Martha must make a lot of soft-boiled eggs. That's more egg cups than I've seen even at the most well-stocked dinnerware department.

And yeah, all for the white china thing. A pop of color is fun for casual breakfast/lunch dishes (I do enjoy my Fiesta), but when it comes to dinner/entertaining white dishes just can't be beat.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that food looks better and more appetizing on white plates.

For the most part, I use my grandmother's pastel Lu-Ray set.

Lisa - I definitely agree with your idea of the collection of second hand stuff. My mom has the most amazing cabinet full of unique dishes and since there are rarely enough of the same thing for our family (7 people before adding extended relatives/sig. others), the table looks lovely and like nothing else. Personally, I doubt that I'd have the stamina to search high and low for that sort of collection! Maybe she'll pass some down to me :)

JonathanB - some of my mom's above-mentioned peices are lu-ray and they make the best spring time table!

But still something just sticks with me about the simplicity of all white - although I like to mix and match styles, usually the color differences are suble enough to get something from Target, to go w/ something from C&B to go with something that the chef at my Dad's restaurant gave me from his stash of samples.

I love white dishes and I like the look of different shades of white mixed together. It's easy to add color by adding a charger or linens.

I use the same philosophy with my bed. I have a white duvet and add color with pillows and a blanket at the end of the bed. I change my mind way too often to commit to a patterned or colored bed set.

I have white dishes too. What I like about white is that I can buy new pieces based on new shapes and they will go with what I already have based on the color ( or lack of color).

Laura, I also have a white coverlet, colorful sheets and pillows.

I also have white dinnerware, Pottery Barn Great White collection. I specifically bought this collection because I love large plates and white dishes go with everything. I also chose to buy the PB collection because if I ever break a piece, I can easily replace it without having to worry about the collection being discontinued. The unfortunate thing is that the dinner plates are too large to fit in most of the cabinets in my tiny kitchen. My old roommate loved my plates so much that when I moved out, she went out and bought the same set. The ultimate compliment in my style, I guess.

As with what JonathanB posted, I totally agree that food just looks so much better on white plates. I went to cullinary school and for me the way the food looks is almost as important as how it tastes. But if I am feeling a little *festive* I intermix my collection of Japanese pottery with my white dishes. I also add colour with my serving platters (even though many of my platters are white too).

I agree-- white is the most classic, simple, versatile china. And, it really shows off the lines of beautiful forms.

I do think food does look better on white dishes, too. It's like framing a painting. Too much going on will detract from the original image it's supposed to highlight.

Boring, boring, boring -- never understand the people who want the white dishes and the white sheets and the white walls.

Life is too short to eat off white plates, IMHO.

White dish fan here too. It took me years and years to find the perfect set -- rimmed or not was one of the dilemmas. Well, finally settled on Iittala 24 hour. It looks great by itself or combined with other things -- I am trying to collect some hand thrown plates (Joan Platt) as well as Chamba serving pieces and cookware.

For more formal occasions, I have some Blue Onion dishes and serving pieces... would love to go into Moss to see how he marries the blue and white pieces -- Blue Onion and the Royal Copenhagen, etc. Anybody remember seeing it?

And yes, my bedding is white too (linen in the summer, and damask the rest of the year).

Forgot to mention -- the bottom sheet is always coloured (and not beige!)

I don't get how some people don't realize that white is a color, and that's why we like it. It's my favorite color - it makes me happy. Sure I like sky blue and deep brown, but white is just my favorite color, that's all. In art and architecture, too...Richard Meier buildings get me all excited...

My wife and I recently replaced our green Mexican-style dishes with Fiesta - in white!

STLcolleen, I thought the same thing! "Man...now THAT'S a LOT of egg cups!!" LOL

I too have all white china - various different patterns from different companies but all of it is white and therefore goes together - I much prefer the look of food on a white plate - somehow eating off something patterned always creeps me out a bit - the white china also looks great on the open shelving in my kitchen against the red walls!