The Best Dishes for Open Shelving

Open Shelving by Heather Palmer Design

If you’re anything like me you are probably using the same dishware set you registered for at Macy’s and got as a wedding gift. Or you’re using the IKEA dishes you bought for your first place after college. Many of us don’t buy new dishes unless we’re forced to. On our last remodel project we installed gorgeous new open shelving over large format marble tiles. I was obsessed with finding the perfect dish set to display on the shelving and that would serve as everyday dishware for my extremely active family that includes a toddler and small kids. I wanted something that was both classic and functional.

I always recommend neutral dishware for open shelving and often this means white. White dishes give home kitchens a elevated chef’s kitchen appeal and are so easy to mix up with different serving pieces and keep consistent. Depending on the style of the kitchen different dishes can be appropriate. For most of the kitchen remodels we have done I wanted a nice durable stoneware set in white that gave some visual weight to the shelving and also looked expensive and hand crafted.

I found the most perfect set through a friend. They are available for ordering on Amazon and the set includes Service for 4 with dinner plates, salad plates, soup bowls and mugs. I bought two sets since I had lots of shelves to fill. The dishes are heavy without being too heavy and have the crafted look of something you would find in a pottery shop or high end market. They are white with a slight muted undertone so they aren’t shiny or formal at all. The high lip around the edge of the plates allows food to stay put and has worked nicely for my kids. My toddler even likes using these over the plastic IKEA plates I used for my other kids so we aren now a kid plate free household for the first time in 10 years. The set is only $61.50 and my two sets came to $123 with free shipping and arrived in two days.

I even stopped using melamine plates for outside during the summer since these have such a nice look for outside dining I just couldn’t go back to that plastic like feel of melamine. We have only broken one plate recently and that’s after two years of solid use indoor and outdoors so I think that’s a record to be excited about.

I like that I can dress these up with place mats and florals if needed and they also serve as our everyday cereal bowls at the counter before school. I almost think they have a high-end Wine Country diner quality to them that I could see using for food photography for chicken, mashed potatoes and collard greens. Overall I am really satisfied with these dishes and I especially like how nice they worked on our open shelving especially since our shelving was a focal point for guests as they walked in our home.

Melange Stoneware Dish Set

Purchase the set now by clicking this photo.