Porcelain....hard fired porcelain!
Mikasa makes something they call everyday china that fits the description well.
My DIL got Mikasa fine china to use as her everyday dishes when they got married. They are white with a sort of jazzy looking black and yellow band. They have 3 boys and used them for 20 years, none were chipped there were only service for 8 and someone dropped a dinner plate....and then a couple of dessert plates got broken...and the yellow and black got pretty old...so... last year I bought them new plain white Mikasa everyday china. I bought it at a Mikasa outlet...and a dozen dinner plates and a dozen salad/sandwich/dessert plates cost $80. I could have had cereal bowls for another $40 but they had some generic white cereal bowls...and never use cups and saucers but for formal settings when they use the Wedgewood...so...
Buy porcelain...not pottery...it's lighter and stronger. Mikasa has something they call Studio Nova that has mugs instead of cups and some nice casual patterns...I love the sail boat one!!
Linda C

Here is a link that might be useful: Mikasa

Blueiris, thanks for starting this thread. I'd like some new dishes..I only have one set..I don't have the space to store multiple sets..But I'm down to 5 dinner plates. LOL And well on most days that's fine, since there is 5 of us, and I usually eat off a salad plate and put the little boys food on a dessert plate..But I'd like a set of 8..but I only want the various plates and bowls. I don't want cups, saucers or mugs. But there is no way I'm going to buy something by the piece either..even cheap stuff is to expensive to buy that way!
I'll be interested in further responses..Maybe Kathleen has some suggestions too..(since she's a Dish Queen!)

I'll have to cruise the Mikasa site..and then try and find an outlet..
Although $120 is Decembers natural gas bill!
Might have to wait until July or August when it's only $50. LOL

DH and I have LL Bean stoneware, blueberry pattern. We've had it since we got married 11 years ago. Haven't broken or chipped a dish yet!

All Mikassa Outlets are closing after Christmas. You will be only be able to purchase at Dept stores.
I have porcelain for every day, it is Dansk, but Lenox has bought them out so now it is not the same. They don't have the nice dishes they used to have!

BlueIris, I bought my dil a set of Johnson Bros, and it was porcelain. I think 90% is chipped, but I don't know who is to blame!!!
If you really want rugged stuff check out the new Corelle patterns.. Since my dil is due with their 4th, it will be many years before they are careful with dishes., I had a set of Corelle in our summer home, and they still look great. They are thin. so you can stack a lot in a small space. I think I will get them a set of Corelle for Christmas!
And Terri, there are many on the forum who share my addiction...so I will share the crown, but thanks! LOL

I've been very happy with my Emile Henry dinnerware. They have vibrant colors and are very resistant to chipping and scratching (though DH broke one of them by dropping the sugar bowl on it--a direct hit!). I bought only the dinner plates, in a solid cobalt blue, as I decided to mix and match with blue-and-white patterned salad plates and serving pieces I already had. If you don't need all pieces of a place setting (and who uses cups and saucers for casual meals these days?), then buying open stock (e.g., in sets of four) is a reasonable way to go.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Emile Henry

I'm going to mention it only because it hasn't been yet, but for everyday dishes that are nearly indestructible, Corelle glass is great. We have always used "nice" china, Denby baroque mostly, (I have lots of sets of china) but one day about five years ago I brought home some cheapo corelle to replace the Johnson Bro. that were getting skimpy. Dh went gaga over them! "Ooohhh, it's like a paperplate"! Obviously, he doesn't miss all the nice china I was using!
I still use nice china for meals but for snacks or whatever, he uses the Corelle. I like food off of something pretty.

I agree with Lindac about the Mikasa. It looks even better in person than on the website, and it has a nice weight to it -- not too heavy, not too light.

I had just decided on a set and was "this" close to buying it when MIL gave a set of her dishes I'd admired that have sentimental value for her. So I think I have to use them a certian length of time before replacing if I want to keep my title as Best DIL. :)

Kathleen, I had wondered what happened to Dansk! We were windowshopping recently and I pikced up a platter to show someone and it felt...not like the old Dansk. That would explain it.

Kathleen, I said "a"..not "the". LOL I know there are others.
I look at Corelle all the time..but I've not seen one that I LOVE...

Bumble, I had suggested Corelle in my post, LOL. For a family with young kids, great!

Terri, keep looking, they are coming out with new ones all the time. The one I have from the cottage is white with 2 bright yellow bands. 30 yrs old..dil couldn't believe it was that old and looked good. When they stayed there this summer she was even bringing it down to the beach with their dinner on it...hmmm.... mil (me)not happy about that! LOL

Bean, Dansk used to have some great stuff, and GREAT sales. Now it seems it is just chunky casual stuff, and not much selection...

Johnson Brothers is not porcelain....it is "semi porcelain" which chips...
Didn't know ALL Mikasa outlets were closing....I thought only the one near me! Well.....bummer!!
Sorry....not a fan of Corelle....looks a little too "dorm room" for me.
I have....HAD an Dansk outlet near me as well!
Sob....guess I'll have to go cold turkey!!
Linda C

There was a Dansk store not far from here, and it closed before I could go back and pick up another steel enameled roast/lasagna pan. I have the small one, but wanted the big one! Have never seen them since.

My mom has the White Mikasa set, with the octagon shape. Has had it for a long time, it really does wear very well, and it lasts. No chips, no scratches! Looks as nice as the day she opened the box!

MIL had Corelle, now she's in Florida, haven't been there in a while, haven't a clue what she's using :) but the Corelle lasted nicely, too!

LOL, Bean, I'm betting you will always keep your title as Best DIL! Were the ones you looked at and wanted from Crate and Barrel? Those were pretty! They also have nice dishes there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Crate and Barrel Dinnerware

If how well it will hold up without breaking or chipping is what is most important, I would also suggest Corelle. The set I have has been used daily for 17 years. My son is now 17, for the past 11 years his jobs have included setting the table and loading and unloading the dishwasher. Not even a chip. Well on the ones I still have, hubby dropped a dutch oven on one, from about 8 feet when he was putting the pot on the top shelf, and broke one of the dishes clean in two. At least there were only two pieces to pick up! The pattern is worn on some of the plates, my hubby is overzealous with a knife! I would suggest going with one of the all white plates, very clean looking.

I second the Correlle... The only bad part is it lasts FOREVER.... I've had my set for over 25 years and only lost 2 plates... I can't tell you how many times I've dropped a dish, bowl or cup on the floor, in the sink... Of the two that broke, one fell on the sidewalk when I was taking some food to a neighbor and the other was thrown at hubby and hit the corner of the fridge.... lol

And some of the new patterns are down right beautiful... ( click on New Products )

Rita

Here is a link that might be useful: Correlle

I often use Corelle for every day because it's light and thin and stacks well when I have nowhere to put any more dishes. I bought it in Canada with a gift certificate I was given and shipped it over here. We use it a lot and it certainly doesn't break.

I also like to use my French Duralex tempered glass dinnerware which is five times harder than china, is chip resistant and will go in microwave or freezer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tempered Glass Dinnerware

Sorry...the picture above refers to my LUMINARC (not Duralex which is similar) dinnerware, which is part of the French ARC company, which also produces Mikasa.

SharonCb.

Here is a link that might be useful: ARC International

I forgot about Corelle! I think that is just what I need.

LOL Rita on the forever part! So, is it best to order from their website or from a store like Target?

I've also got a set of tempered glass Arcoroc dinnerware which I love to use because it is even thinner than Corelle. The set had 4 each plate, salad plate, bowl and mug and I think after 20 years or more only one piece was broken. I often wish I had bought another boxed set of this. This glass dinnerware stacks so well and takes up no room at all in the cabinet.

I've also got a set of tempered glass Arcoroc dinnerware which I love to use because it is even thinner than Corelle. The set had 4 each plate, salad plate, bowl and mug and I think after 20 years or more only one piece was broken. I often wish I had bought another boxed set of this. This glass dinnerware stacks so well and takes up no room at all in the cabinet.

oops...sorry 'bout that

i have a very cheap set of everyday, no name stoneware that we've been using for the last dozen years or so. i haven't broken or chipped a single piece but the downfall to it is that it does show utensil marks everywhere...

i miss the dansk store terribly. i have bought lots and lots of their accessories over the years--candle holders and their tiny tapers and teak serving pieces--that sort of thing. and it just so happens i'm going to the mikasa store tomorrow. wouldn't hurt my feelings if i found a set of dishes there...

My fiestaware seems indestructible.

I am a horrible clutz in the kitchen - always trying to move onto the next task before I finish the present one - and in the process, clunking my plates against the side of the cupboard or something similar. I've chipped and broken many other things but not the Fiestaware.

Stacy

Great topic! I want to buy DD & DSIL new dishes for the holidays. The stoneware that she got 4 years ago is chipping and takes up lots of room in the cabs. I was looking at Corelle while cruising through QVC for a butter boat. I can't believe how nice it looks now! I have no idea how the prices are, but they do seem to have a selection of patterns.

DD's floors are all ceramic tile. What do you think of Corelle for that situation? I'm only picturing someone dropping a dish and having it splinter into millions of tiny fragments, am I correct?

I prefer the elegance of porcelain but for a family where kids help with dishes, I think Corelle is a good choice. My everyday dishes (Villeroy & Boch) suffered many chips and breaks over the years. Replaceable but it adds up.

I think you can play basketball with Corelle.

I love Dansk, I had no idea they were no more. Sniff.

Here is a link that might be useful: Corelle

I have 2 sets of Villeroy and Boch, one from Germany, the other from Luxembourg. The Amapola has been in daily use for 25 years and I've had some breakage this year, for the very first time. This has survived four kids and their friends, other than this year. The second pattern is Manoir. More pieces of that broke over the years, almost all due to a couple of DS2's friends, all accidents. So, all in all, I think V&B vitreous porcelain is a good bet. However, you cannot bounce it off of a granite counter top, we recently discovered. ;>)

I had Corning Ware stoneware for almost 20 years and it held up well. Only a couple of chips but it dulled down alot. With my new kitchen I got Pfaltzgraff "Silk Rose" which is Dishwasher and Microwave safe.
Clare

Carol - We were going to get the ones from Crate & Barrell, and the night before I was to place the order, DH managed to break a tooth completely in half. Guess where my dishes budget went? The only porcelain we bought that year was his crown! Then all heck broke loose and dishes were forgotten about for a while. Right before we moved here, I said, "I am NOT moving these heavy, ugly dishes again. Let's just bite the bullet and get new ones." He agreed. We had decided on the Tyler Florence-designed ones from Mikasa. Then he said, "Wait until after the move to order them. No point shipping them here, then moving them across the country." First day I was here, MIL said, "Oh, I remember you said you liked my dishes, so I'm leaving them with you. They were a wedding present from FIL's mother." Soooo... Ah well, At least I do like them. And it IS service for 12 with every serving piece you can imagine. So, no big deal. At least I got rid of the ones I hated. LOL!

Compumom, yes, COrelle will shatter. But it takes a LOT to make that happen. You almost have to fling it to the tile floor edge-first.