All Roads Lead to China

Since I'm currently obsessed with the Olympics in Beijing, and given my registry post a few days ago, I thought I should share my china pattern with everyone. FI and I wanted something more contemporary, which actually proved quite difficult. It seems that everyone is content with the white-on-white, platinum rim, $145 per 5-piece setting type stuff. While there are a few outrageous patterns out there, we wanted something "contemporary" not "hideous," and we wanted something that would "age" well. It's a difficult marriage between contemporary and classic in china. And, while it would have been nice to have bone china, I didn't want the hefty price tag that came along with it. Oddly enough, many of the "big name" china settings, like Kate Spade and some Vera Wang, which are also $120+/setting, are NOT bone china, but rather just "fine china." Honestly?!? Why would you spend the same amount on "fine china" as you do on "bone china"? You must REALLY like the pattern...

Anyhoo, back to my own situation. At first, I thought I was doomed to settle for a more classic and less contemporary pattern. I liked the Mikasa "Parchment," which is only "fine china" but is also only $49.99/5-piece setting at Macy's. They also had a 52-piece dinnerware set on sale for $259.99 (regularly $600.00). Not bad. I still really like this pattern, and at that price, it's almost cheap enough to use as "everyday" dinnerware.

The next pattern that caught my eye was the Waterford "Ballet Ribbon." It's white with a platinum rim, but it has black ribbon swirls on the side. There are colored 9" accent plates in the collection, but they only come in 4 pastel colors. It is $125/5-piece setting at Macy's, which is a little more than I would have liked, but at least it's bone china. It also has a TON of matching pieces, including silverware and table linens.

Finally, during our epic trip to Macy's last week, I saw the Noritake "Platinum Wave" china set. It actually looks similar to the Waterford, with platinum and silver swirls, but it's porcelain instead of bone china, and only $80/5-piece setting. It's also a good blend of contemporary and traditional. I especially liked the option of square accent plates. In fact, they have large and small square accent plates, as well as square bowls, so it's like having 2 different sets of china in one! The classic colors make it easily adaptable to any decor, and Noritake makes several different holiday accent plates that will look great with this pattern. Fortunately, FI also liked this pattern, so the hunt was over!

What do you think? Is it the perfect blending of contemporary and classic?