Dinnerware is the main attraction of many dining tables. It’s much more than crockery for serving food. Beautiful dinnerware enhances your meals, it also sets the mood for your home dining experiences as well as expressing your personal style. Understanding and grasping the differences between the different types of dinnerware, from formal settings for elegant dinner parties to day-to-day pieces for everyday use, is the key to selecting a set that feels at home in your home.

The types of dinnerware materials

Call it what you may – dishes, plates or crockery – the focal point of your table can be your dinnerware. Before you start wondering about patterns and colours, focusing your attention on what material you really like would be a helpful start. Bone china, earthenware, porcelain, melamine and stoneware are the most common dinnerware materials.

These types of dinnerware have their own benefits that can assist in making your selection:

Bone China: Bone China is a durable, lightweight and elegant alternative for both everyday and special occasion dinnerware due to the fact that it is chip resistant. It’s the strongest range in china, but unlike fine China, it’s typically microwave and dishwasher-safe.

Earthenware: Earthenware gives off an air of value, sturdiness and casual appeal. Being one of the oldest industrial materials, it also gives your dinnerware significant weight. To keep this dinnerware looking its best, it’s better to avoid unexpected temperature changes, like from the oven or high settings on the microwave.

Porcelain: Porcelain is a versatile material that has a non-porous surface and incredible durability resulting from high firing temperatures. Porcelain pieces are typically dishwasher, microwave and oven-safe. Some porcelain dinnerware pieces contain metallic accents, so be aware as this makes these a microwave no-go.

Melamine: These sets would definitely be an entertainers dream, being shatterproof as well as harder to break or chip. Melamine dinnerware is perfect for outdoor use. Melamine dinnerware is not suitable for your oven or microwaves though, but is typically dishwasher-safe.

Stoneware: Stoneware dinnerware sets have a special finishing glaze that gives a smooth look to the material and an impermeable finish, making it ideal for everyday use and family-friendly. Stoneware sets are more durable than earthenware, but will still need to be maintained and kept at even temperatures. If you opt for Stoneware, be careful not to expose it to high heat or freezing temperatures. Also, bear in mind that pieces with hand-painted designs may require hand washing.

Selecting a set of dinnerware

Once you have decided what you want, it’s time to consider the different options. Should you purchase a dinnerware set, place setting or open stock? The answer relies on a range of factors, which includes what your personal needs may be. Before deciding, consider the following:

Formal dinnerware is often sold in place settings, which include all the pieces that one person would need at the table. Ideal for individuals or couples building their collections, most place settings include five pieces: a dinner plate, salad or dessert plate, bread plate, teacup and saucer. Some sets may include soup bowls.

Dinnerware sets include multiple place settings to take care of the whole table. The most common sets are 20-piece sets, which offer service for four people. They usually include a dinner plate,salad or dessert plate,teacup and a saucer for each setting.

Open stock is dinnerware sold piece-by-piece. This is ideal for anyone who only needs a few pieces or someone who wants to mix-and-match within a collection.

Most experts recommend having eight to 12 five-piece place settings to ensure you have enough dinnerware for general use and entertaining. If you’re buying two sets – one for every day and another for formal use – you might choose four to six casual place settings and up to 12 formal place settings. It really depends on the size of your family, the frequency of which you entertain and the amount of space you have to store extras.

Another idea is to buy white dinnerware that works for formal and casual use, and then dress it up or down with accessories such as place mats,chargers plate and linens. You can use accessories like napkins to add colour and personality to an otherwise neutral table. Alternatively, these accessories can tone down boldly-coloured or patterned dinnerware.

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