What's your china pattern?

[Raquelita]

I always like seeing what other people use as their fine china . So tell us what your pattern is!

Our pattern was picked out by DH, and it's called Wedgwood Metropolitan, it's white with black accent and silver rim.

[Twinmama]

I chose three patterns and my husband liked one of them, so that's what we got for our wedding china. We got Wedgewood St. Moritz. It has a white-on-white snowflakey pattern with a platinum edging.

[TexasRose]

Ours is Lenox Federal Cobalt. It's a white plate with a narrow blue stripe around the outer edge.

[PoorGirl]

That sounds pretty. I have not bought official china yet. Just some cheap Walmart dishes we received at or wedding 10 years ago. The work for us for now.

[ButtrflyDreams]

My china was my grandmother's china, so it's really old. I don't know what brand it is or anything, but it's just a simple pattern. It has 1 wide silver band & a smaller silver band on either side of the wide one. It's real silver, not paint. The color of the china is pure white.

[chubbyalaskagriz]

I generally prefer all-white for a couple reasons: 1.) I like the clean palette which I feel really shows off the colors of even drab-colored foods. 2.) basic white from say, Crate & Barrel or Pottery Barn, or Target can be easily mix-matched with other white patterns purchased elsewhere...

Also- I have a collection of mix-matched chargers I bought in the used-china section from a huge restaurant supply warehouse. I've got a couple-a-dozen different ones... 1 from a 75 yr. old now-defunct hotel, "The Petroleum Club" from Anchorage, AK.,etc. Very quirky, eclectic & fun!

[KYHeirloomer]

That raises in interesting question, Chubby.

For those who set a formal table: Do you use chargers?

I rarely use them as such, because they're just one more thing to wash. But sometimes the color contrast contributes to the experience.

For small gatherings I like to use them as the main plate. It's kind of fun to set an oversized plate in front of guests, and watch their reaction.

What about everyone else?

[chubbyalaskagriz]

Years ago when I bought/collected the chargers, I entertained more formally and that's when I used the chargers as chargers. These days I prefer things much more casual and if I even reach them offa the top shelf of the pantry at all, I tend to use them as platters when serving tapas-style finger-foods. I use them sometimes for cakes too because several of my favorite large-volume commercial-kitchen cake batter recipes could only be successfully divided so small for household use and for most I have to bake 3 if not 4 10" layers to get every drop of batter used up, so the large chargers make nice cake-plates for that big of a layer-cake.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Well if I sit a charger down in front of my fiance he would be delighted!!!

We do not have a formal china as I gave mine to my daughter. But when we combined households we now use a combo of his Solid White Dinner plates and my Classic Wedgewood Blue (design is a rose pattern) dinnerware; any of the blue & white Willow type patterns are MY Favorite dinnerware in the whole world!!! And have you all seen the blue toile table cloths and kitchen towels, oven mitts etc. at Williams & Sonoma? They are simply beautiful.

[chubbyalaskagriz]

I've never owned any, but I too LOVE the look of the classic French blue china patterns. SO lovely! And the linens sound fantastic, Cathy!