Rustic Stoneware Dinnerware
Buy the best rustic stoneware dinnerware selected and recommended by interior designers. By Tara Gosselin.
Get away from the traditional dinner wear, and instead, get some of these rustic stoneware dinnerware sets. Heavy, high-quality rustic stoneware plates and bowls are the dinnerware you want if you want an attractive and sturdy set for your table. Available in many different serving quantities, pick up a set of rustic stoneware dinnerware for your home. Good for everyday use.
Rustic Stoneware Dinnerware
Buying Guide
Tara Gosselin
Interior Design Expert
Tara is a San Antonio-based award-winning landscape architect, writer and educator, passionate about eco-friendly solutions and growing her own food. She knows all it takes to help you create a sustainable backyard retreat that combines blissful charm with a modern take on landscaping.
Rustic stoneware dinnerware can be a lovely part of shabby chic decorating or decorating that focuses on rustic or native art themes. Stoneware can vary from traditional, machine-made patterns to hand thrown, one of a kind, pottery. If you request a set of hand-thrown dinnerware, be sure to let the potter know that the utensils will be used for food. Some pottery glazes are not appropriate for dishes that will be used for food. With that said, there is nothing lovelier or more unique than a set of handcrafted dinnerware.
Traditional rustic stoneware dinnerware usually comes in earth tones but can also be decorated with bright patterns of fruit or flowers. A highly prized kitchen utility item in late 1950s farm kitchens was a set of graduated sized stone wear crocks. The stone crocks were used for a variety of uses, but two that were the most common were allowing cream to rise on milk and making sauerkraut.
If you would like to add rustic stoneware dinnerware to your kitchen, you have many options. Whether you have a modern kitchen or one that favors shabby chic or a traditional theme, stoneware will work perfectly with it. You can purchase the older designs, with the delicate floral designs or bold fruit, or you can get more contemporary designs where deliberate crudeness emphasizes the handmade nature of the set. Following up on that theme, you can request a basic glaze theme, but allow the potter to create a set of coordinated dishes that are clearly a set, but in which no two are completely identical. Such a set is sure to be a conversation piece at your next dinner party.
Stoneware is not dishwasher safe. It should be cleaned with hot water. One source indicates that if you clean stone wear with soap or detergent, it will tend to absorb the flavor of the cleaning agent. In practice, you can use a little dish detergent if something is stuck onto a dish, but the stone wear should not be soaked in sudsy water as you might an ordinary ceramic plate.
Stoneware is not recommended for microwaving. While it will not damage your oven, the container is likely to heat up instead of the food. It can be frustrating to have a very hot bowl, and still have cold food. This same property, however, makes a stoneware platter the perfect dish for whipping fondant or cooling taffy before pulling. One old country woman had a thick stoneware platter that she treasured just for this purpose.
Rustic stoneware dinnerware can be a lovely addition to your kitchen. You can select the beautiful traditional patterns, or you can get readymade modern sets or even have a set specially made. Remember to check with your local potter about the glaze that will be used, and make sure that he or she knows that you want dinnerware. Then expect to enjoy many positive comments on your beautiful dinnerware.