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Just thinking the other day, when I got out of college, I wanted everything to match. I bought a set of dishes, for 4. Put them on law-away to get them. I forget the name but it was made by Pfaltzgraf and that sort of grayish and blue design.
Bought matching towels. Got a set of silverware (not really silver) for Christams.
Now, I like the variety. Only 2 of my plates match, a few pieces of glassware, maybe a few other things. I still have a dessert plate left from that set. It's about 40 yrs old now.
Sometimes I wonder where I went.
Haha. Back in the 70s, a bunch of us moved into a new neighborhood, and at least 3 of us young housewives had the Pfaltzgraff that was tan with a blue design on it (Folk art). This pattern became discontinued at some point, so as everyone moved on to a new set of dishes, the others bought up their leftovers of this pattern.
Fast forward to now, when my one friend in Florida, who is 74, has prevailed. She has tons of the stuff and can tell you which pieces she got from which neighbor. http://images.replacements.com/image...108S1079T2.jpg
Last year we painted our front door a medium dark blue gray. And we painted our back door the same. Makes the house look more distinguished, I think. The house itself is painted a medium light green with a touch of gray in it.
I made a moss covered wreath last year. It was partially successful. After the holidays, I retrieved it and wrapped wide burlap ribbon around it, and made one of those big bows that I always think I cannot make. Well, I made it well enough, and it looks fine on the wreath which is hanging on my front door.
Last year we finally got new window coverings for all of our windows, save one. We put shades up, and wooden blinds in the front room. Earlier this year I made curtains for our laundry room. So now all our windows have new coverings, and the old awful Venetian blinds are gone forever! I do still want to add drapes in my bedroom though.
And, we bought a small dresser at a consignment store. It is very nice, with small drawers. The brand is Century, and I think it dates approximately late sixties/mid seventies. It has a nicely done veneered finish with really nice brass hardware. We are going to have the finish fixed, especially some veneer work and something done about a gouge on the edge. I am using this to store jewelry, scarves and gloves. While we wait for the woodworker to begin, I will buy a new storage system for my silver jewelry, and use the small drawers for everything else. And I bought a tall thing to hang long chains and such. I intend to buy a tallish mirror and a small lamp. This little setup will solve a problem for me. Jewelry in one place, along with other accessories. I even have a dedicate glove drawer. The dresser is to leave for the woodworker's place next month, and I am eager to move on the mirror and lamp.
Century is a decent furniture brand. Just caught my eye so I thought I'd post. Generally well made and would have been considered "finer" furniture.
I love buying used furniture!! Drexel / Baker / Thomasville ... yum yum yum!
I forgot to mention one other thing that I bought for entertaining-I bought this BEFORE we moved into the house-our dishes.
I like Corelle. I have the set that I bought back in the '80s, and I think my husband had some before we married. We added to it from yard sales and such. Most are a mixed match of patterns. Then, I found a 15 serving set (dinner plates, dessert plates, bowls, plus two BIG bowls & 3 platters) at an auction. I really wanted the set but know that Corelle can go high. (A set like that would go for over $100 on eBay.) I really lucked out, no one else wanted it so I got the entire set for only $5. Come to find out that the pattern somewhat rare (Blue Star) because they only made it for about a year.
Dinner plate:
Dessert plate:
Bowl:
So now when we entertain, everyone has matching dishes & stainless steel ware (it is not silver. )
Again, we still use the mixed match stuff when it is just us.
I forgot to mention one other thing that I bought for entertaining-I bought this BEFORE we moved into the house-our dishes.
I like Corelle. I have the set that I bought back in the '80s, and I think my husband had some before we married. We added to it from yard sales and such. Most are a mixed match of patterns. Then, I found a 15 serving set (dinner plates, dessert plates, bowls, plus two BIG bowls & 3 platters) at an auction. I really wanted the set but know that Corelle can go high. (A set like that would go for over $100 on eBay.) I really lucked out, no one else wanted it so I got the entire set for only $5. Come to find out that the pattern somewhat rare (Blue Star) because they only made it for about a year.
Dinner plate:
Dessert plate:
Bowl:
So now when we entertain, everyone has matching dishes & stainless steel ware (it is not silver. )
Again, we still use the mixed match stuff when it is just us.
Cat
Well, we part company here, because I am not a fan of Corelle. I think it is because I don't like the thin clanky sound it makes. I am happy that you love it, though. I wonder, with all the beautiful, affordable dishes in the world, you focus on Corelle?
I have Johnson Bros. Blue Willow for everyday, so I know some people would just say, "ick" to that too.
Well, we part company here, because I am not a fan of Corelle. I think it is because I don't like the thin clanky sound it makes. I am happy that you love it, though. I wonder, with all the beautiful, affordable dishes in the world, you focus on Corelle?
I have Johnson Bros. Blue Willow for everyday, so I know some people would just say, "ick" to that too.
I like Corelle because it is very light. I hate big, bulky plates. There is no problem putting them in the dishwasher and it takes a lot of chip/break them. And I couldn't beat the $5 price tag.
My parents gave me something cool today. They gave me my grandmother's 1930s era Art Deco night light. When I cleaned out the corrosion and tightened the tiny bulb inside it, it came right on! I love it. It sat beside her bed for as long as I remember.
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 02-07-2020 at 07:15 AM..
Haha. Back in the 70s, a bunch of us moved into a new neighborhood, and at least 3 of us young housewives had the Pfaltzgraff that was tan with a blue design on it (Folk art). This pattern became discontinued at some point, so as everyone moved on to a new set of dishes, the others bought up their leftovers of this pattern.
Fast forward to now, when my one friend in Florida, who is 74, has prevailed. She has tons of the stuff and can tell you which pieces she got from which neighbor. http://images.replacements.com/image...108S1079T2.jpg
actually this is the one-and this is the only piece I have left. One like it, I mean. Mine isn't for sale.
Since moving into the new (old) house, I plan to do a lot of entertaining. We have already done some entertaining. The first thing I wanted was flatware that match. We have a bunch of mixed match knives, forks, & spoons. Some are fairly nice, others are cheapo. So, I went on eBay to see what was available. I wanted something vintage because the stuff that is being made now is cheapo-even Oneida. I was going to go with an Oneida set but the problem is the fact that the company are still making the same patterned so you don't know if you will get the good quality vintage stuff or the cheapo stuff they are making now. I opted out of getting an Oneida pattern. So I got a patterned called Spritely Rose by a Japanese company called Creative Manor:
I actually managed to get enough to feed at least 18 people (maybe more) at once. We only really use these when we have company and when it is just the two of us, we use our mixed match flatware.
Then it came time for the steak knives. We only had 6 and one died so we were down to 5. Those 5 seem like they weren't going to last too long either. After searching and searching, I had narrowed it down to two: one was made by a Swiss company and the other by a German company. The winner? One that was made by a Brazilian company Tramontina:
Cat
Good for you in getting nicer stuff for entertaining. Last year I bought a set of china for our get togethers. It is so nice to have matching pieces for a nice holiday table. I have sterling I bought decades ago to use with it. But I had to replace my everyday stainless recently, and I discovered a great resource. Silver Superstore!Sterling silver and Stainless flatware for less, every day! - Silver Superstore I bought new stainless from them. It is true that Oneida is now made in China, but there is plenty of new nicer stuff to be had. It is also true that it can be somewhat pricey. But I got really nice pieces, which are great quality. And the service at Silver Superstore is great. Every thing ships free, and there is no tax if you live outside the state of WA. I learned so much reading about place settings on that site. I recommend it!
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Just caught my eye so I thought I'd post. Generally well made and would have been considered "finer" furniture. 
) 
