Dinnerware > July 31, 2009
Lenox’s Dinnerware Guide
The secret to being a great host is attention to detail. From the spices in your recipes to the region of your wines to the patterns on your dinnerware—not only do they all reflect your personal style and taste, they also help set the tone of your social gatherings. Whether you’re hosting a formal dinner party or a casual Sunday brunch, Lenox offers everything you need in dinnerware, from fine china plates to casual dinnerware sets.
Caption: A dinnerware set, complete with dinner plate, salad plate, bread and butter plate, teacup and saucer.
But with such a wide selection of dinnerware sets and china patterns can also come some confusion. Should you choose porcelain or bone china? Stoneware or earthenware? And once you’ve selected your dinnerware, how should you properly arrange your plates, saucers and bowls for the perfect table setting? From buying to cleaning, this guide will help answer your dinnerware questions.
Dinnerware 101
With all the different types of dinnerware out there, from fine china to casual earthenware to holiday sets, choosing the right plates and bowls for your décor and lifestyle can be a daunting task. To help, here’s a quick overview of the different types and styles of dinnerware and what they’re best used for.
Dinnerware sets
If you opt for a dinnerware set, you will get matching four- to five-piece place settings, including a combination of some of the following items:
Dinner plates:
Dinner plates are the center of table settings. You can serve the main course of any meal on a dinner plate, from steak at a formal dinner party to sandwiches and salads at an informal lunch.
Salad plates:
Although they’re perfect for salads, salad plates aren’t just for lettuce and tomatoes. Anywhere from 4″ to 8″ in diameter, salad plates can also be used to serve desserts or more casual meals and sandwiches—they’re an essential part of any dinnerware set.
Bread and butter plates:
A tad smaller than salad plates, bread and butter plates are usually reserved for—you guessed it—bread and butter. They can also be used for olive oil or other dipping sauces for bread.
Teacups and saucers:
For meals where tea or coffee will be served, the teacup and saucer sets—with a teacup that fits snugly into its saucer—offer a touch of elegance and drip-free sipping.
In addition to the above-mentioned dinnerware pieces, holiday and fine dinnerware patterns usually offer the following:
Bowls:
Perhaps the most versatile serving pieces, bowls can be used for cereal, soup, chili, ice cream and fruit—the list is endless.
Charger plates:
Charger plates, also called under plates or chop plates, are larger decorative plates that go underneath dinner plates to dress up the table setting. Charger plates are purely decorative; they are not intended to be used to serve food.
Accent plates:
To stay true to their name, accent plates usually display a slight variation to the dinnerware or china pattern. In addition to being decorative, they are useful for serving sides or small desserts.
Rim soup bowls:
Rim soup bowls have a wider rim than standard bowls, making them perfect for stews, chowders and certain pasta dishes.
Mugs:
Larger and heartier than teacups, mugs are perfect for a big cup of morning coffee, hot chocolate or even soup.
Choosing your dinnerware
Now that you understand what goes into a dinnerware set, you may be wondering what kind of material you should choose. The good news is that today, anything goes. You can use casual dinnerware to serve dainty finger sandwiches at a formal ladies’ tea or china plates to serve hamburgers at a midweek family meal. However, if you’re a good cook and entertain frequently, you may want to invest in bone china to present your culinary efforts. Or, if you have young children or tend to break things often, you may want to go for a less expensive or discounted dinnerware set made of stoneware or earthenware.
Lenox bone china is elegant yet durable.
Here are some of the materials you have to choose from:
Fine dinnerware
Bone china: The most expensive of the dinnerware options, bone china is also the most sophisticated. Made from a blend of bone ash and porcelain, bone china is lightweight yet durable (it’s usually safe for the dishwasher and, if it has no metal banding, safe for the microwave too). Bone china’s milky-white color is the perfect backdrop for elegant china patterns or classic metallic rims.
Porcelain: Similar to bone china and equally as elegant, porcelain dinnerware has more of a sheen and is often decorated with gold or platinum bands.
Casual dinnerware:
Stoneware: Casual dinnerware made of hearty ceramic stoneware is usually microwave and dishwasher safe, and perfect for everyday use. Stoneware comes in a variety of styles and patterns, from feminine to bold, and it’s sometimes glazed for added shine. And if you’re shopping for discounted dinnerware, stoneware is less expensive than porcelain and china.
Made of natural ceramic, earthenware dinnerware sets are some of the most popular.
Earthenware: If you’re looking for durable casual dinnerware perfect for everyday meals, earthenware is a good material for you. Made from one of the oldest materials in the world, natural ceramic earthenware dinnerware sets are some of the most popular. Fully glazed earthenware is dishwasher safe.
Arranging your dinnerware: A crash course in table setting
Engagement rings, antiques, family stories—many things get passed down from generation to generation. But unfortunately, the timeless art of table setting seems to be fading away as time goes by. These days, many people simply don’t know how to arrange their dinnerware properly.
But table setting is important, whether you’re enjoying a casual night at home with your family or breaking out your fine dinnerware for a formal dinner affair. It shows your family members and guests that you care enough to do it right.
To help set the table properly, view our handy diagram.
Luckily, contemporary entertaining is much more relaxed than the buttoned-up tea parties and nine-course meals of the past. However, it’s still nice to follow the basic rules. Here’s how:
First, place the dinner plate in the center of each guest’s dining space and draw an imaginary line through the center of each plate.
To the right of each imaginary line, place your glassware, cup and saucer, and knives and spoons. Knives go closest to the plate, with the sharp edge toward the plate. Spoons go next, with the spoons to be used first toward the outside. (If the meal is more formal and includes seafood, the seafood fork also goes to the right.)
To the left, place the bread and butter plate (with the small butter knife lying horizontally across the top of the plate), salad plate, napkin and forks (with those to be used first toward the outside).
Glasses should always be placed directly above the tip of the knife on the right side of the dinner plate. The glasses should fan back diagonally to the right and form a V if there are more than two on the table.
Handling your dinnerware with care
Whether you’ve chosen fine china or discounted dinnerware, you’ve still made an investment in your plates, teacups and saucers, so you want to make sure they last as long—and stay as vibrant—as possible. Here are some quick tips on proper dinnerware care:
- Read the instructions. Before you put a piece of your dinnerware in the microwave or dishwasher, read the label to make sure it’s safe.
- Watch temperatures. To avoid cracking and breaking, don’t move your dinner plates or bowls from extreme cold to hot and vice versa.
- Keep dinnerware with metal accents out of the microwave. As a general rule, any dinnerware with gold or platinum bands or accents is not microwave-safe. However, collections such as our Simply Fine Lenox® use technology that makes it safe to put in the microwave.
- Clean it right. If you have hand-painted dinnerware or earthenware, avoid soaking it in water; instead, clean with a gentle detergent and fine-bristled brush or put it in the dishwasher (if it is dishwasher safe).
- If you’re hand washing your dinnerware, be sure to position the faucet to the side so that you avoid hitting it.
- If you wash your dinnerware in the dishwasher, use care to avoid breakage and scratches—load it carefully and make sure the pieces don’t touch each other.
For a wide selection of dinnerware, from discounted dinnerware to fine china to seasonal holiday patterns, all in a variety of elegant and colorful patterns, go to www.lenox.com.
