All About Dinner Plates: On the Table and Beyond

Dinner plates don’t get enough credit. This staple of the dining room table helps portion the meal for each guest — a function held since ancient times. But today, dinner plates offer more than merely servings of delicious meals.

A curated collection of dinner plates can help make any gathering feel special. Learn all about our different dinner plate sets, their many functions, how to use them, and why we love them so much!

What Is a Dinner Plate?

A dinner plate is an essential piece of tableware designed to serve the main course of a meal. Typically, dinner plates range in diameter from 10 to 12 inches and are made for serving large portions at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Dinner plates often come in sets, and a  dinner plate set usually includes multiple dinner plates or side plates, soup bowls, dessert plates, and cups and saucers {tip: try this setting guide to arrange a beautiful table}. 

Dinner plates come in countless designs, from classic and minimalist to glamorous and colorful. The style of a dinner plate can enhance your guest’s dining experience and complement the overall theme of the table setting. There are a few key features to consider when choosing quality dinner plates or dinner plate sets for your collection, such as:

• Durability: Any time you select dinnerware, you should consider whether or not it will sustain regular use without easily chipping, cracking, or breaking. 
• Design: Consider the following design-based questions when making your dinner plate selections. Will the aesthetic match or enhance your overall table setting? Will this design blend well with your other dishes? For example, white dishes are a good basic for any collection because of their versatility.
• Size: You’ll want a dinner plate to be able to hold a full meal, so opt for a standard-size dinner plate ranging from 10”-12” in diameter. 
• Material: Look for quality materials, like porcelain or ceramic, which suit your cooking and serving needs. For example, do you need something that is dishwasher-, microwave- or oven-safe?

The Importance of Dinner Plates

Dinner plates are the most-used dish in the kitchen and the star of almost every place setting. It is more than just a piece of tableware; it’s a central element of any dining experience. Combining functionality with style, a good dinner plate enhances the presentation of food and complements the rest of the design details within the tablescape.

Whether you’re hosting a casual family dinner on a weeknight or a more formal gathering for a special occasion, choosing the right dinner plate can make a difference in creating a memorable meal. Beyond aesthetics, dinner plates are designed to be functional. While primarily used for the main course, dinner plates are versatile enough for other uses {we love – multifunctionality!} with a little inspiration. 

3 Steps for Choosing Your Dinner Plates for Your Table

You always want to choose dinner plates that complement your party’s purpose while enhancing the overall dining experience. That means selecting a dish set that represents the kind of occasion you are hosting. 

Is it formal or more casual? Is there a theme? Is this a sit-down or buffet-style meal? Follow our recommended three steps and it’ll be easier to choose your perfect dinner plate set. 

Step 1: Determine How Many Plates You Need

To select your dinner plate set, you’ll need to know the number of guests. A small gathering, with a dozen guests or less, allows you to use almost any dish set in your collection. You’ll have ample supplies to employ any table design you wish. 

If your gathering is bigger, you may opt for a buffet over a sit-down event. This offers a host more flexibility with serving — something you might require for parties of 20 or more guests. Typically, you should plan on one dinner plate per guest … unless it is a buffet, in which people sometimes revisit the table, requiring a second plate.

Step 2: Narrow Down Options That Best Match Your Theme

Consider which dinner plate sets feature designs appropriate for the theme of your gathering. This will help you narrow down your options. Think about using dinner plates that feature everyday or seasonal patterns, or sticking with a certain color that matches the rest of your décor or tablescape. 

You should also look at the party’s tone. Is this a more formal occasion that merits something elegant and classic? Or are you looking for a more relaxed vibe with a backyard BBQ feel or casual brunch? Your dish set should match the ambience you want to create.

Step 3: Consider the Full Place Setting to Decide On the Final Design

Finally, if you find yourself still narrowing down your choices between two dinner plate sets that fulfill steps 1 and 2, a good way to make the final decision between similar designs is to consider the full place setting - meaning what charger (if any) will the dinner plate layer on top of, and what salad plate or dinner bowl (if any) will the dinner plate hold. The same thought process can extend out to the tablecloth, placemat, etc. - all the layers of your table.

Here's where the fun lies! For a contrasting or maximalist approach to your tablescape, be brave and introduce a brand new color with your dinner plate. For a more subtle layer, choose a dinner plate that matches the same hues or complements the colors of the rest of the pieces within the place setting. Add in textural layers by opting for new materials like our wood dinner plates. Add visual interest by mixing together different shapes like round, square, oval or edge types like straight, ruffle, or scallop. 

Can You Mix and Match Dinner Plate Sets?

Yes! Mixing and matching dinner plate sets makes for a creative, fun tablescape that offers your guests visually appealing place settings. By using different shapes, sizes, and patterns, your table instantly becomes more visually engaging and dynamic. 

As a bonus, mixing and matching also makes your collection stretch further for hosting more guests. You can employ all kinds of variations of the mix-and-match method, from alternating dinner plate sets for a tablescape to using several types of dishes for each place setting. 

Here’s an idea we love: if you’re serving buffet-style, stack dinner plates by style at the beginning of the buffet line and let everyone choose their favorite. Bring all the variety together by selecting a coordinating napkin and other décor.

How to Mix and Match Dinnerware and Accessories

Here are a few tips on how to place different collections and decorative accents to create a unique look. When choosing which place settings to use, consider the following:

• Color harmony: Dishes should complement each other — for a safe bet, create a color palette of no more than two or three cohesive hues for your dish sets.
• Pattern mixing: We love to mix patterns, but make sure you do so intentionally by ensuring there’s a common element, such as a similar color or style. 
• Texture mixing: Just as you can mix hues, varying texture is another way to introduce visual interest. Pairing glossy white dishes from our Signature White collection with a Fundamental Wood Ruffle Small Bowl makes for a lovely juxtaposition of textures.
• Scale and proportion: Mix up sizes for a more dynamic table; just ensure they are all proportionate to one another.

Our 7 Favorite Everyday Dinner Plate Designs

Owning different dinner plate sets allows you versatility when designing your table for family gatherings, holiday celebrations, or other occasions you host. Your collection can showcase your personality. It enables you to express your style by creating different looks that reflect both your unique taste and the occasion. 

We like to experiment with dish sets in our home. We use everything from basic white dishes to designs from our seasonal collections. Here are some of our favorite selections for dinner plates to inspire you:

1. Our Signature White Dishes

The Signature White Collection takes your basic white dishes and elevates them with our ruffled edge and hand-painted brushstrokes. This timeless look is perfect for a casual gathering of friends, a family celebration, or a business event. It really suits every entertaining need.

Best of all, our Signature White dinnerware set makes mixing and matching effortless. You can add pops of color easily since everything coordinates beautifully with white dishes. The neutral hue also brings out a clean look on your tablescape if you want a simple ambiance.

2. Our Fundamentals Collection

Our Fundamentals Collection features warm acacia wood and our distinctive ruffled edge that gives every tablescape a sense of delicacy and elegance while still providing a modern twist. The dinner plate set offers effortless mix-and-match potential that allows you to customize your table with many looks.

The wood dinner plates provide a wonderful foundation for your collection. They make curating a table a delightful experience, whether you’ve designed dozens of looks or it’s your first time. In fact, many of our favorite dinnerware staples come from this collection.

What Is the Benefit of Wood Dishes?

Wood is a natural material with a beautiful luster that has both health and environmental advantages. These include:

• Wood dishes are unique: Wood products, by their nature, always vary in color and grain, so you’ll always possess something novel.
• Wood connects us to nature: The warm, natural hues in the wood provide a calming effect and remind people of the beauty of the outside world.
• Wood’s sustainable: Wood is biodegradable and a renewable resource — and more sustainable than other materials.
• Wood dishes are made to last: Wood is durable and will decorate your table for a long time.
• Wood is low maintenance: You simply wash the dishes in this collection with warm water and dish soap and then thoroughly dry. Oil your wood dishes as needed to keep them shining like new.

3. Our Iris Blue Dish Set

This bright collection will inspire you to create a beautiful table. The classic blue and white palette makes it perfect for every day. The hand-designed pattern celebrates spring’s renewal and is loosely based on the stages of plant life — representing the seedling becoming a sprout.

While the Iris Blue Collection works well during the spring season, its contemporary design also mixes beautifully with Coton Colors’ other dish sets, including Signature White dishes and Fundamentals dinnerware, when the gathering dictates a more colorful approach.

4. Our Crew Dinner Plate Set

We love how the Crew Collection portrays a simple sophistication with its bold black and white design. The scallop pattern trims the dinner plate, offering an eye-catching look. The arabesque-inspired geometric pattern brightens up your table as well as a bar cart and morning coffee time {we adore the Black Arabesque Mug for hot cocoa, too!}

While the collection creates a distinctive table look all on its own, mixing it with other dish sets offers a wide array of entertaining possibilities. Whether you use it as a pop of drama on top of white dishes or integrate it with other patterns, these artfully designed plates make dinnertime special.

5. Our Deco Dinner Plates

A little gold brightens up everyone’s world. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why we love the Deco Collection so much. Whether you’re hosting an intimate family gathering, a happy hour with friends, or a fancy New Year’s Eve party, this collection graces every occasion with elegance and celebratory glam.

Appropriating the basic tenets of art deco design, such as bold geometric shapes, curved edges, and metallic hues, this collection features playful gold scalloped edging. The Deco Gold Scallop Dinner Plate adds a bit of flair to white dishes or neutral tables. The collection offers all the entertaining essentials you require — from dish sets to cloth napkins to a salt and pepper shaker set.

6. Our Buffalo Collection

The Buffalo Collection, with its red and white buffalo check plaid, infuses joy into any table. We love it especially for a backyard barbecue on our patio or at holiday celebrations {try pairing it with Christmas dinnerware sets}. This dish set is quite versatile since it offers elegance and style along with a healthy dose of fun.

Its iconic design and burst of red adds a vibrancy to white dishes. It also blends perfectly with many dinner plate sets, offering you countless combination possibilities. Plus, it will bring an easy smile to your guests when they see it.

How to Pair Dinner Plates with Salad Plates

We love to gather around the table together — it’s one of our favorite places to be. You can transform your dining experience by strategically curating what designs you use, including dish sets, linens, serveware, and decorative accents. One technique we use to create an inspired look is mixing and matching different salad and dinner plates.

As you grow and curate your own unique collection, dinner plates can be a great investment piece. Opt for designs that can coordinate with most other items in your home. Then, use salad plates {typically a more budget-friendly shape than their larger dinner plate counterparts} to add the patterns, colors, and textures so you can create many looks, such as:

• Matching sets: With this style, all the same dish sets are layered together in a single place setting, for example using all white dishes. 
• Alternating matching sets: With this technique, you alternate two different dish sets around the table so every other place setting matches.
• Mixed sets: You use different dish sets layered together in a single place setting. This can be the same one seen around the table, or you can even try an alternating version of two layered looks. 
  

A bonus to using alternating matching sets and mixed sets is that both help stretch your collection so you can host more guests — for instance, if you have two different sets of 12 dinner plates and salad plates {or three sets of eight} that totals 24 total place settings you potentially can use for your table. 

Switch Your Dishes for the Season

When you bring out new dishes each season, you revitalize your table. You’ll instantly have a fresh and inviting atmosphere that does not require any major renovations. A new dinner plate set brings in seasonal elements, introducing a mood that’s appropriate for the season.

Your guests will appreciate an environment that reflects the time of the year. For spring and summer, you can select brighter colors that add radiance to your gatherings. For fall and winter, opt for warmer, cozier hues. You can even mix in white dishes with the other patterns to expand your collection. Dish sets offer another way to decorate your home, adding a festive spirit to all of your holiday celebrations.

Our Favorite Seasonal Dinner Plates

We always enjoy switching up our table settings. Dinnerware represents your personal style, and choosing designs that represent the season creates an enjoyable experience for your guests. Of course, we have a few favorites that we’d recommend:

• Flying Santa Rimmed Dinner Plate {also comes in a set of four}: brings the perfect amount of holiday cheer to any Christmas gathering.
• Balsam Stripes Ruffle Dinner Plate {pattern also available in a set of four salad plates}: frames the layered salad plate on top and the plated food when it’s time to eat with a balsam border.
• Gold Stars Dinner Plate {also comes in a set of four}: adds a touch of neutral, simplistic seasonality to a holiday table. Coordinates with both the Christmas in the Village and O Holy Night collections or it can stand on its own. 
• Mealtime Collection for Children: decorative melamine dinner plates offer fun kids’ table designs that please the little ones on holidays and their birthdays. 

Other Ways to Use Dinner Plates

Dinner plates aren’t just for mealtime. With so many beautiful designs available, you can use them for both functional and decorative purposes. We recommend:

• Use plates with colorful patterns or even white dishes as trays on your coffee table or in your bedroom to corral keys, rings, and other trinkets.
• Place dinner plates on a plate stand to enhance a bookshelf or baker’s rack.
• Display decorative plates as art by hanging them on the wall, putting them in glass cabinets, or using them to hold candles.
• Make dinner plates the platters for a meal or use one as a trivet rather than as a vehicle for the main course.

In our homes, dinner plates serve many purposes. From mixing-and-matching dish sets to create stunning table settings for parties, to using our favorites to elevate everyday meals, dinner plates set the tone and mood of our meals. We hope this guide assisted in selecting serveware and dishes that complement your style.