Food looks better on darker colors, IMO. I have some square Fiestaware and I love it.

We had square dinnerware and I did not like it (sorry to the people who might like the square shape, but the OP has asked..). We did not find our square dishes to be storage efficient at all. In fact, the biggest problem is that it took up too much room - in the dishwasher, in the cabinet and even on the dinner table. The square shape meant the plate wasn't very flat, so it was tight between the dishwasher tines, as well as taking up a lot of room from side to side. Also, when we had something with sauce, like spaghetti, there was no round rim to contain the sauce, so spillage was a problem. Along that same line, our square dinner plates made the food look puny on the plate, or worse, we overate by piling the food onto the plate to fill it out.

We gave away the square set, and bought Ikea 365+ dinnerware, the round white ones with rims. We love it! Our dishwasher holds so much more now, not only because the dinner plates are smaller at 11" diameter (IMO an excellent size), but they are flatter and thinner. The Ikea dinnerware is VERY sturdy. Ikea sells sets of these at unbelievably reasonable prices. The set is for 6 each of dinner, lunch and bowl, for about $25! We can have parties of people, and still have matching dishes, and all at a reasonable price. Also, the Ikea dinnerware is real feldspar porcelain, and not made in China. Microwave-safe of course. There are also mix-and-match serving pieces and other sizes along with the dinnerware sold in sets.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea 365+ Dinnerware

Just to add on to my previous message, I just saw you said you wanted open stock. The Ikea I mentioned comes as open stock too, or as the set I mentioned. The set is just so reasonably priced, it's hard to turn it down. The set also is just the basics, without cups and saucers or mugs, which we didn't want. The open stock has other pieces too for variety.

I had a marvelous set of square, rimmed stoneware plates from Cost Plus for decades. And I do mean decades - it must have been over thirty years ago. Still have a couple as serving plates.

The one thing to stay away from is square soup bowls. Terrible idea, it's a pain (many bistro restaurants here use them) to try to use a rounded spoon inside a square-edged bowl.

My preference, round or square, is rimmed plates. Rolled rim, flared rim, box rim - I don't care, but non-rimmed plates just don't work for me.

Alwaysfixin took the words right out of my mouth.

The other thing is that the rim on the bottom is round, and if you cut on towards the corners, the plates tip.

They are tight in the dishwasher.

I kept the round bowls & serving pieces to use, but I use the square plates (thank goodness for some reason I only got salad plates) are now under candles.

My day to day dishes are a discontinued Fitz & Floyd pattern from the 70s called Total Color Cinnabar. It's got octagonal bowls, plates, etc. It's thin, being china & I love how I can load the heck out of the dishwasher. :)

Christine
Formerly C F Muehling

I've never used them but read if you have liquid in a square plate the liquid easily spills out the corners.

What I want in my next set are plates that have a curved rim/lip to it so it will be easier to scoop foods with a spoon.

I have square dinnerware - got them for a wedding gift. We love them, use them semi-regularly (formal dinners, when we have guests over, etc.). Only the dinner and desert plates are square, I agree that the square bowls might be difficult, esp. in the dishwasher. I've had no problems with storage due to their shape, or any other problems at all. I think it is a question of what you love - if you love them, go for it.

I have square everyday - Ikea 365 - and square Christmas dishes - I love them. I don't have any problems with my limited storage. Some dishes are bigger than others - I have "normal" sized ones that fit in cupboards and the dishwasher (DD has HUGE ones that don't fit her apartment sized dishwasher but they fit a regular sized dw).

Buy them, buy them!

I had square-ish black Mikasa dishes (Basic Black they were called). Loved them! We broke a bunch over the years, and they had long been discontinued when we replaced them. Loved the shape and the solid black though....

circuspeanut -- gorgeous copper countertops AND those fab dishes? I am pouting! ;-)

I should have elaborated more. I have mix and match Fiesta ware, and I love being able to combine the square plates with a larger round plate or vice versa. Some foods work better on the round plates (pasta & sauce) but other things work great on the square plates, and I like the options of both. I also use the square plates a lot for parties for small plates of appetizers, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Square Fiesta

My dad and his wife got square Corelle dishes last year. I don't care for them. I find they hold too much food- which leads to overeating! LOL Is that a good enough reason? Other than that, I guess they're kind of fun. Oh, and how do you set the table? Corners toward your guests? Square on? A round plate can land almost any old way and still looks great, depending on the pattern.

laughable - funny you mention the size of dinner plates. I bought new everyday dinner plates at a Boxing Day sale a couple of years ago - I actually bought the side plates for exactly the reason you mentioned - you just put more food on a full-sized plate! We have two young children and hardly need full sized plates for them, and DH and I are doing fine with are fun side plates!

Here is a link that might be useful: Fun round side plates (used as dinner plates)

circuspeanut -- I love them your dishes!

Lots of excellent comments, exactly what I was hoping for.

The dishes I saw today are *very* square (no rounded corners) and a bit on the thick side so dishwasher loading is a possible issue. I was concerned about the square soup bowls for all the reasons mentioned, and had thought I might go with the complementary deep, round soup bowls (also available) instead.

I think I'll just stick with round. Can't go wrong with a classic. Thank you all, and for the Ikea reminder. Have a store about 20 minutes away but I always forget it's there!

Jacy

If you're undecided, use both. I have and use both: squares & rounds. I mix the shapes and match the designs. They look better that way when placed on the table too.

Btw, I also have triangular plates too.

One more caveat just brought to my attention... square plates may not turn properly on a microwave turntable.

Here's a shot of the set I was looking at.

{{!gwi}}

I bought long square serving plates at C&B a few years ago, and wish I'd gotten more. They make everything on them look much fancier than what I'm actually serving.

Marcolo wrote about the square dishes:"They make everything on them look much fancier than what I'm actually serving."

this is almost exactly the comment my son made when we switched to white square plates. I like them a lot and do not see changing them soon...

I wanted a fancier set, but my husband was not fully into the square dishes so we have simple Corelle plates (the plus: they are thin and light and store well) and the bowls do have round corners, so no problem..

i was thinking that square plates have been around at least as long as i've been married... but circuspeanut's plates beat that by a mile.

circuspeanut... those are truly fabulous.

we have both square and round. i like having both. but dh does have this thing about setting the table with the corner pointing down which i've always found a little disorienting for some reason!

My husband is in the china business. We have a pretty floral Wedgewood set (that's discontinued) for every day and another Wedgewood set for big dinners. The trouble was that when we have huge dinners, there isn't enough of either pattern to set the table.

A couple of years ago, frustrated, I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought white square dinner plates. We use the soups and salads of the other pieces. I have to say that the table looks absolutely gorgeous when it is set, and I'm not restricted by any particular color table linens.

After the initial hissy fit that I had gone to a competitor, DH did agree that the squares did look a lot better.

I am assuming that these dishes are meant for your kitchen. I would ask what style you kitchen is as that would have some influence on what you eventually choose.

Picking out china is in some cases more difficult than doing your kitchen. If you are worried about what fits into a microwave, you may want to consider getting some salad plates if you go with square.

BTW, they are set with the edge of the dish parallel to the edge of the table. It's psychologically disturbing have in a point facing your belly or heart.

LoL ironcook & mossfern - I posted a question about feng shui recently as I had read about it partially in relation to corners/sharp angles. Some folks made jokes about it later, but sounds like psychologically, there might be something to it, whether it is referred to as a feng shui principle or not...

I can't help, since I really like this stuff! Especially for display!

Here is a link that might be useful: [cool stacking dishes[(https://www.houzz.com/products/palace-stacking-tableware-prvw-vr~89653)

We got ours at C&B last year and love them. They fit perfectly in the new cabinets and don't roll around in the dishwasher. The old round set hit Freecycle that day.

Circuspeanut - LOVE your dishes!
xand83 - LOVE your dog!

Aww! A CORGI!!! Sweet dishes / dish storage too!

There are lots of different styles of square dinnerware - sharp edges, rounded edges, all square, square with round bowls etc. You really have to make the decision based on the SPECIFIC style of dishes!

I LOVE Circuspeanuts's vintage dinnerware!

Personally, I love square dishes, but I'd definitely add large round pasta bowls.

We purchased rectangular white dishes at C&B this year and love them. The entire set for 12, dinner plates, salad plates and bowls, fits on one shelf in the cupboard. Very compact for storage. The dinner plates are large, I usually opt for the salad plate. The bowls are rectangle shape but very rounded in the interior. The look shallow, but actually hold a lot. Open stock, as well.

Something I laugh about, which was probably only funny the first time...

Watching a baby nephew pick up his bowl and drink out of it. On the flat side. Everything poured out of the bowl corners on the sides of his little mouth. All down his sides, down the high chair and onto the floor. He cried because he didn't get any.

Mine have a high-ish lip.
I got them at Tuesday Morning a couple of years ago. I love the round bowls and plates beacuse they're bigger. The plates I seldom use, because I use the other set of Fitz & Floyd.

I have huge serving pieces for the squares. One bunch could be chargers. I've served roasts on them. The others I are HUGE pasta or serving dishes. They're square, but they also have an inner square, where the depth of the piece is probaby 2" deep. They're cool, but I have no place to keep them.

These came in a black, matte-like finish and I've found pieces for years since that were definately not of this Prasidio set, but were the exact same finish. I admit I keep picking things up, but nothing square. There were a few pieces in a taupe, called "mink" that I bought at that same time. That's what I really wanted, but at Tuesday Morning (all 7 of them in my area) you get what they have left.

I've quit buying dishes, tho, unless I find some of my discontinued Fitz & Floyd. I've given away a couple of sets of things on Freecycle. I think it is OCD, because I live alone and don't entertain. Who needs cupboards and cupboards of dishes?

Christine
Formerly C F Muehling

I am not a fan of square dishes for a couple of reasons. One is that, as has already been mentioned, they tend to be large. So you overload the plate because the square plate fools your eye for portion size. The other reason is that my neurotic self would always be straightening the square dishes on the table so that they are exactly parallel to the table edge. It would make me crazy if they were out of square, which of course they would be if someone got up from the table to get seconds or something, and brought the plate back and just set it down. Yes, I am a little OCD - but only when it comes to things out of square (I walk around the house every once in a while with my level to straighten out all the pictures hanging on the walls - am I the only one??).

Jacy - whichever dishes you get, round or square, make sure to MEASURE YOUR CABINET INTERIORS FIRST. Most upper cabinets are 12" deep, and many are 11" deep. Some framed upper cabinets are even shallower than that due to door thickness. We have seen people posting on this forum that they bought an entire set of dishes, only to find out the dishes don't fit in their upper cabinets, or the cabinets' doors won't shut completely cause the dishes are 1/2" too big. Unless of course you have Xand83's gorgeous setup with dishes in base cabinets, but that usually is seen in large kitchens, and you've said your kitchen is small.

jacy, your photo dishes look nice and modern. buy one setting to see how you like it.

I bought a complete set of beautiful square china 6 years ago for my daughter from an estate sale. i am now 71. She has 2 daughters in college. it looks brand new and I assume not dishwasher safe. It was made in chechoslovakia. the original owners were their neighbors in their 90s when they passed. There seems to be many pros and cons regarding square dinnerware. I am looking for other input. Right now my daughter is not interested in the set for herself or daughters. 😢