Buying the perfect dinnerware set can prove to be a challenge if you are not aware of your specific wants and needs.
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When looking to buy the perfect dinnerware, it can prove to be a challenge to choose the perfect set out of dinnerware options that is comprised of different shapes, sizes and styles. You may feel overwhelmed to make a decision as you are afraid of regretting your purchase decision right after you purchase your dinnerware.
To help you ease the decision making process, we have here a list of questions you should ask yourself before buying your dinnerware.
Related: How To Choose The Right Tableware For Your Event!
1. How Often Are You Going To Use It?
If your answer to this question is &#;every day&#; then it is wise to choose a set that is made of ceramic, earthenware or stoneware as they are more durable and easy to replace. For parties or events where you want to make the occasion feel a little more special and have the ability to splurge a little, you could certainly buy a set made from fine bone china to add an elegant and exquisite touch to the meal.
2. How Is The Set To Be Cleaned?
It is important that you make sure that you are aware of how the specific dinnerware material is supposed to be cleaned. You need to make sure whether the dinnerware set you dishwasher friendly or hand-washing only. For instance, if you prefer to use your dishwasher, buying a bone china set will not be a wise decision as it will need to be hand-washed as they are quite fragile, the power of the water in the dishwasher could easily cause chips or cracks on them.
3. What Size Is Your Cabinet And Dining Table?
First it is important to make sure to take consideration of your cabinet space. It is wise to measure your cabinet before buying the dinnerware of your choice to ensure that the dinnerware fit in the cabinet. Another thing to consider is the size of your dining table, if your table is small it is not wise to buy a big set of dinnerware as you may not have the chance to showcase it all on the table. Ensure that your dinnerware is going to sit well on the table and matches the rest of the items.
4. How Much Are You Willing To Spend?
Determine your budget before buying your dinnerware set. Dinnerware sets these days comprise of either 4 or 8 sets of everything and it is a given that the larger the number of settings each one has the more it will cost. Do not forget to also take into account the budget you need to purchase additional items such as napkin rings and linens to match your dinnerware and theme. If you are on a budget constraint, you can opt for dinnerware sold per piece instead of per set and match it as you go.
Related: Check For These 4 Things Before Buying Your Tableware!
In this article we have discussed some of the questions you need to answer before going out to purchase a new dinnerware set. If you are looking for inexpensive, high quality dinnerware, Kopin Tableware may be your answer. Kopin Tableware presents you with an array of high quality dinnerware choices with different colors, styles, shapes, sizes and themes. Do not be afraid to experiment with your dining experience with Kopin Tableware. For further information about products from Kopin tableware, reach out here!
If you can, it&#;s best to look at dinnerware in person to make sure that the weights and sizes of the pieces agree with you.
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
Before you settle on a set of dinnerware, we recommend looking at it in person to determine if the weight, size, shape, and pattern of each piece is right for you (we have a checklist of things to look for in-store at the end of this guide). Ceramics historian Margaret Carney, PhD, stressed the importance of taking your time when selecting dinnerware and not rushing into a purchase you&#;ll regret later. Avoid buying superfluous pieces you won&#;t use, and stick to what&#;s appropriate for your eating habits and lifestyle. Ultimately, you should &#;pick something that you personally like&#;it doesn&#;t really matter what anybody else thinks about it,&#; said Replacements, Ltd. founder Bob Page.
Find a comfortable weight
Dinnerware varies considerably in weight, so we recommend handling sample sets of different materials and thicknesses to get a sense of what you like best. It&#;s also a good idea to pick up a stack of plates or bowls to see how heavy they&#;ll be when you&#;re retrieving them from a cupboard. Also consider the weight of the dinnerware while you&#;re washing dishes, particularly if you don&#;t have a dishwasher and will be washing it by hand&#;heavy plates can make the chore more tedious. Keep in mind that heavier dinnerware isn&#;t necessarily higher-quality or more durable: Bone china, for example, is lightweight and slightly translucent when you hold it up to the light, but it&#;s just as durable as thicker porcelain or stoneware.
Consider the size and shape of each piece
As you handle sets in the store, also pay attention to the size and shape of each item to see that they&#;re appropriate for your eating habits. We also recommend measuring the dimensions of your cupboard space, dishwasher, and microwave to confirm that the dinnerware will fit. Bring a tape measure or ruler to the store so that you can compare the dimensions.
Before committing to a set of dinnerware, compare it with the size of your existing flatware to be sure the proportions agree with you (it might help to bring your flatware into the store with you). If your plates dwarf your forks and knives or vice versa, they can make for an odd-looking place setting.
Beyond general size considerations, here are the factors to consider for each piece:
Plates: Wider rims reduce the overall capacity of a plate&#;s eating surface, which is nice if you&#;re looking to decrease food-portion sizes. If you want a lot of negative space on your plate or more room for larger servings of food, we recommend getting plates with narrower rims. Some rimless, coupe-style plates slope slightly from the outer edge inward, which causes sauces to pool in the center of the plate. If that bothers you, get plates with flat surfaces.
See our guide to the best dinnerware if you&#;re looking for adaptive dinner plates that are designed to help anyone with hand dexterity or coordination issues eat independently.
A thin-rimmed dinner plate (left) and a wide-rimmed dinner plate (right).
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
For more information, please visit Midas.
Bowls: Some dinnerware collections offer several styles and sizes of bowls. Decide if you want shallow soup bowls (sometimes called pasta bowls, low bowls, or soup plates) or deep cereal bowls (sometimes called rice bowls). Cereal bowls are more casual than soup bowls, but their larger capacity makes them more all-purpose; they&#;re great for small salads, pasta, grains, soups, and stews. Deep bowls with steep sides are awkward, requiring you to hold your spoon at such a steep angle that it feels as if you&#;re dive-bombing into your soup. Bowls that are too shallow can cause milk to slosh over the rim when you&#;re eating cereal. Soup bowls can be too shallow for a bowl of Cheerios and are better suited to stews, pasta, salads, and risotto.
A flat-bottomed bowl (left) and a round-bottomed bowl (right).
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
A wide, shallow soup bowl (left) and a deep cereal bowl (right).
Photo: Sarah Kobos
A flat-bottomed bowl (left) and a round-bottomed bowl (right).
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
We prefer round-bottomed bowls to flat-bottomed bowls because their sloped sides are easier to eat from. But some people prefer the look of flat-bottomed bowls and like how they stack.
Mugs or teacups and saucers: Most place settings allow you to choose mugs or teacups and saucers. Teacups and saucers are great for entertaining because they&#;re more formal, and they help keep your tablecloth free of coffee or tea rings. But teacups are polarizing, as they can make one person feel like a bull in a china shop and another like straight-up royalty, so choose whichever style you like better. Whatever you decide, try the handles on the mugs or teacups to be sure they&#;re comfortable to hold. Likewise, confirm that the circumference of the mug isn&#;t so narrow that it hits the bridge of your nose. Some people like smaller mugs because tea or coffee tends to remain hotter by the time they reach the last sip. Others may prefer larger mugs so they don&#;t have to refill them as often. If you&#;re short on storage space, or if your mug collection already has your cupboards bursting at the hinges, all of our recommended picks in our guide to the best dinnerware are sold as open stock, so you can skip mugs entirely if you want. If you like to take your mug with you in the car, be sure to measure the cup holders first to determine whether it will fit (but we recommend using one of our recommended travel mugs instead).
Mug handles vary a lot in size, so be sure to test several styles to find what&#;s most comfortable for you to hold.
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
Teacups can have a rounded bottom (left) or a flat bottom (right).
Photo: Sarah Kobos
Mug handles vary a lot in size, so be sure to test several styles to find what&#;s most comfortable for you to hold.
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
Choose a pattern that will last
Unless you&#;re getting two sets of dinnerware&#;one casual and one formal&#;try to find a single style that works for all occasions. It should be durable enough for everyday use but nice enough for entertaining. Sets with decorative designs can be exciting, but they&#;re also more likely to become dated with time. For this reason, we generally recommend choosing dinnerware with a classic look free of busy patterns or designs. However, if you prefer patterned styles, but you need help getting started, we have lots of suggestions in our section on fine china, as well as in our guide to the best dinnerware.
Good dinnerware should provide a blank canvas for any meal. As chef Candy Argondizza noted, &#;Dinnerware should allow the food to make a statement so that the diner&#;s eye is drawn to it with no distractions.&#; If you like colored dinnerware but are hesitant to choose it as your main set, you can always get serving pieces and platters with more ornate designs to help liven up your basic set, especially if it&#;s whiteware. In other words, don&#;t be afraid to mix and match. Maximalist Studios&#;s Eddie Ross recommends looking for fun, eclectic pieces on eBay or at estate sales, thrift shops, and flea markets, or even raiding your relatives&#; attics and sideboards. To brighten up a basic set, Ross also encourages using colorful glassware, placemats, or tablecloths, or tying ribbon to the dinner napkins. &#;A beautiful colored flower centerpiece can really change the whole table setting,&#; said Ross. However, if you&#;re having trouble deciding what to buy, Margaret Carney said, &#;when in doubt, always choose white.&#; Whiteware is usually a safe bet since it&#;s free of patterns or colors that may become dated with time.
Choosing a dinnerware set that has been around for a while increases the chances that it will remain in production for years to come, should you need to replace pieces or grow your collection. All of the dinnerware collections we recommend in our guide to the best dinnerware have been in stock for roughly 10 years or more&#;some have been made for over 80 years. If you&#;re unsure exactly how long a collection has been available, ask a sales associate at the store or call the manufacturer directly; most retailers can tell you what has remained popular and in stock over the years. If the dinnerware is sold online, you can sometimes approximate how old it is based on how many years back the owner reviews go.
If your dinnerware is no longer in production, Replacements, Ltd. specializes in selling discontinued dinnerware. Its website also has a handy camera tool that allows you to take a picture of a dinnerware pattern and search for it in the database. If Replacements, Ltd. doesn&#;t have the dinnerware in stock, the company can often source it for you and ship it once it becomes available.
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