love this idea - definitely going to town with all my ikea dishes

Cool idea...but seems time consuming! I'd rather go and buy some inexpensive colorful plates.

Love it! Just moved in with the boyfriend and he has a very plain set of tan Ikea dishes. They are super functional, but sooo boring! May have to add this to the list of things to take on!

Laura
http://www.justalittlebit.net

"I'd rather go and buy some inexpensive colorful plates."

I agree.
I just put an entire set of plain white dishes in the recycling room of my building - They were gone in a couple hours!

If the food is interesting, no dishes will seem that plain.

I'm with Indy Jeffrey - learn to cook, learn to artfully arrange your food and the dish it's set on will act in the same manner as a pedestal to sculpture, nothing more than a foundation to rest upon.

In the time it took to draw those circles and waste the energy to bake them on, a delectable, beautiful meal could have been created.

i really like my white crate and barrel dishes. For the money I spent on them, there is no way I would use a marker on them. Ikea ones, sure, looks like a lot of fun.

My dishes are plain white on purpose; I don't want anything about the dishware to detract from the food I'm serving. I find fancy-pants stuff like this distracting and takes away from the meal itself.

My first set was hideous and floral castoffs; I went out and bought myself plain white.

White plates aren't for everyone and good thing too--how boring would it be if everyone liked the same thing?

I think they're very sweet! If you go to her site, they also go well with the table linens she has. I'm assuming they played a part in inspiring the design. Good work, Jennifer!

My dishes are plain white with a splash of color on the rim. I didn't want them to be busy. I think the design she used is very simple and not distracting in the least. Nice job.

It's just a good idea. Makes me think of lovely ways to add a monogram for wedding presents. Sometimes AT commenting gets out of hand. If you don't have something nice to say...

I always look at gorgeous place settings in magazines and tv shows and think they are great -- but they don't have food on them. Some of the time I think the food would add another layer of vusual busy-ness that might seem aesthetically counter productive. But I tend to like plain colors in clothes, too...

There are only two of us, so I sometimes find just 2 plates in interesting colors at Dollar Tree or flea markets to use when inspired...

I definitely understand that some prefer white dishes and some prefer those with a design. But if someone has white dishes and wants a design, why should they go buy designed ones? Even if they are giving away the old ones, if they like doing a craft project why not? It allows them to end up with a set of dishes totally unique and suited to the owner.

Um, what comments got out of hand here, exactly?

But sometimes there's no winning here... if these dishes had been shown as "For Sale by Designer," or as a highlight form the gif show, there would be multiple comments about how it would have been sooooo easy to DIY them.

Just in case you were unaware, regardless of preference for pattern or not, these are not necessarily food-safe. Google it and find out more like this one site:

http://www.deepfriedkudzu.com/2006/07/practicing-painted-ceramics.html

It's one thing to adorn the outside of the dishes but not necessarily a great idea for plates and surfaces that touch the food or will be scraped by the utensils.

And plain white does highlight the food better, in my opinion!

I'd rather buy some really nice dishes from Ikea with bright colors or patterns ...

It seems like so much work !

What I like about plain white is that I buy it at different times and places yet it all works together.

a take off of this marimekko design? http://www.alwaysmod.com/marimekko-siirtolapuutarha-salad-plate.html

I love the idea, very earthy/african style. Even though it is time consuming, this is exactly the kind of thing I like to do, you can actually watch tv and do that! I draw on paper with circles, so why not on china? I can imagine doing it in red over white, or yellow over grey. Love it!

what does knowing how to cook have to do with drawing on your dishes..really people...really o_O...

i think its a novel idea..i agree with a previous comment on how the ink should be on the outside..but overall its a great idea

VERY cool!!!

Adorable! And a much better solution than going out and buying new dishes because you are bored with your current ones. I don't think the intent of the post was for everyone to go draw circles in the same place on their white Crate & Barrel dishes, but rather to showcase and idea for a project. People need to lighten up a little bit.

I would want to do more research on how food safe the markers are as one person suggested.

I don't think I'd ever have the patience to do this for a whole set of dishes, but I think it would be super fun for thrifted or garage sale serving platters to jazz them up. It would also be a fun small gift to give a friend or family....

It's a neat idea and I think IKEA's wide variety of porcelain dishes would work very well for this.

I admittedly like my cheap cheap Corelle plates...

For those who were worried about ruining their "good dishes"...

Until you bake the dishes with your completed design, you can wipe off any paint markings, whether they be smudges, mistakes, or just bad art skills.

So, nothing would be permanent until you decided you were done. Or, if in the end you decided you didn't like the look and wanted to wash it all off, you wouldn't have wasted your $ on a cheap set of dishes you didn't need.

If I had kids at home, probably I'd let them do their own drawings on a plate or two, that would incentive them to eat..right?

m1n4 -

That sounds like a fun rainy day project for the kids. I love it!

Ann
www.agrodolcesweetandsour.com

i love this idea. i've been working on a plate wall and now i can incorporate my friend's art into it!

I already have patterned dishes that I *love* (yay, vintage Corelle!), and though I agree food generally looks a bit better presented on a solid color (though not necessarily white), speaking as the one in the house who always washes the dishes, it definitely helps to have something pretty and colorful to look at during that task.

Very cute DIY idea, though, for those with plain dishes. MUCH better than just buying new ones!

m1n4, I think that's a wonderful idea! I'm stealing it (once I have kids old enough for that project, that is).

On bowls: too hot, too cold, just right. Written on the inside.

On plates: the magic pasta pot song from the children's book Strega Nona.

That's prolly what I'll do with it, if I ever get around to it.