my adult life until the off white came 5 years ago. I love white because you can do so much with it. am attaching a photo of my x-mas plates.

we did an open house last weekend and i have started to buy white serving pieces and mixed these and other holiday plates. I will say i have also started buying plates to be used for certain occasions - like turkey plates i bought after thanksgiving. had been $30 for 4, got them for $8!!!

i have packed away everything that isn't white so i can use the white throughout the house and then decorate seasonally.

[Lynzee]

I have seven matchy sets, but the only dishes I use are a set of plain white ones I bought at the dollar store and white serving bowls and platters I've picked up at flea markets. Priceless!

[Lisa S]

I have a large collection of white dishes ~ some I've purchased at the Dollar Store, some from Goodwill. They are a cross of good stuff and not so good stuff.

I also have a bunch of brown and white transferware. I love the way it looks in my dining room in the cabinets.

[Heather]

How's this for open shelving?
Not mine, by the way!

[ChapterTwo]

Okay...at the risk of sounding like my mother :o...
doesn't everything get dusty/dirty in open shelving? The chance that I would use all those pieces, so that they would get washed in a short amount of time, is slim.

It does look nice, though!

[vintage girl]

That would be a bit too open for me, but it looks great. With my open shelving, things do get dusty (at least the decorative non-used items), but it only takes a few minutes extra each week when I clean to run the swifter duster over them. The dishes are my daily dishes, so they are fine. I don't think I would ever go back to closed cupboards. It is just so much fun to "accessorize" my cupboards:D

[memmey]

I have been dreaming of a breakfront in my dining area. I want to use old french doors to close in front of the shelves but I can't find any doors that are old and afforable. I passed up a gorgeous set at the 5 mile garage sale here and I could kick myself. I called the people and they had sold them. They had little panes at the top and bottom and the center of the door was etched panels of glass. Huh, that the story of my life, too cheap to spend the money at the time and looking back they were perfect.
I think I want my things behind doors because I like" 2" don't want to wash things before I use them and I have a dusty old house even if I am diligent to dust.

The cabinet with dishes in it on my photo page here is made from 2 old windows out of my house . When I get things out of there they are fresh and clean. I'm crazy I know but I love opening it and just looking at the things in there. Some people love jewelry some shoes...Me it's DISHES *L*

[ChapterTwo]

I passed up a gorgeous set at the 5 mile garage sale here and I could kick myself. I called the people and they had sold them. They had little panes at the top and bottom and the center of the door was etched panels of glass.

Ooooh, I feel your pain, Memmey! :(
I've done that more times that you can imagine...left without buying something, only to regret it. In fact, there's a place near here that takes consignment...Recently, I brought some items for them to put on sale.
On my way out, I saw the most beautiful "ugly" window...it's really old wood, around a small glass pane, and then all around the clear glass are squares of solid colored glass. It was $78, and especially at this time of year, I don't have money to burn...but that piece is haunting me!

Never mind the fact that I have no idea where I would put it...:rolleyes:

I hope you happen upon something that delights you, Mem...

I always remember a sign that was in a clothing store when I was a teen..."I shoulda bought it when I saw it!" That says it all, doesn't it?

[toolgirl]

I have a mix between milk glass and a vintage rose design from my grandmother. I use two tone brown dishes for everyday, definately a mix of old and new. I love the photos of everyones collections

[Gigi]

I have a cabinet in my kitchen that was my grandmothers that holds all my polish pottery--that I use everyday.

[chyna]

Nothing super exciting at my house. I found 4 plates at a garage sale that have bird houses on them, I thought they looked cottage-y. And a set of dishes that are an off-white with shades blue stripes around the edge. They don't match or cordinate (give me a break on the spelling, I'm having a bad brain day). I do have these nice white soup bowls from Pier 1 that I picked up on clearance years and years ago. Wanted them for good use but it is use it or lose it at this point. Plus the other bowls weren't hacking it.

I do need to find more bowls and some salad plates. My special plates are a motley crew of mismatched floral mostly roses. Imagine that. :p

[shabbychick]

My everyday dishes are the Summer Chintz pattern by Johnson Brothers. I have the drinking glasses and wine glasses that go with them, too. It's a pretty pattern and has worked with most of the changes in my decorating style over the years. My "good" china is the Remembrance pattern by Mikasa (which is ironic since I can never remember the name of the pattern). I only own one or two place settings of it, but I have several other semi-nice china plates in various patterns that I've picked up over the years. They are mostly floral, mostly roses, and almost all in various combinations of pink, yellow, green, blue, and purple. I've never been very good at making up my mind, so I have a tendency to snatch up plates and cups whenever something strikes my fancy, even if it's at a dollar store. If I could find dishes with chickens in my colors rather than in the usual barnyard hues, I'd buy those in an instant, but chickens with pink combs and yellow and spring-green feathers are kind of hard to come by. I love dishes. I'd own dozens of sets if I had the room and ever fed anyone else but my cat.

[chyna]

Went to TJMaxx last weekend and picked up quite a few salad plates. first time around was a butterfly pattern (can't remember the china) and then found an even better set from Thomas Kincade. they are an oatmeal background with green leaves around the edge and in the middle a primitive type of pattern of a cottage. They go quite well with the birdhouses. :) Then we found some plain dark off-white at Ross'. All on clearance, the best kind.

[yarborough house]

Wow chyna you hit the motherload- good job..take a pic of your placesetting and share it please...

[CohenCottage]

I wish I had room to put out all of my grandmother's white ironstone. Maybe I'll send the hubs up to the attic to get it once we have more open shelving. Shabbychick, it sounds like you have a dish obsession like my mom. I would hate to guess how many different kinds she has, all on sale of course! We need to get new glasses BC I break them a lot. Do y'all think ball Mason jars would go with my juliska dishes?

[mavgal]

I have Fiestaware that I got in the 80's, getting tired of it. But my other set is LuRay and they are soooo delicate (chip easy) and are not microwaveable. We've gotten used to warming up leftovers in the microwave right on the plates. Also I worry about what the dishwasher will do to them. (We just now got a dishwasher after being married 25 years!).

[Heather]

Mavgal - I love Fiestaware, are you saying you can't microwave them or is it the other set you are talking about?

[mavgal]

I have Fiesta (from 80's), love the ironstone, it doesn't break or chip easily, but now I'm tired of the colors. I only bought 2 colors cause it was cheaper by the set, boo hoo. I know if I tried selling it though, I wouldn't get anything for it. I have a set of LuRay from the 40's that I absolutely love, but since it's not microwaveable and it chips so easily, I only use it for company. I also have a set that has a cottagy decal, want to find room to display/use it but I have too much kitchen stuff!

[sonna]

Hi
I am looking for fantasy dinnerware and kitchen items to decorate and use in my kitchen. I would like them to be Faeries, and it doesn't matter if porcelain or stoneware or glass.

[ChapterTwo]

My trouble is that I fell in love with Villeroy & Boch "Cottage Inn" Dinnerware. Let's just say that, since a saucer costs $27.75...I don't see it in my future! (And even if I could afford it, I'd be so nervous handling it that I'd probably be dropping it, left and right!) That's the way I am... :o
http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=110702&CategoryID=8529

Even if I could find it at an outlet...it's still too rich for my blood!

[RoseMary]

Those are very pretty, CT. I love the fruit and all the colors. But I'm like you--I'd be too nervous to use them at that price!

Last year I went to all white dinner plates. I buy most at flea markets and thrift stores and even a few from Wal Mart. I buy bowls, saucers, etc. in other colors if I like them and just mix and match.

[ChapterTwo]

Last year I went to all white dinner plates. I buy most at flea markets and thrift stores and even a few from Wal Mart. I buy bowls, saucers, etc. in other colors if I like them and just mix and match.

I think that's a great idea, RoseMary! That way, you can pick up the colors of the current season or to suit your mood.

When I first got married, my mother had bought me a set of white octogonal ironstone by Johnson Bros. (or something like that). It was supposed to be microwave/dishwasher safe but after a short use, it all started to craze and looked terrible. So much for that. But I might borrow your idea, if you don't mind! ;)

Oh, here's something similar to what I had. Mine had little ridges along the edges.
http://www.replacements.com/thismonth/images/JB_HERWH_49bm25_x.jpg

[RoseMary]

Feel free~I'm sure I borrowed from someone:D. Those white dishes are pretty~a shame they didn't last. Most of mine are not anything expensive, so I'm sure they will have a short life, but since I don't care if anything matches, I'll just pick up other white ones along the way. I like a lot of color and this 'style' leaves me free to use as many others as I want in the mix.

[ChapterTwo]

Remember those dishes I was pining away for yesterday, RoseMary? Well, at the flea market today, I found a bunch (I think there are six luncheon, five saucers, and maybe 4 plates) of dishes for $5. I really only wanted ONE, for a plate rack...but they're Tiffany, Stetson Co., 22 kt. gold, so maybe I can sell some of them on eBay. One plate has a chip.
I just couldn't resist the soft colors and pretty flowers. Pretty soon, there's not going to be room to LIVE...:rolleyes:

I have to say I agree with you about the dishes, RoseMary - I'd rather buy something on the more inexpensive side and then if something happens to them...no worry! :o

[RoseMary]

ChapterTwo~those are soooo pretty~what a great deal! At $5, you might decide to use them! They would be perfect alone for afternoon tea:) or mix and match with white plates.

[ChapterTwo]

Tnx, RoseMary! I looked at the plates, walked past them, came back and picked one up, stood there a while...I took forEVER to decide! :D It was one of those times that I knew I'd regret it if I didn't purchase them.

And yes, maybe I can find some pretty solid teacups to go along with the rest - you're right! :)

I also bought a lovely Christmas figurine music box that plays "Jingle Bells" - I'll post a photo tomorrow. A couple weeks ago, I bought two other vintage Christmas figurines...I've got to stay away from flea markets! They only cost a pittance, but still...:rolleyes:

[shabbychick]

Chapter Two,

Those are absolutely gorgeous dishes. Good for you for finding them at such a great price. IMO you can never have too many dishes. You just need more plate racks. :) Looking forward to pics of your other finds, too.

[ChapterTwo]

IMO you can never have too many dishes. You just need more plate racks. :)

HaHa - Great point, shabby! I'll have to find some at the next flea market. ;)
I'm awake in the wee hours on a Sunday because I'm getting a bed delivery today, and the time window is 7 - 1.

I need to gather up my kitties into the other bedroom, for safety, and get a few more things out of the way for the deliverymen.

[vintage girl]

Oh my gosh those dishes are beautiful! I just got rid of a bunch of my dishes (gave them to Goodwill), as I was literally running out of room. But than last night at TJ Maxx they had a set of the prettiest christmas dishes with a lovely vintage pattern in a very very soft red. I didn't get them, but might have to go back today and get them.

[ChapterTwo]

I didn't get them, but might have to go back today and get them.

HaHa! I'll bet the thought of those dishes has been haunting you all day...;) They sound really lovely -I've never weakened to get Christmas dishes because I don't have that much storage space. Sometimes the after Christmas sales are soooo tempting!

Thanks again for all the nice swap gifts, VG. I am so surprised (and glad) that your package reached you so quickly. Enjoy!

[Gigi]

Chapter Two- Beautiful dishes- they remind me of Cottage lovelys!

VG- If you purchase the soft red dishes--- please post a pic- they sounds so pretty.

[vintage girl]

The dishes have been haunting me all weekend;) I am planning on heading over to Marshalls at lunchtime. They had the same dishes last week and I just might have to get them. I think I will hit the Goodwill store also and see if they have anything:D I will post pics of whatever I end up with:)

[farmgal67357]

Hi! I found this at Overstock.....

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Amy-Brown-Fairy-12-piece-Hand-painted-Dinner-Set/3062465/product.html

It's really cute!

[vintage girl]

Those are beautiful!!! Never made it to check out the dishes yesterday, but will try and go today:)

[lenswyf]

Thank you, ladies, for posting all the photos. I've had Myott and Churchill Finlandia for the past 20+ years, and I still like it, but replacement pieces are getting pricey and I don't know that it's really cottage-y. I've been mulling over replacing it with fiestaware, which would coordinate with the period of the house (1927) and has such great colors. But it's helpful to see other ideas here.

Mary

[lenswyf]

Ha! You ladies inspired me to do more research and it turns out that the pattern of my dishes is really old. I even found a company that was making dishes of that pattern shortly before my house was built, and Johnson is now reproducing their version of the dishes. I can add to my collection with their dishes. :D Thanks for nudging me!

[Hillary Black]

Just bumping thread. Thanks!

[Hillary Black]

Just bumping thread. Thanks!

I love bowls, colorful Fiestaware to clear glass, all sizes. Love bowls!

[shabbychick]

I love bowls, too. I have a hard time passing them up when I find a cute one at a thrift shop. And no matter how many I have, I find that I use almost all of them.

[Hillary Black]

just bumping thread thx