Ditto what nosoccermom said. We have white Crate and Barrel Cafeware II which is porcelain. Still looks as good as when we got it for our wedding 15 years ago. I have a friend with what I think is stoneware ( Pfaltzgraff?) that has knife marks all over it.

Porcelain. Also your homegoods bowls won't last (I know, I have some very like them) so get what you like best for main dishes.

Good point about the bowls. I've been planning around them, but I've loved the porcelain Sophy Conran for a long time. It's just a little funky, but simple. So, should I just get all white, even though that is not as cool as mix and match, or get a few colors of the Sophy Curson?

I'd get the white porcelain and then get whatever bowls you like from HG. You'll replace them when they're chipped or scratched, or when you're ready for a change and will pick something else that will go so well with your main white dishes...

Porcelain is, in general, longer wearing and harder to chip than stoneware. However, I've noticed that newer porcelain dishes (and newer stoneware) are much more likely to get utensil marks and to craze than dishes produced fifteen or more years ago. I don't know if it is microwave use, dishwasher detergent formulation changes or just a different manufacturing process that's causing the change.

I've had my white stonewear for 9 years and have only chipped one salad plate! Maybe it was made better 'back then', but I don't do anything special, like handwashing/drying. I prefer the white since I can use various colors of napkins/placements, as well as mixing in colorful dishes when I want. I'm sure i'll need to replace it eventually and will get white again.

It looks like you can get a better deal on the portmeirion dishes at kitchen kapers and wayfair.

My husband is a bull in a china shop with dishes, jamming them into the dishwasher or dropping them. It's the price I pay for help in the kitchen. I'm amazed people have the same set for years and years. I've learned to buy sets with open stock so I can replace pieces, and I don't let him wash the good China. I do have a little bit better luck with porcelain for everyday dishes.

A hint.....a friend of mine bought a set of dishes to use everyday and found out the plates were too tall for her dishwasher....My DW is adjustable so I don't think I would have a problem but hers was not.

I've had two different sets of Pfaltzgraff and both sets have been terrible for chipping, breaking easily, and marring. Will never have stoneware again. Now, my porcelain looks just like the day it was unboxed. So, I will always purchase porcelain.

Porcelain! Unless you use sterling silver for everyday, do not get stoneware. It WILL get gray marks from any stainless you use. I got rid of my expensive stoneware and bought vintage Corelle off EBay for everyday.

i have a mix of both, stone and porcelain, which i mix all together. i find both are pretty sturdy when i use them, not so much for hubby. mine are all blue and white 3 piece settings.

Bone china or porcelain. No more stoneware for me. Sure I may swoon over it in the store or catalog. But stoneware breaks my heart. Chips, silverware marks- where has thy beauty gone?

Have you tried Bar Keepers' Friend to get rid of some of the black marks from silverware? Any gentle cleanser usually works. I don't think it will remove real scratches though.

Maybe because my stoneware is old??? I don't have silverware problems with it, or any other difficulties. A couple chips, but this happens with other dishes, too.

Yeah, Bar Keeper's took the marks off, but I had to clean every piece, every time it was used. Might have been OK if only used once a year, but not everyday.

Perfect timing for this post Rachel - thanks.

I'm also looking to replace my 37 year old (37 not a misprint) set of Corelle Cornerstone. It's not the typical thin, nearly translucent Corelle but it was CorningWare's attempt to compete with the popularity of Pfaltzgraff and other stoneware.

It isn't quite as hefty as most stoneware, it stacks well and obviously has held up to 3 kids and my Dad. The bottom is flat and fully glazed which is something I never fully appreciated until we bought a new table and one of the kids slid a porcelain platter across the wooden top and the rough bottom scratched the table.

Now I'm looking for plates with a smooth underside to protect my kitchen table. Even if it still has the ring from the mold some brands are smoother and glazed, others are very rough.

I was at Macy's and BB&B and checked the Conran, Denby and some of the Mikasa patterns but will probably go with white too. However I am tempted by the soft sage green/ice blue Lenox French Perle but it's stoneware. I may just buy a small luncheon set.

I also like the Mikasa Italian Countryside which is porcelain but many of the reviews say that it easily gets the gray marks from silverware. I thought I only had to worry about stoneware getting them.

Maire