Are these everyday dishes or occasion dishes? If they're everyday dishes, I'd keep more than 12 plates so you have some leeway in running the DW when you have family visiting.

If it were me, I'd box up what you don't think you'll need on a daily basis but still keep them. That way you can didp into them when you have company, and if you find you don't ever use them, send the to college with your son in a few years.

You sound like me! I have the Village - I think, it's been so long I forgot the name. They are blue. SIL had the brown set.

I liked them years ago, but decided they were too thick and heavy to store above an easy reach. Packed everything away thinking DS would take them to college and bought enough Corelle for two meals without washing dishes. DS graduates in a few weeks; the dishes are still packed away for the most part. Some have been resurrected as I found need for them: soup bowls, salad plates and a few unique serving pieces. He is getting married and they don't want the dishes. I'll keep what I use, but it is time to clean out the cupboards so the rest will go to the charity shop.

If you don't like what you have, sell them and buy dishes you like. 8 years is too long to hang on to dishes that were just ordinary when we bought them-hehe.

cotehele - are you saying sell the entire collection (set for 16+, plus serving pieces)? I guess I might have enough to get a decent price and buy a pattern I like, but the serving pieces are so expensive! That's what kept me from buying something else for the past 18 years. So I figured I could live with them another 8-15 years and when the kids are out of the house (send the Heritage with them as a "starter" set), I could buy what I really liked.

You've had them 18 years, and you don't really like the set? GET RID OF IT and buy something you like! It's time. :) Keep the serving pieces if you like them, but I'll bet you could sell them (discontinued! classic!) on ebay if you need to. I say this as someone with service for 12 of Pfaltzgraf Heirloom stoneware gathering dust in my garage.

I just gave my mismatched... don't even remember how long I had them... where I got them... or how many times I moved them dishes to my son and bought myself a new set. He even got a couple of my parents everyday dishes that had worked their way into my bundle. It was fun buying what ever I wanted. I wanted white so I just bought service for 8. Then I'll buy some square colorful plates to mix and match in. I have serving platters and if I need/choose to get any more serving type pieces I love looking through places like HomeGoods, TJ Maxx, Marshall...etc to find special pieces. It helps that I'm real informal and though I love to entertain don't worry if my pieces don't match perfectly. Now, if my food isn't ready all at the same time... that freaks me out!

I just had a major sort thru of my dishes. More mugs than you could shake a stick at. And a whack load of impractical cheap stoneware knock offs that heated up too much in the microwave (the dishes got hotter than the food!), had developped fine lines in the glaze, with some of them cracking.

I bought a new set of dishes for everyday use and I love them. A bit of sticker shock.....but......

I also did not buy any servingware that matches my dishes - I'm convinced that I can find something that matches, but is less expensive.

And I'm now on the market for some new pyrex as my big dish exploded on me, on Saturday (glad that it missed my face, and that the kids weren't near by - completely my fault, but an interesting lesson in thermal shock).

Oh, DH would kill me after just spending $25 for *more* if I sold the whole set. I found these on CL for $80, even if could get a couple 100 for my whole set, it wouldn't be enough to even buy a set for 8 - I just looked on Pf's clearance page and the Latte (which is OK, I really liked the Juniper) is $5/plate!

So that's why I've kept it so long - it's our everyday set, but I have enough for dinner with grandparents and it's nice I have the serving pieces (I have used them in Tgivings past), now I have enough that I can even have siblings for dinner if they happen to be visiting from out of town and we seat people in the kitchen. I lived too far way from my parents b4 - everybody would just pile into their house. But now I'm only 10 miles so some people can stay with us, some with my parents, and I can have most of the clan over for a meal (not all at the same time but thank goodness that only tends to happen in the summer so we eat outside).

As I said, with all my aunts, uncles and cousins around we don't tend to get together for meals but can easily have 16-20 people over for dessert - house is still under construction so nobody's asked me to host Xmas Eve buffet (we tend to use paper plates) but sooner or later it'll happen. Xmas Eve with my mom's siblings, their kids and grandkids can easily be 30 people just with locals. Of course I wouldn't be serving the kids (10 under 10) on stoneware. But that still leaves 20 adults for cake and coffee.

Here is a link that might be useful: Blue Village on CL

Wow, Chloe_s_mom, what happened? Glad nobody was hurt!

i cant believe that you can keep a set that long! i must get a new set every few years or so. somehow our everyday dishes get broken and in no time at all we might be down to 3 or 4 plates. almost the same story with my flatwear. my tea spoons seem to sprout legs and walk off.

Heritage is simple white dish. Color-wise, you could use the serving pieces with another set...

I recommend finding something you do like. As you buy pieces in it, put away the corresponding Heritage pieces. Then, when you have the basics (dinner plate, dessert/salad plate, cereal bowl, mug/cup, saucer) you could go ahead sell those Heritage pieces. They are discontinued and Pfaltzgraff appears to be selling off the rest of their stock, but eventually they will sell out and then someone will be looking for replacement pieces...so I think there will still be a market out there for them! [PF Heritage]

BTW...the "Blue Village" linked above is the Yorktowne pattern (blue on gray)...my pattern! I've had it for over 20 years and, yes, I still do like it. Village is the brown on brown pattern & Folk Art is the blue on brown pattern. Both, btw, are still available "By Request" from PF. I think the three of them, Yorktowne, Village, and Folk Art, are the three original patterns from Pfaltzgraff. A sad note about Pfaltzgraff: they no longer make them in the USA...they're now made in China and you can definitely see the difference in quality (at least I can!)

As to your DH, you could either

* look around now & take your time finding something you like (it doesn't have to be Pfaltzgraff!) and in 6 months or so tell him how you feel and what you plan to do to replace the old w/the new

...OR...

* Just come out & tell him that while you got those pieces (very inexpensively from what I can tell) to tide you over, you really don't like the pattern that well. Tell him your plan for replacement.

In both cases, when you tell him your plans for replacement w/a new set, emphasize to him that you plan to gradually replace the old w/the new and that you will keep using the Heritage to supplement your new set until you have enough. I'd also tell him that you plan to keep the serving pieces b/c they're so useful and versatile enough to go w/almost anything.

Sorry - I think the Village and Yorktowne look a bit alike and PP said she had Village so I guess that stuck in my mind.

I just searched Pf's site and can't see that Heritage is being discontinued, but a lot of the 25-30 yr (?) old pieces that I have like the covered bowls, the teapot (too tall to be of use) and the jam pots are nowhere to be found.

I did buy a set of 4 (plus S&P, S&C) Winterberry last year b/c I have loved that pattern for decades, we used it for Xmas bfast when my parents came over to see the kids open presents in their own house for the 1st time (1st time my parents saw, I mean - we've spent Xmas Eve at their house many times but they never stayed with us for Xmas). Kids used the smaller plates and we used the dinner plates for my grandma's recipe stollen that I made for the 1st time.

The Filigree pattern is the same as Winterberry, in plain white. Still, a set for 8 would be $140 - I guess I could make do with 8 since I have the 4 Winterberry. A set for 16 (for those dessert buffets) would be $210. Then the serving pieces at $15 - $20 each, and as with the Heritage, they don't make covered bowls anymore. Wonder why not? They're best for keep mashed potatoes, etc. warm.

I did notice the difference - I bought 4 sets of Winterberry looking for 2 that would have the same exact color green on the border and I couldn't match any of them, so I just kept the one set of 16 pieces.

DH knows I don't really like the Heritage, but hey, they are durable! I don't know about using the serving pieces with something like the Filigree - one is delicate and lacy-looking, the other is angular and heavy.

Maybe I'll just buy a small set of Filigree if I ever see them on sale like I did the Winterberry (at the grocery store!) and mix them at the holidays, then when the kids are out of the house I'll have the Filigree for the 2 of us, put the Heritage in storage for when *my* kids and grandkids come back for holiday dinners!

OK, but for now, should I keep everything or try to sell a set of 8 plates and other odd pieces? I've *almost* talked myself into keeping all the dessert plates, cups and saucers (16-20 of each) for holidays with extended family!

Why should you go through life using something everyday that you don't like? I would sell as much as you can -- with a complete set(s) (I'd sell one for 12 and one for 8), you should be able to get a good price. Sell the extra pieces and the serving pieces individually so you get folks looking for replacements or completer pieces going for those and don't just limit it to the folks interested in a complete set. Take what you get and put it towards a new set you enjoy and get a thrill out of using.

If you want to make it more gradual, sell a set and use the rest while you shop for something you love - then sell the rest and buy something that makes you smile. You don't have to break the bank. I bought 2 sets of dishes and got place settings for 12 in each plus some serving pieces in one and spent about $200 total. One was by the piece on clearance and the other was sold in sets. I think it was on sale plus we were able to use a coupon for an additional discount. I still have the dishes we got when we married. If I use them again, I can send DS's off to college with these starting in a couple of years. If I get something new again, I can sell the old stuff as I had planned (got too crazy with the remodel).

Wow, just looked on Replacements and soup tureen with lid, ladle, and underplate (guess I better keep an extra plate) is $100! Coffeepot is $48, jam pot is $30. Saucer alone is $2. The pedestal mugs we love but only have 2 of are $16 each.

Does anybody know what Replacements will buy for as compared to what they sell for? I was going to put things (not serving) in a yardsale, but if a 5-pc place setting is going for $24 on Replacements, maybe I *could* get enough to buy new Filigree? Ebay instead of Replacements, sell them off piece by piece instead of a lot?

Maybe start with things that I never or rarely use like the coffeepot and jampots, maybe the soup tureen, and the extra saucers, so to get enough to buy a set of Filigree, then sell off place settings like beuhl said?

You're right... I saw "Dinnerware : Disc" in the tab name plus there were hardly any pieces to select from (compared to the other patterns) and several "sold out", that I thought it meant "Discontinued"...but it means "Discount".

When they discontinued Snow Bear, it was similar...fewer pieces w/many "sold out." So I thought the same thing was happening to Heritage. That's what I get for trying to answer a message quickly! [BTW...they brought Snow Bear back after a year...not just as "By Request"...I think they had so many requests for it!]

From what I understand, Replacements.com buy pretty low, and sell high. I definitely think you'd do better selling on EBay.

I just checked eBay completed listings - *nobody* is buying Heritage. A whole set for $30, coffeepot for $8 instead of $48, soup tureen for $20-$25 not $100 - burst my bubble! At this point I'm back to keeping the set or selling at a yard sale if Replacements won't offer much. I've sold few things on eBay, it was a hassle (though I may sell those extra wine glasses there since they're $$$). I guess with stoneware the shipping charges are just too much to get anything for the dishes themselves.

i may check Replacements to see what they'll give for the tureen, coffeepot and jampots. Thanks

I agree, you'll do better selling on ebay than to replacements.com. I sold my china that I didn't use any more on ebay and it worked out quite well.

I bought all new dishes when my kitchen remodel was completed. I had a lot of mismatched leftovers from the sets I'd had over the years and I wanted to wait till my kitchen was done to replace it all. I boxed up all my old stuff and both my boys are now using bits and pieces at college. When they graduate, they may take more so I'm glad I've held on to it.

My theory on serving pieces is to not get the ones that match your dishes. Instead get pretty dishes that complement your set. That way you can change your dishes in the future if you want, without being tied to that set because of the serving pieces. But of course, that's just me. I like having everything be a little bit eclectic instead of all matching.

I brough new dishes after redoing our kitchen. We were down to 6 bowls and 8 plates from the set of 12. I was very excited to get a new set after being married 15 yrs. I was going to get rid of the old ones (we sold my husbands before marrige dishes, set of 4 at a garage sale for $5, and it was missing 3 pieces), but decided we had room to keep them in a cabinet and use them w/ the kids. I do have small (and large) mugs from the old set, and my sell the small mugs since I never used them.

If you decide to replace these dishes, here's a heads-up. Dishes today are *huge*! Dinner plates are 1-2" wider so they wouldn't fit in my upper cabinets. Sink bowls are so large and deep - honestly, who needs a 16 oz soup bowl? - they wouldn't stack neatly in the bottom rack of the dishwasher, they had to go on top with the glasses, which meant that I would end up with wasted space below. I carried a tape measure with me when I shopped. If something came close, I'd buy a bowl and bring it home for a "test" drive in my dishwasher. I started to wonder if the dish manufacturers considered everyday life. Eventually I found a good replacement for my 18+ year old Pfaltzgraff dishes. I bought Fiesta dinnerware (in red, such fun!). They are durable, made in America, and they fit my cabinets and dishwasher.

I thought the Heritage plates were huge! They're 10.5 inches rim to rim, and I think the cereal bowls (if they're the same as they're selling today) are 17oz (5.5" and pretty deep) - way too big for cereal - I think we eat too much trying to fill the bowl. But they're good for chili, stew, and salad. They have never fit well in any DW I've owned - I thought b/c they are rimless. The best fit is in the Bosch.

How big are dinner plates now?

Some dinner plates are as wide as 12"! Ours are also 10.5" in diameter.

In the Yorktowne pattern, there are 3 sizes of cereal bowls. The kids & I use the smallest for cereal and I use them for prepping. The next size up are used for soup, as veggie serving bowls, and by my DH for cereal. The largest bowls are also used as veggie serving bowls. We have the "regular" serving bowls as well, but they're too big when you're making veggies for only 4 people! They're great for parties, at holidays, mashed potatoes, & larger items, though.

I don't ever remember seeing a covered serving dish in the Yorktowne pattern...I wish I had, I would have liked to have a couple!

I agree completely that you should not be using something you don't love.

Buy what you like, but don't worry about getting all the matching serving dishes. Supplement with crystal, white, metal, ceramics, or whatever looks good alongside your new china. Go to Homegoods and TJMax and check out what they have.

Twenty years ago I got rid of my old Mikasa stoneware and replaced it with a discontinued bone china pattern from Villeroy and Boch. Over the next year, I bought every serving piece in that pattern (sometimes even two!), calling around to the outlet stores throughout the country. I still love the pattern, but I wish I hadn't bought so many serving pieces. I found that setting the entire table in the same pattern looks boring, so most of the time I use other pieces to make it more interesting.

Just my two cents worth!

I can't handle plates I don't like. I bought my everyday set at Target - quite inexpensively. If you hate them, why eat off of them?

Sure, keep the large serving pieces. None of my serving pieces match, and that's okay with me. I don't have a soup tureen - when do I ever make that much soup?

I didn't say I *hated* the Heritage - just wouldn't have been what I would have picked as my everyday set if we had registered, or if we'd even had any money when we got married and I had to replace my set of 16 (4 plc settings) Corelle. Since then, we still haven't had the money to spend on replacing perfectly good (OK, a few chipped but I got rid of cracked ones) dishes.

The serving pieces are a bonus and do come in handy, though I wouldn't use them with anything else except another heavy looking set. So when the plates go, the serving pieces go. I don't have to have matching serving pieces, but if I get Filigree "everyday" dishes, I would like some large serving bowls (preferably covered) and a platter that are similarly delicate since I don't have good china, these would have to serve as my "having people over for dinner" set too. And I hate the idea of going out and spending $25 for a non-matching platter at TJ Maxx when I can get the Filigree one for $20 or so anyway.

If I got nice white (Filigree) serving pieces, I would probably use those instead of buying matching china serving pieces when I did get around to buying china. I already mix in some silverplate at the holidays when I use the Heritage. I would love to find some V&B - my sister got some as her "everyday" dishes from MIL. Of course, her "good" dishes are Wedgewood. There are also some Lenox patterns of china I like, though my favorite (would be too afraid to use it) would be antique flow blue.

I have only used the tureen once since I bought it (for the plate that came with it!) at Goodwill a year ago, but the covered dishes (casseroles?) and the platter get used whenever there are more than the 4 of us - the platter even with just the 4 of us if I make a big roast or a whole chicken.

Fitting dishes in the dishwasher has become a challage w/ new dishes. Before my old bowls were hard to put in but we managed. Now that I have new dishes, the bowls are really deep and work better in the top, dishes fit only w/ smaller dishes next to them, and my mugs which look beautiful and I love because they are big are hard to fit in the glass rack well. The upside I don't have to get up for seconds so quickly for my coffee. We did keep are old dishes and now we alternat using them so everything fits better in the dishwasher.

I'd love for everybody on this thread to post their ages! This feels so much like a generational difference to me.

I read this friend aloud to friends who happened to stop by at just the right time (they are early thirties to late twenties)and we laughed ourselves silly at the "generation gap". I often plan for people with matching sets of bowls/plates etc and I always allocate space to the serving pieces but I have to admit I've never SEEN one. Lol.

I read the part about the soup tureen and the response was "Touring? What?" Then we pulled up pictures with google and they were like "Yep, a bowl with a lid. Nice. What do they do with the lid when you are getting soup?" Lol.

As a thirty something we use all dishware interchangeably. Big glass mugs substitute for fragiler glasses and can be used for milk, coffee or water no problem! Bowls? The bigger the better! What's a small bowl but a bowl that wishes it were bigger! Serving bowls? My fruit salads go to the table in old pottery mixing bowls.

Most of my personal dishware is mismatched pottery but even the friends that are more sophisticated have a matched set they bought from Ikea with maybe a pitcher or a butter dish to match. (They do have HUNDREDS of wine glasses though.. and we drink milk out of them too!)

It's amazing to me how different even a generation can be!

Oh, and I agree: that is too long to wait for what you want. Start to liquidate those and get something you REALLY like!

morgne,
Very interesting post about the ages affecting what you want. When I was 20, getting married the first time, I registered for china and would have LOVED to have received all the matching serving pieces and odds and ends, the more the better! But of course we didn't, and actually didn't have much, so made do... as you point out that your generation does.

However, now, at 48, I'm the exact opposite. It's nice to have a COUPLE of matching pieces, simply because if I like the pattern, I'd like to have it in more than just the dishes. But I love having lots of different pieces that don't match, in different colors, different patterns, different uses. Some work well together, some don't. Some are for specific things, for example, I have a very cute fish shaped shallow bowl that I serve lox in occasionally. I like it because it's cute and different.

I think that the "gap" between my age and your age in my case comes in the fact that at this point in my life, I want to serve food in pretty or interesting dishes. I will never again serve food in a plastic tupperware type container for example. And because I like to serve in pretty dishes, I have collected many of them over time.

Yeah, it's easier and simpler to just serve things in your mixing bowls, and to make everything multi-purpose. But it's oh-so nice to be able to set a beautiful table with nice serving pieces, and since I can afford it and enjoy it, why not!