I celebrated a birthday last week and it didn’t cross my mind to ask for anything other than for Ollie to be home.(which he was!) After some prodding from my husband I finally decided that I would like 3 things for my birthday: Chinese take-out for dinner, a robe, and a new set of simple dishes. (I must be an official adult) We’ve had our current set of everyday dishes for a little over 4 years now and they aren’t holding up like I thought they would. The edges have chipped which makes loading and unloading the dishwasher a cautious process. The thought of new dishes in my new apartment kitchen has gotten me all sorts of excited. I’ve been a long time believer that food looks best on solid white. In fact, I still believe that, but the idea of opening up my cupboards to beautiful colorful dishes sounds delightful. My heart tells me to go for something fun at Anthropologie, but my head tells me to replace my white dishes with something similar from West Elm. If you were in the market for dishes, what would you be drawn to? Until I can make a decision, the great plate debate will continue around here!
Anthropologie dishes here and here.
Kate Spade polka dot dishes here
West Elm Loren Kaplan Dinnerware
Themed dishes at Fish’s Eddy here
I love the Kate Spade dishes, but I agree with you on white and would probably go for West Elm.
I like the West Elm white dishes the best.
Anthropologie all the way
I like the kate spade, the polka dots look fun! But all are great choices! Happy Birthday Kelsey!
Definitely the white. The food should be the star!!
I love mixing and matching. How about some each of West Elm and Kate Spade. Sorry! No help there…;-)
I love the idea of mixing & matching! I just might have to do that!
Happy belated birthday Kelsey-Always fun getting new dishes:)-do they have to be a matched set? I got a set of white Mikasas(French Countryside) when we got married 8 yrs ago but have perked them up by adding fun printed luncheon plates. I am currently using green and white ones with birds from Pier One. I find we use the luncheon plates the most and the print looks prety layered with the white as well.
Color! Color! I love colorful dishes. But, then again, I never really “plate” food for my family, so how it looks on the plate doesn’t matter to me.
I’d go for the fun cupboards!
Happy Belated Birthday! Maybe that little bit of black on the Kate Spade plates will be just enough change for you to get excited to look in those cupboards. Splurge and get some new colorful placemats/tablecloths, too! Really, I think the West Elm are nice as well.
Incorporating colorful tablecloths/placemats is a fantastic idea! Thanks!
Before I even scrolled down to read your post, I fell in love with the dishes from Anthropology AND West Elm!! I say GET BOTH!!!
I say get the white dishes from West Elm and then mix and match any of those colorful dishes with them — lovely! And happy belated birthday to you, my dear!
Love the Kate Spade because they’re simple, with just a little color and you still have that white backdrop where the food will go.
The Themed dishes are a fun idea; the only problem would be that you would be “stuck” with that theme until the next time so you’d want to buy the ones that you would enjoy looking at everyday.
The ones from Anthropologie are too busy and the White Elm ones are different because of the pattern design, but don’t have that color you want.
I would go for the Kate Spade (and the tablecloth/placement idea too!)
Happy Birthday! I like the West Elm. It will make all your fabulous food show off better.
After seeing bits of your apartment from your Ollie pics and video… I think the Fishs Eddy designs fit. But if I were to pick for myself I really like the anthropologie selection.
Well off to watch some of your shows I have on DVR. I am really wanting a cast iron skillet.
Well I agree with the white, HOWEVER, the anthropologie selection is cheery and happy and perky. So I would go with something that made me smile every time I used them. I hope you had a great birthday!!!
Sometimes you can’t even see the food when the plate is too “busy” with too much color and design…but a couple of those plates from Antropologie would look pretty sitting out to decorate your kitchen. I would go for the white embossed set for everyday use. It is classic, and will go with any theme or season of the year.
Here’s something I do…. I buy just 2 plates from a set I like, and use them for just the Hubby & me when I want a special/fun dinner. That way I can have a couple of plates from several different collections and designers without buying the whole set. We eat off our “main” dishes, which are white, the rest of the time. It’s fun to change it up every now and then!
Combine West Elm white and some Fishs Eddy. I prefer food on white plates but the themed plates are sweet:)
Happy birthday fellow September child! I love the West Elm for showcasing your food.
I love dishes with a print but I have to admit my daughter’s white-on-white pattern is beautiful.
She has now been married a little over ten years and has FIVE kids (I would have never guessed that would happen) but her dishes still look great.
The nice thing about white or cream dishes, you can always add saucers and bowls with the same type of background (white or cream) but with a pattern and they mix and match well.
Now that I am a grandmother, I have been married long enough to have five sets of dishes which I use seasonally (and always use my wedding china on our anniversary).
If these are your everyday dishes I would go with Anthropologie for the fun of them. West Elm is great for holidays and special occasions because they go with any theme. Happy Birthday and congratulations on Ollie!
Kate Spade all the way! I know you!
xo
I love white dishes. I registered for Mikasa French Countryside when I got married 23 years ago. I STILL have these dishes and have used them everyday for 23 years and I am not tired of them!
After 37 years (yes, 37) with patterned stoneware dishes that refused to die (so I had to give them away), I got plain white dishware for everyday. I love them. The food is so much more appetizing. But the real benefit is that I can use them with patterned salad dishes, different colored bowls, or unusual serving pieces.
So I say: a complete set of white, and a set of salad plates from Anthopologie, and some bowls from Spade. And you get the fun of them all!