I find that the glaze on newer china isn't nearly as durable as it was on vintage pieces, so I try to find vintage on eBay or local resale shops. Wedgwood White and Nantucket are two of my favorite all white patterns. Both are still in production, but the new versions are made in Asia.

I bought open stock plates, low bowls and square salad plates from C&B about 10 years ago, I think. I would guess they are the Aspen...it says nothing on the back of the plates but C&B made in Sri Lanka.

I love them; there is not one of them with a chip or a mark, no silverware marks anywhere - every single one is still perfect. They get lots of use; I entertain a lot and they are my only dinnerware. I can't recommend them highly enough.

One son pickedthis one out -- I think he liked the diferent sized bowls in the set. Current sale price plus 15% puts it just over $50 for 6 place settings. The saleslady at Macy's said she'd had the same dishes for a year or two and loved them. They actually had three different styles -- all white.

Other son has this set. It also comes in a round version. It is also on sale with an additional 15% off, but I have seen it a little lower -- about $100 for the set, if you feel you can wait. He's ahd that 4 years used with college roommates that abused things so badly I left pans behind rather than try to rescue them -- but the chine looks new. No chips and only one piece broke and that was when a doofus dropped something heavy on a bowl. That's what crazy as it might have sounded, I bought him bone china for his college apartment. ;)

I don't have any experience with the C&B dishes, but I've known people who really like them.

I've had IKEA 365 dishes for 3 years and have been happy with them. . You can buy in sets or open stock. Pretty inexpensive so if one chips or breaks not a big deal.

I have the C&B Essential line as my everyday dinnerware for plates and bowls (my coffee mugs are the Everyday mugs with more heft from C&B). I bought them about 5 years ago to replace old Pfaltzgraff stoneware that was falling apart. I like the white simplicity of the Essential line. Its durable porcelain that's better than my old stoneware but I do have 2 plates and 1 bowl with chips. I believe though they were caused by my kids' less-than-careful loading/unloading of the dishwasher. The timing of the chips coincide with when their clean-up duties increased.

Overall I've been very happy with it and would recommend.

A few years a go I bought crates of restaurant China. Dirt cheap and it has held up extremely well. And I have enough to host parties. It can be tough to find a restaurant supply store that will sell to the public though (I think most are not set up to deal with the sales tax).

I have the Hue plates from Crate and Barrel. I love them. We use the small size plates for dinner (because we are working on portion control!) and I like that they are mostly flat with just the curved edge, if that makes sense.

We have the Hue plates in both sizes, and the bowls. I also like the idea that you don't have to buy a set. I have a mix of the ivory, blue, and green plates. My bowls are all ivory.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/search?query=hue

Those Hue plates are really pretty, Sue. And I totally get the point about the rim; many plates waste a lot of space on rims, so if you used the salad plates for meals it would be way too small.

Sheel, I would try to buy plates in person. I think you will have an issue giving up the light weight you are used to. Very few plates are so light. I got used to using some melamine ones (whole nother thread) for casual, and TBH I don't like handling china anymore.

I really like the Hue dishes too! i much prefer when plates have a 'thinner profile' so they take up less room in the cabs and stack better in the dishwasher...

with my kids and my less than careful husb who often helps with cleanup and dishwasher loading/unloading, I learned long ago not to get too attached to our every day dishes!!! I have actually found that I like replacing the sets every few yrs, tho I have several partial sets now packed up for when the kids have apts but don't know if they will all actually be used now- will probably be time to donate some soon!

I love Corelle for breakfast and lunch dishes. Had a set that was probably 40 years old that I recently got rid of. A few of the plates had a little chipping. I replaced the set with 6 packs of Corelle plates and bowls specific to our needs.

For dinner dishes I use a mix ... purchased at TJ Maxx/Marshall's, Cost Plus World Market (love their dishes made in Portugal), and C&B. I was hesitant to buy online from C&B because of the scratching issue you mentioned. I checked with them before ordering. Still, it's better if you can see/touch the dishes beforehand.

The thing I don't like about Corelle is they are so light. I don't know why that bothers me but I prefer a heavier plate. Our main everyday dishes are kind of an an off-white/natural color, I can't even remember the maker but they have a scalloped type edging. We have quartz countertops and I've never noticed scratching. That said, I don't look too close for scratches. LOL One thing is I never, ever set a plate on our smooth top stove. I am very careful about scratching it. I like using the off-white color because I have a ton of dishes (many vintage) that I can mix and match with them. We are like Sue and usually eat off the smaller plates.

Bone china are lighter than anything other than plastic or Corelle.

We use ivory-colored Fiesta every day. I keep waiting for the day when we'll break a piece, but this stuff is so sturdy that it's held up remarkably well and so far no losses suffered. I'm very pleased with it.

The light weight is what I love about Corelle. I prefer a heavier plate for dinner meals.

The scratching issue for me is in stacking. I don't want any dishes with rough bottoms. When shopping that's the first thing I check. Have some hand thrown pottery pieces that I have to store with care.

plant a tree

i like glass plates

We use Fiesta too. It's very durable. I bought a bunch 20 years ago and we still use it every day. I've added to it over the years as my family grew. I like that it's always available and comes in a lot of colors, which get swapped out every so often.

I'm a big Corelle fan for two reasons. They are light weight, and are show every little age over time. I plan on giving our current set to our son when he finishes school and gets a place of his own and buy us a solid white set. I have a set a stoneware, but have rarely used it. It's solid white and similar the first set lascatx linked to. Those it's nice looking, it's just so heavy and takes up so much room, I have a set of twelve, in my kitchen with over flow in back of our pantry. Just not worth the space in my opinion.

Jen, I didn't even realize fiesta came in ivory! I have a few pieces in other colors and love it.

Love the Hue dishes from C&B, Sue.. and like you, I use the smaller plates for meals so appreciate the narrow rim. I'll have to check them out in person.

I have the Sophie Conran Portmeirion dishes for every day. I dislike the mugs but very much like the serving dishes. The plates work well and are pretty durable.. but I wish I had bought the pasta bowls instead of the cereal bowls. They would work much better for salads, stews and soups.

I really dislike drinking from the thicker rim that many heavier stoneware set mugs have... I always consider that if I'm buying a whole set of dishes...

Tina, I used to have a rainbow of Fiesta dishes that were well suited to my then-Mexican themed décor. When I changed it all for a cottage look, I sold what I had and used that money to purchase all ivory pieces. I love it and can't imagine getting tired of it. It's so versatile. (But that's not to say I don't still drool a bit over some of the other colors!)

I have Fiesta also but I only use it if I have too. Their bowls are horrible in the microwave. They get so hot I need an oven mit, while the food is cool. Fiesta is great for kitchen decor though.

For everyday, I use Corelle. They use up little space in the dishwasher and cabinets.

Have you seen all the patterns they have now?

Villeroy & Boch is what I use when we have a nice sit down meal with company.

I don't put Fiesta in the microwave.

Jen, I have a friend who has a (mostly) cream colored kitchen. She then accented the room with various shades of fiesta and her curtain fabric has the same colors, as do her other accessories. I think she uses 4 or 5 different colors. She mixes and matches her fiesta at the table and I just love it!!

I love ivory plates. I will always have a set of ivory/cream plates to mix and match. I love to set a pretty table!

I have been thinking about stocking up on plates at the dollar tree. Has anyone done this? I have red dishes from JC Penney that I've had for years, but they are heavy.

Sue, are the Hue dishes smooth on the bottom? Love those low bowls. They remind me of a Marin bowl I got from C&B, but mine was made in Portugal.

Yes, they are smooth. I have both the low bowls and the smaller bowls. I love the low bowls for pasta and big salads. Of course, I should be eating pasta from the SMALLER bowl...

Thanks! I use my Marin pasta/low bowl for a serving dish. Bet the Hue low bowl could work the same. I think I'll look around and maybe order a few things.

I like to serve pasta on a plate. Pasta bowls are dangerous for me.

I just looked at my IKEA dishes. The bottom is not rough. The part where the rim meets the plate is a tiny bit rough in comparison but it does not scratch the other plates when stacked. They are much lighter than my previous stoneware set.

Also, the rim is raised and is 1 1/2" and the plate part is 7", which is actually smaller than some salad plates so no need to have both sizes if you're looking for portion control.

I'm with Joanie! This is a sore spot for me, during the course of a few years I tried several different dish sets, Mikasa, Pfaltzgraff and some off brand from Costco. They weren't cheap and none worked out. Either they were too big and/or too heavy. They all advertised as chip resistant but they all chipped anyways plus none of them fit easily in the dishwasher. One day, out of shear frustration I drove 40 miles to IKEA and bought some cheap dishes. I don't know if they are the 365 but the ones I got came in a set or separates and the separates offer large salad styled bowls too. I got them in two colors, an apple green and turquoise. They're great for every day use, work in the dishwasher perfectly and haven't chipped at all. I got service for 8, plus the larger salad bowls and the cost was well below what I paid for the other sets.

I LOVE fiesta and I do put it in the microwave. the deep mixing bowls are an issue like Oakley said, in the microwave, but I dont find a problem with the bigger low bowls. I used to only buy 4 colors. now I buy anything that is cheap if I want to add in random colors and I love opening my dish cabinet :)

There are many things I care about in home decor, but dishes isn't one of them. I have been using Corelle since I left my parent's house. I also use them for larger groups, instead of using paper plates. Easy to clean in the DW and easy to store in drawers.

I bought three sets of Sur La Table's Bistro three years ago (service for 18). Not a knife mark, chip, scratch - they've been workhorses. They are on sale for $99 about 4 times a year - like now. Be warned though that men don't seem to like the hand feel of the mugs. I bought a case of restaurant supply clear glass hot beverage mugs and use those instead.

Sur la Table Bistro

I'm not fond of the new Corelle patterns that are out now, but I do love this one! I'm going to see if I can find just the plates for Christmas.

Corelle Christmas Plates

Oakley, they have that in their open stock.

dinner plate

Oakley, search that same website for holiday plates and you will find those plates by themselves (plus 30% off 4) and others. When I went to the site it also offered me 20% off my first order. Sounds easier than hunting them down in stores -- where I don't remember seeing them.

Thank you everyone.
I’m making a list of the suggestions here so I can narrow it down.

Annie – They replace pieces? What if I showed up with my two sets (minus
cups that I donated years ago)? I had a
piece break in the dishwasher years back and they mailed me a new one. I figured they’d chalk the edge thing up to ‘oh
well’ after 8ish years.

Crl – I have a friend who works in a nice
restaurant. I never thought to question
her about plates.

I’m not sure if it’s the heaviness or the rough bottoms
of some plates that bother me more.

I really like that my Corelle dishes take up less room in
the cabinet when stacked. It’s quite a
difference from my other plates. They also seem to stack very nice in the dishwasher.

I have some random plates I picked up at yard sales and
TJ Maxx and Marshalls, but I have odd numbers and should finish trying to
complete a set.

Jen – I didn’t know Fiesta came in ivory, thanks!

Whatever I end up with I will definitely have to do well in
the microwave.

Jlj – I have these plates from the dollar tree. I bought a bunch for a shower I threw some
years back. I think they’re pretty, but
they’re uneven and you can really see that when stacked in the cabinet. That bugs me even though they’re not on
display. At the time I bought them I
even picked through and selected what I thought were the ‘best’ ones. They’re heavier, of course.

Edited to add the picture!!

Good to know about the Hue dishes being smooth on the
bottom, thanks!

Funky – Those serving dishes are very pretty!

Joanie – Thanks for the info on the Ikea plates being
smooth too!

Oakley – I really like those holiday stitch plates! They have a nostalgic look to me.

These are the Corelle dishes I have. The edges are scalloped. I’m disappointed the print has faded,
unevenly I might add, in some places. I never actually noticed how far the edges of the plates come up until today.

What should I do with these? Trashing them seems wasteful, but donating
with funky edges... Are using plates
with the glaze missing on the edges sanitary?
There doesn’t appear to be food there.

I didn’t buy any new drinking glasses yet. Back when I asked about pans I did end up
buying a ceramic Calphalon pan when they were restocked.

That is a pretty pattern Shee. I'm not sure what I'd do with the dishes. Maybe contact Corelle (website?) and see what they say. It's just personal preference that I like a weightier plate, not heavy but not thin. I haven't had a problem in my cabinets/drawers or dishwasher. Also, we don't use the microwave alot, but when I do reheat, I prefer to heat it in the container it's stored in and transfer to a plate. I agree that many plates/serving pieces can get hot! You'll have to let us know what you do about the dishes and glasses too!

I have Mikasa, I think the pattern is Country Manor. It is dreadful, full of crazing. I can't wait to replace them. I have five Corelle dishes that I have had forever and they look almost new. Not sure what I will get next.

I had Dansk Bistro pattern dishes for ~30 years. Only had a few chips after all that time. When we moved into our new home last year I splurged and got Villeroy & Boch dishes I've been looking at for several years. I also have 24 of the C&B Aspen dinner plates for when we entertain a crowd. Those are great. We're lucky to live close to a town with outlet stores. All of my dishes were bought there.