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Melamine Outdoor Dinnerware Sets – Melamine dinner plate sets turned out to be the ideal compromise!
My sister hates paper plates so, for Mom’s birthday event, I had to come up with something better than paper – something that did not require us to spend hours washing heavy stoneware dishes something along the lines of the best plastic plates.
I personally find paper plates perfectly acceptable under certain circumstances – in this case, sitting out in the garden, catching up on old times with a cool drink in hand and just far enough away from the grill master not to be overcome by smoke!
Sure, paper plates can be flimsy but they can also be as sturdy as Dixie® platters. For the sake of efficiency with so many guests in attendance (most of them outside), the Dixie® plates and platters were going to go unnoticed. As the cook, I certainly hoped the food on the plate would take center stage.
Wouldn’t you rather toss the plate after dinner? When it came down to the wire, Sis did compromise to a certain extent by agreeing to add sturdy paper plates to the total number of place settings with a stack of heavyweight oval platters.
Quick! Let’s set the table with
===> Melamine Dinnerware Like You’ve Never Seen It Before!
I remembered seeing beautiful melamine outdoor dinnerware sets in a Williams-Sonoma® catalog. It would be expensive to purchase a sufficient quantity for this particular gathering but what if I could find something similar and as colorful to set a lovely table for the older guests?
Then, totally by chance, I came across melamine dinner plate sets that fit Mom’s favorite Cinco De Mayo party theme. In a supermarket!
Melamine Outdoor Dinnerware Sets
These are not your Momma’s melamine outdoor dinner plates!
Wondering about the rooster design above? It is called the Rustica pattern and it matches perfectly with the Antiqua solid colors. I could not resist picking those. Mom collects roosters in all shapes, sizes and forms. Her fascination with the barnyard bird started more than seventy years ago when a certain someome gave her a hand painted Quimper pottery dish with a wonderful old saying written across it – “Quand ce coq chantera, mon amour finira” – in other words, when this rooster crows – my love will end. But…pottery breaks, melamine does not (or not as easily).
Le Cadeaux® Melamine Outdoor Dinnerware Sets
In French, cadeau means gift. I’m adding any piece from this collection to my gift list. They may be intended to use outdoors but I’ll use these on the dining room table any day of the week! They are dishwasher safe if needed but never put melamine in the microwave. Regardless of the price or quality, melamine will melt. The pieces are described as being “triple weight” – believe it. This 11 inch dinner plate is worth every penny of its $25 price tag. You will not even begrudge them the few extra cents.
Guests will pick these up and do a double take to determine if these dishes are not infact French pottery. I would rarely assign this descriptive adjective to plastic but these are spectacular in every way. The rooster pattern is #1 for sentimental reasons, but I’ll set the table with any design, in any color.
Certified International® Collection
From the stylized Tuscan floral patterns and those that reproduce my favorite Iznik pottery, Certified’s colors are vivid, the feel far from “plastic” with a weight quality and lustre that defies the imagination. How do they make them look so real? The DH did not even suspect they were melamine until I showed him the imprint on the back of the plates. They look that good!
Tuscany 11″ Dinner Plate
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The 11 inch dinner plates feature one design while the salad/dessert plates have a coordinating pattern in the same colors. Price wise, these are more affordable than the Cadeaux® collection but just as sturdy.
Tuscany 9″ Salad Plates
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If you really want the entire tablescape to be unbreakable, you can easily find matching platters, serving dishes and incredibly realistic, premium quality ice tea tumblers, on the rocks tumblers, wine goblets and Margherita stemmed glasses.
I found the ladies arguing over which color of “unbreakable” stemmed glassware they would use for their frozen concoction.
The Gibson Studio® Line
With a Cinco De Mayo party theme, I needed solid colors to work with the table settings and melamine did not disappoint! Check out the rustic designs below. If you prefer overall patterning, Gibson features “designer” dinnerware sets.
Gibson Studio Line – Golden Yellow
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Artwork On Melamine Plates
Would you believe that melamine dinnerware sets are available in one-of-a-kind designs?
You are going to pay top dollar for the unique factor created by talented artists. My personal favorite is the Mandala Tulipa design but just kook at the vibrant colors on these 10 inch plates! You can set a table with everything from the whimsical, to the abstract and my favorite – reproductions of antique patterns.
It is worth the time to look at the staggering selection of floral designs taken from wallpapers and tapestry then reproduced on melamine. I never imagined being able to find a way to set a table with unique place settings.
Sweet Tulips Plate
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Is the weather ideal for dining al fresco on melamine outdoor dinnerware sets? It’s just as easy to set a pretty table for 4 on the deck just with a complete dinnerware set. All you need are the utensils – in melamine of course.
Themed Dinnerware Sets
Melamine dinnerware is also perfect for Beach Week – the summer version! We eat as much fish and seafood as we can. Half a bushel of spicy steamed crab? Yes! Why not stock the kitchen cabinets with a seafood themed set? Easy to take care of and unbreakable too.
You can purchase an entire service for four or buy the individual pieces such as the dinner plates, the salad plates, or bowls. You can add to the set with platters, trays, butter dishes and divided plates for hors d’oeuvres.
The prices for these pretty dishes vary according to the manufacturers. However, there are times when the price is not as important as the the reason why you want to set a pretty table – even for an al fresco, informal birthday party.
Let’s get creative! The possiblities for setting a spectacular patio or indoor table are endless when you can choose from so many colorful melamine outdoor dinnerware sets.