All Teema all the time!

I'm a Teema girl--elegant simplicity.

My bowls must have a lip, as in the Jasper and the Maison.

We got our first Heath plates this year, and I am in love! Happily, we live close enough to Sausalito to visit the factory store. heaven.

I'm the opposite as YoNella... my bowls and plates must not have a lip!
I love the Heath ones!
Honestly though, my go to everyday china is from IKEA.... it's not a dissimilar design to the Heath china (although obviously not as nice - I am not comparing them!!) and with kids over all the time and tile floors in my kitchen, I don't worry when pieces break, as it's super easy and affordable to replace them.

It's always interesting to see what people are willing to spend money on. I'm not willing to spend money on everyday china at all, especially considering you can get decent china SO CHEAP during sales. I always find tons of china at Anthropologie for like $3 a plate.

Also, one mediocre white porcelain plate is as good as another in my book... I wouldn't care whether it came from Crate & Barrel or Ikea.

Anything square for everyday use seems very "bachelor pad" to me.

I love Heath ceramics, too. I wouldn't consider it inexpensive enough for everyday use, however. I wonder how sturdy it really is? I have great vintage ceramic china that looks not unlike what Heath produces today, but repeated dishwasher runs have left it with some pits (I probably shouldn't be running it in the dishwasher).

I love my Fiestaware (some dates back to the 30's!) but I use it every day, because that's what you should do with industrial design you love.

I'm looking for china as well, I prefer bowls with a short lip and a deep bowl, and dinner plates with a slight bowl and long lip. I'm hoping to find a set with a charger and salad plate. I'm not looking for services with obvious designs but I am partial to french influences. Of course, I'm also looking for dishwasher and microwave safe. Anyone have suggestions for china you own that you can't do without?

Also, I'm having the damnedest time finding flatware service I like. Suggestions would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

I also have Fiestaware and love it. It's virtually indestructible. Those Heath plates are gorgeous.

I've been thinking west elm's essential white dinnerware... though, not the mugs. Has anyone had any experience with west elm dinnerware or, better yet, this set in particular?

@lepidoptery: I don't have experience with west elm but I agree with you about the mugs.

I've recently fallen in love with this set and am hoping to find more like it.

White Buffalo china. Years ago, I got a whole set of it from a friend of mine who is a restaurant supplier. It's like eating at the diner!

I have collected white american ironstone dishes for the last few years. I wish I knew what the style name was. Some of it is from the 30's some of it is newer, but it is all beautiful. I love the lacy cracks in the glaze, and the warm off-white color. I am up to over 30 place settings worth of it now plus a serving platter and two sets of cream and sugar bowls. The best part is I don't think I spent more than $60 for all of it.

I have five Heath bowls I picked up at a garage sale for $1 each. I love them and would love to have a whole set. But they are so expensive.

We use a combination of the Heath bowls and IKEA and Red Wing plates. It's kind of weird. i would love something as sturdy as the Heath at about 1/4 the price. The Red Wing is good but the IKEA breaks when you look at it.

I really like the essential dinnerware my husband and I purchased from Crate and Barrel. It's been durable thus far and still looks nice enough to dress up for more formal occasions.

Essential white is lovely, but I've been buying Le Souk Ceramique for everyday. I love the weight and handcrafted quality of it, and there's a lot of bright white and dark wood in the living and dining rooms of my 1930s bungalow. I'm echoing the vivid colors of the dishware in textiles and other details throughout both rooms.

Fiestaware is great. I love my various sets and I have them in 8 different colors. So if I ever break a piece, there's no need to worry about matching! But best of all, it's made in the good ole US of A.

i was going to add teema to the list! but am happy to see that you already have it!!

Fiestaware for my everyday here as well. The heft is perfect.

I don't, and won't, buy anything that touches food that is made in China. Product safety is a unknown idea there.

I have a huge collection of fiestaware that I use as everyday tableware. I save the fine china for holidays and such. Its a bit heavy though and i wonder everyday if my kitchen cabinets are going to remain affixed to the wall under what must be a hefty load.

@rickydee-
Corelle makes a plain white, and it's made in the USA.

I have a couple friends with Fiestaware, and it's beautiful! so bright and functional.

I have Noritake Colorwave in Suede. When I registered for my wedding I thought about going red and black, but chickened out and picked something simple and classic. I like the warm beige around the edges of my plates.

@becster.henrich - I loooove Noritake Colorwave! Our everyday china is Colorwave in graphite. I love the floral accent plates from that line, they're so pretty. :-) They are a bit pricy (if I recall correctly, the Colorwave place settings cost more than our fine china!), but they've held up so well, they can really take a beating!

Years ago, when I first moved to live on my own, I bought white everyday ware at a Pottery Barn Outlet. They are great and it is nice to know that I can upgrade/replace in the future with pieces from the same collection from Pottery Barn.

Apilco all the way. Ten years of heavy use and I think we've broken one plate. Super durable of excellent quality.

Our friends who got married at the same time and got the Crate and Barrel Maison have like two coffee cups left. Same thing with the "PB friends."

I assume everyone is talking about reproduction Fiestaware because you should not use vintage pottry everyday. Way way too much lead and other nasties in the glazes.

I've developed a healthy addiction to Fiestaware, and it's one thing that I still love after 15 years of collecting it. I only buy it on sale and put my favorite and antique pieces in a glass-door bookcase in my dining room. It just makes me happy.

What is the china in the lead photo for this story?

why everyday china have to be white?

I go along with the folks who like their Fiestaware--the OLD Fiestaware, though, not the current line (the older colors were better). I could go for some of that old Russell Wright stuff, too! Newer is not necessarily better--in fact, in my opinion, it most often isn't!

I love Heath ceramics. I went to the factory in Saucalito, near San Francisco and got great deals on seconds. I never thought I'd like square dishes, but that is what I ended up with and they're fabulous. If you live in the area, it's a must. Also, check out the California Modern exhibit 1930-1965 at LACMA (L.A.). They have great pieces on exhibit including Edith Heath's pottery, all kinds of furniture, art, etc. and even part of the Eames' Case Study house. If you're a fan of MCM, it's really exciting!!

re: corelle, I was really intrigued by the commercial with the models on a runway holding the dishes, and then one of the models trips (or just drops her plate) and it bounces and doesn't crack and everyone's like :O :O :D!

... and then I ate at a restaurant that happened to use plain white corelle plates, and they were all a bit chipped. Made me sad. Though maybe the composition varies for different lines of corelle dinnerware?

@MCMFan
That's because of the lead :D!

(Or so I assume.... XD)

I have two sets of Corelle Enhancements dinner wear that's simple and elegant. I love this stuff because it's durable, light, and cheap enough that if it breaks I won't be heart broken. I feel safe putting it in the dishwasher. The sets were purchased for me by my mom when I moved out for undergrad, they have lasted me through grad school and still look like new!

I have a nicer set of handmade Japanese china that I insist on washing by hand with a soft cloth. All of the Asian china and utensils I inherited from my parents are used daily but need to be washed by hand to prevent damage. :/

What about green stripe dinerware from Buffalo, Syracuse etc. with as many vintage pieces as possible? Love it from Fishs Eddy NYC.

I'm Fiesta obsessed. I didn't realize how durable they were when I added them to my wedding registry, but in 3 years I haven't even chipped any and it still looks awesome!

I have to disagree with posters who say it isn't worth investing in everyday tableware. It is precisely because you use it every day that it is so important!

It is not so much about looks as it is about function and sturdiness. Since you use it so often, it should either be inexpensive because you would scrap them so often anyway or be high end so it can stand up to wear and tear.

I enjoy everyday dishes because, if they are the right shape, size and especially weight (I like it when they are on the heavy side), they truly add to the experience of eating. My favorite coffee cup has a rounded, somewhat thick rim which makes sipping coffee that much more fun, and to me, the coffee just tastes better in it. I like soup bowls with lips for so many reasons (being able to land a stray laurel leaf or piece of bone somewhere without having to get up or reach for another dish; having a spot to serve a piece of bread with that bowl of something, having something to grab the bowl by securely, especially when contents are hot, etc.).

But don't ask me which line I prefer - I never got past the IKEA stuff. Now that I have read this, I have decided that I am going to shop for and buy a brand new set. Wish me luck - picky as I am about practical design, it is bound to take some time...

I've got three sets of dinnerware, Metlox Colorstax (vintage 1978-1986) in Aqua, Sky Blue, and Fern Green (really chartreuse); Thomas O'Brien's Tiago Blue (navy); and finally, this year I bought Jasper Morrison's platebowlcup to go with his knifeforkspoon flatware, which I actually bought last year to go with the Tiago Blue.

I agree it's nice to spend some money on dishes.