Hint: It's a very popular hue.
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Some people collect handbags, others collect rare books, and a few collect vintage vinyl. I, on the other hand, collect plate sets. I cook dinner almost every night, and I love serving my cuisine (if you can call spaghetti and meatballs cuisine) on a beautiful dish. Plus, unlike a lot of New Yorkers, I have a lot of cabinet space in my kitchen, which gives me plenty of room to house and grow my collection. Here's the thing, though: I do not like simple, white dishes. I like elaborate, colorful plates that are almost impossible not to notice—even under a mountain of pasta.
The thing about your plates is that they don't need to pair with your kitchen or dining space at all in terms of their aesthetic—similar to art. The philosophy of collecting art is to only buy pieces you like, as opposed to ones that share a color palette with the room in which you want to place it. In my opinion, the same goes for buying dishes: Only buy ones that make you happy. My hot take is that white plates are boring, so I tend to gravitate towards the plates that catch people's eyes.
If you're in the market to spruce up your China cabinet, take a look at some of the plates I've purchased over the years. From vintage porcelain from a now-closed Italian restaurant to a Villeroy & Boch set that's been in production since 1983, there are many fun options below.
These pasta bowls are my most recent purchase. The House Beautiful office is in the same building as the only Sur La Table store in New York City, so I often stop by. I have had my eye on these bowls, which are really just deep plates, for months. Last week, I finally bought four: the orange, rose, lavender, and aqua. That night, I made a giant pot of spaghetti and meatballs, just so that I could eat on these plates. They are so gorgeous, but something you can't see from the photo of the stack is that the inside of the plates is where the glaze reacts. It's a slightly different shade than the outside and edges of the plates, which, in my opinion, is what makes them so gorgeous. The sunset-inspired hues make my mostly neutral kitchen feel a little more alive.
These plates have a very special place in my heart because they are the plates my family used when my siblings and I were kids. My parents registered for the entire set (which includes everything from these dinner plates to gravy boats) when they got married in 1988. Thirty-seven years later, they still have every single piece. When I saw these on Wayfair last year, I ordered two because, well, how could I not? The fact that they're dishwasher- microwave-, and oven-safe only makes me love them more.
My only qualm with these plates is that they do feel bigger than the average dinner plate. They're 10 and a half inches, so I break these out only when I am making a big dinner that will take up most of the plate. Otherwise, the meal will look a bit skimpy just because the plate is so big.
I don't like to pick favorites, but these have to be my favorite plates in the world. I have a grandmother who loves to get her 31-year-old grandaughter (me) gifts, and when she visited last, she asked if there's anything I've had my eye on. These plates were the first thing that came to mind. I had originally seen them in ABC Carpet & Home on Broadway in New York City, so we went straight there, and proceeded to pore over the stacks for what felt like years. I landed on four, all of which are different but equally charming, and I serve dinner on them almost every night.
Thomas Fuchs Creative is all about fun dinner and barware, as evidenced by the array of extremely bright colors. I met the couple behind the brand several years ago in Miami and they were kind enough to send me several sets of both the dinner plates and the side plates. The dinner plates are absolutely enormous (11 inches), so if you're feeding someone who likes to really pile their plate with food, this is a great option. The best part about them, though, has nothing to do with the size or the colors. They're made entirely of melamine, which, as far as I'm concerned, is the most durable material on planet earth. (Worry not, they're BPA-free). You can drop these plates from pretty much any height and not only will they not break, but they won't even scratch.
These plates are even more fun than they look, which is saying a lot because just read the messaging on them. They have porcelain enamel on a steel base, so they kind of clank when I set them down or each time I touch my fork down. They just feel very 1960s, but then they say this kind of kitschy novelty phrases, like "good luck" and "special guest," which brings them into the 21st century. They're also dishwasher-safe, which helps because I refuse to hand wash anything.
I clearly have an obsession with this type of watercolored illustration, so I will never stop buying plates that have this look. Unlike the Buon Ricordo ones, which are vintage and made in Italy, M.A. Hadley products are still produced in the U.S. The company is the brainchild of the late Mary Alice Hadley, a Louisville local who opened her namesake business in 1939. Sadly, Hadley passed away in 1965, but her husband and business partner ran it until his retirement in 1979. Today, the small company is owned and run by a family that has worked at the original factory for four generations. How sweet! I don't own this set (yet), but I bought an equally adorable creamer that I plan on using for syrup on days I make pancakes, and I could not be more obsessed.
None of the plates on our list are boring, but these iconic cabbage plates are perhaps the least boring. They're so detailed that, from afar, they almost look like real flattened cabbage leaves. Like my parents with their Villeroy & Boch set, my grandmother also has the entire set, which includes tureens, cake stands, and sauceboats, among other pieces. She promised that when I move out of New York and into a house, I can have the set, so I am plotting my move outside of the city as I type because I need this Bordallo Pinheiro set immediately. Fun fact: Bordallo Pinheiro launched this motif back in 1884, and they have only gotten better and more durable since. Because they've been around for such a long time, I'm not worried they will go out of style, so I am eagerly waiting for them—no matter how long it takes for them to end up in my cabinets.
Johnson Brothers was founded in 1882 by brothers Alfred and Frederick Johnson, hence the name. I would normally never buy a plate set like this because they don't really go with my much less ornate apartment. That said, after visiting Maman more than once, I decided I needed something from Johnson Brothers in my home, so I landed on a very delicate (but dishwasher-safe) mug from the Devon Cottage, which looks quite similar to this plate. It's giving toile in the best way.
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