You know right away when you walk up to a white-covered dining table with glistening silver cutlery: this is going to be a fancy dinner party. While a day later, at your neighbor's birthday dinner, you look at the festively set table and immediately draw the conclusion: what a cozy mess. In short: if you are about to buy new tableware, it goes beyond just picking out some plates for practical reasons. New dinnerware offers you a chance to show your personal style, reflect your eating habits and set a table that welcomes your guests with warmth and style. But what type of dinnerware has what effect? How many plates do you actually need? And what are the advantages and disadvantages of the different materials? No stress! With this handy checklist, finding your ideal dinnerware will be a piece of cake. And then... off to the shop!

How many plates/servings do you need?

A complete plate set consists of breakfast plates, dinner plates, (soup) bowls or deep plates, bowls and cake plates. Exactly how many of these you need depends mainly on the number of people in your household. But if your children regularly bring friends over or your father sits down to dinner every Friday, then of course they should be included. If you live on your own, four will be enough.

Also keep the following in mind:

• Do you like to organize dinner parties? The average number of dinner companions is the minimum number of plates you need.
• The size of your home is also a determining factor. If you live in a studio, then a 21-piece dinnerware set is just a little less convenient. By the way, cooks with a small kitchen can also choose to store the basic pieces in the kitchen cabinets bergen and store the extra parts of the dinnerware - intended exclusively for parties and birthdays - bergen in a box in the attic.
• After every meal, do you wash the used dishes right away or do they definitely spend another day in the dishwasher? If the latter, then you are doing yourself a great favor to purchase twice as many plates as your family is large. (So eight plates for four family members.)

What type of dinnerware do you need?

If you put plates and bowls on the table every day with at least half of them missing a shard, then there is little as satisfying as a complete matching dinnerware set. Such a complete whole dinnerware set is not only beautiful, by the way; it also brings peace to the table, should you need another argument for good bashing.

Well a complete dinner service consists of dinner plates, breakfast plates, dishes, soup plates, bowls, cake plates, cups and mugs. The question is: what type of dinnerware do you need? Because fair is fair: soup tastes just as good from a large bowl and what you can present on a bowl can also be arranged attractively on a breakfast plate. On the other hand, a lavishly set table with all the bells and whistles does evoke a certain atmosphere. Do you like it? Then go wild. As I said at the beginning of this blog: your tableware is more than a sum of practical reasons.

• Are the basics enough? Then limit yourself to dinner plates, breakfast plates and bowls. You can put almost all types of dishes on those.
• Are you going for the full experience? Then four-piece dinnerware sets are your first selection criterion.
• Are you in between? Then take a critical look at your eating preferences. For example, are you more of a salad lover than a soup eater? Then supplement the basics with a few nice bowls that you will enjoy regularly and leave out the soup plates.

Which material dinnerware is best?

In your search for new dinnerware, most of your attention is focused on appearance. Yet the material should also be an important consideration. Porcelain tableware has different properties than pottery tableware. And then you come across all kinds of terms like ceramic and stoneware online.

To clarify right away, ceramics is the collective name for pottery, stoneware and porcelain made from clay or earth. The difference between them is in the firing temperature and finish.

Thus, pottery is fired at a relatively low temperature. It is somewhat heavier and more porous than porcelain. If the pottery has a glaze, your plate is less prone to scratching. Stoneware dinnerware is baked at a higher temperature than pottery and is therefore stronger. Comparing all these types of ceramics with porcelain, the latter comes out as the powerhouse. Porcelain is fired at the highest temperature and is therefore more resistant to impact. This type of tableware is usually lighter and also holds up just a bit better in the dishwasher. This is because porcelain is not porous and pottery is. Especially if the pottery is not glazed, it can become less beautiful after a lot of washings.

The style of tableware (modern, colorful or just understated)

If you like clean lines, then chances are you will initially look exclusively at classic white or black dinnerware. If you are more flamboyant by nature, then dinnerware with striking patterns or romantic flowers will attract you more. As your corollary, the style of your dinnerware is often a reflection of who you are. In addition, take the following considerations into account:

• White dinnerware creates an understated style and goes with everything and the color does not fade.
• White and black dinnerware are timeless and match effortlessly with the other table accessories.
• Colorful dinnerware gives your dining table a chic restaurant vibe, even on a regular weekday.
• Dinnerware with cheerful prints add a touch of optimism to any meal.
• Crockery in pastel shades, on the other hand, is a star at creating softness in any season. Ideal for summer dinners in the garden as well as quiet winter evenings when there is a thick layer of snow outside.

Other considerations when buying a new dinnerware set

• Check if the dinnerware is dishwasher safe. If it's not, that's not a problem either. Doing the dishes together the old-fashioned way can be a fun activity.
• Can you buy spare parts at a later date if a bowl or plate breaks?
• Determine your budget before you start shopping. The choice is vast and this will help you make a first selection as well as avoid regretting your purchase later.

Tableware picked out? Then now your search for a tasty recipe can begin!