They are lovely!
All of those are gorgeous. The tea set is exquisite!
While I was looking at them online I noticed a very pretty V & B Christmas pattern. Folk arty, but a bit more refined than the pattern on the set I have.
For someone who just said they weren’t interested much in dinnerware, I’m very tempted to splurge on the Lenox Chirp turquoise set and the V & B Christmas one! I have two daughters who I could unload my Corelle ware on!
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That is a great Christmas pattern! I always forget we have the photo option now.
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I’ve been schlepping my Old Britain Castles around since I was in 8th grade. We lived in an apartment and the elderly woman next door died. Her kids had a tag sale, and they sold two sets of dishes…the Old Britain Castles, and a set of Franciscan Desert Rose. My mother (the one who had 12 sets of dishes) asked me which set I wanted. Of course every 13 year old is dying to own a set of dishes. I chose the Old Britain Castles (mine are blue). There was a complete service for six but 8 of other pieces, sugar and creamer, and misc serving pieces. At some point, I bought a service for 4 from replacements so I would have a bunch. I also have the salad size plates.
Mine were bought for me in 1963. I sort of doubt they are really pasta plates and bowls because in the early 1900’s that wasn’t a thing. But yes, I also have plates and bowls that will serve pasta.
That’s so funny! Are yours the pink or the blue?
For anyone wondering…this set is really fun. Each different piece has a different British castle on it.
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Would love to see pictures if you are able to add them!
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Here is a link to Old Britain Castles. You can see many pieces that way!
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Thank you!!
They are lovely and how enjoyable it would be to gaze at them while eating breakfast. (Yes, I’m projecting right now as I sip my coffee and realize I’m a bit hungry.)
They are fun and I like them, but I don’t think most foods present well on blue…
Strawberries, (chocolate) croissants and Brie would work well with the blue. 
But yes, harder to pair well with other foods. 
I think plates that have patterns all over are more interesting for display but less appealing for food service. With that said, I never displayed my china because it was all white. I think one of those patterns that have different scenes (such as the various British castles) would be the only type I would ever display anyway. Though, I probably wouldn’t even do that. TBH, I have never understood the decorative appeal of displaying a dozen plates, cups & saucers, etc. that are all identical. It’s boring to me.
When I had a china cabinet the display portion was filled with a mix of unique items. I think I had 6 Waterford sherry glasses on a tray. Otherwise, there was no china or crystal displayed.
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Agreed that food presents better on white plates but that china is lovely for display cases.
I have a set of Limoges dessert and a serving tray that are gorgeous. The tray is displayed, flanked by two of the dessert plates. I also have my Portmeirion pieces intermixed with the silver, crystal, and some Murano colored glass sets that belonged to my grandparents. I also think displaying the same china is boring.
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I have a lot of random “blueware,” including a few pieces of Old Britain Castles, that I used on the walls of our master bedroom/bath in our old house. When my mom moved out here to AZ a few years ago, I used some of it in her new house. She loves it. The rest sits on a shelf in our pantry as it doesn’t go with the style of our current house, but it would look lovely in a corner cabinet in our son’s new house. Hmm…
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This is my grandmother’s pattern from Haviland. She was married in 1924. I have several pieces, although the movers in our recent move greatly reduced the number of tea cups.
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This might mix nicely with “India” by Wedgwood if you want to supplement (not sure the yellow tones are the same). That was a really popular pattern in the early 2000’s (I bought place settings for many cousins, friends kids who got married about 20 years ago) and you can often find lots of unused pieces on Ebay, Mercari, Craigslist. Haviland is gorgeous!
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A few pages ago I said I had RD plates with a two inch rim trim. No…it was Villeroy and Boch Twisted Candy and one other. I have 8 of each plate, and also some luncheon plates with a white on white trim that I use when I get tired of just plain white.
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This thread comes at such a perfect time. I have been helping my SO clean out his mom’s house to prepare it for sale after he had to move her to memory care. She was a bit of a hoarder, so it was a lot of work. Her previous house had burned down in a SoCal wildfire in the late 80s and she had replaced her china set. In the china cabinet was service for 12 of Old Country Roses, including some serving pieces and a tea set. Then we found unopened boxes in a closet of another service for 6 of the same set, plus some matching Christmas china. At this point it is all sitting in boxes at his house as his mom’s house is in escrow. My own china is Wedgwood and has a metallic rim. I decided several years ago that I would just go ahead and put it in the dishwasher or else I wouldn’t use it all. So far, so good.
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I registered for two patterns when I got married. One was supposed to be for every day (V & B Amapola) and the other was the “good” china (Lenox Maywood). But as it ended up, I kept them both as good china and used stoneware for every day. Now that I’m packing for a move, I’m ditching the stoneware and will use the Amapola for everyday, along with the good Waterford crystal. Otherwise it will just sit gathering dust as it has for the past 35 years.
Here’s the Amapola-
and here’s the Maywood -
Couldn’t be more different!
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I put both my silver trim Doulton and VB in the dishwasher- after almost 40 years, no perceptible loss (silver and color, respectively). I’d rather use it and enjoy it than know it’s sitting in a cabinet in pristine condition.
Amapola was my second choice- I still have some regrets over picking Fleur!
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I got married in the 1980s (aka the era of bad taste in everything). At the time, I thought the classic patterns of my mom’s era were old-fashioned and boring. So we went with the pink and gray Lenox Kingston pattern (Lenox, Kingston | Replacements, Ltd.).
It was great until about 1993 when it seemed dated over night.
I now have my mom’s simple gold edged pattern plates and use them on holidays. I still love our Lenox Aria crystal though.
Both parents came from very modest backgrounds - as in they were lucky they had ANY plates to eat from growing up. I can’t imagine what people do who have grandparents (or older) generations of dishes to pass down!
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